92 Mariner 115HP - How to diagnose in garage

[samm835]

At the end of the summer I had a problem with my motor. The season was over, and was very frustrated with the issue, so i just winterized the motor and put the boat in the yard for the winter. Now that a couple of months have past, i now know I need to start working on the motor so it can be ready for the up coming season. I have no way of getting my whole boat in my garage because of where I live(steep mtn), my boat is a 24ft pontoon so it is impossible to get it in my garage to work on. I can take the motor off and put it on my engine stand fairly easily. The problem with that is I will have no controls to start it and make sure I am making the right choices while trying to fix it. Does anyone have any help or know of a way that I can get around taking my controls of my boat? BTW no I won't be working on the boat outside...to damn cold. So many things to fix, it might be quicker to take off and take to a mechanic to try and fix. Things that are wrong with it, 1) reverse went out 2) turns over easy but won't start or attempt, its getting fuel, but sounds like there is not any spark for ignition. I was going to look at the stator as a starting place. So any help on other ways of starting would be appreciated. I do have a manual to help me, also on a side note, whats the going price on a flywheel puller? Anyway on getting around buying this tool? To bad there isn't a shop to rent the tools for the afternoon like most autopart stores let you. Thanks for any help!

 

[Texasmark]

Re: 92 Mariner 115HP - How to diagnose in garage

You will need a control box ignition switch to supply 12v to your ignition circuit if you want to start it. You will also need a kill wire/ground (to that switch) to kill it once you get it started. You'll need 12v to the black/yellow wire to the fuel enrichment solenoid to prime the engine (fuel).

As far as throttle and shift you could do that at the engine by hand.

Don't run it without water being applied as you can easily damage the impeller.

Mark

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 92 Mariner 115HP - How to diagnose in garage

It will be pretty easy to test that motor on a stand in the garage. When you disconnect the electric plug from the boat to the motor, you will unground the ignition. If the ign system is working correctly, she may fire up on you w/o warning, so be aware. The control cables simply unbolt from the motor. The steering cable may be a bit tricky to DC. Fuel line is easy. You don't have an oil resevoir in the boat, right? If you do, disconnect the oil line and plug it.

You might download the CDI Ignition troubleshooting guide to help you. If it were me, I would take a compression test by connecting a battery to the motor on the stand. Now remove the spark plugs and put them into their spark plug lead boots and tape them together so they can be grounded ot the block. This protects the ign system. Now use a clip lead to energize the starter solenoid and use the compression gauge to see what you have. You can observe the spark plugs while cranking it. If they all spark at regular intervals, and the spark is blue in color, You are probably good. The motor can be started w/o controls by priming it manually(push the black button on the enrichener), and energizing the solenoid. Don't forget to use a water supply to keep the motor from overheating.

Now shift the motor into reverse manually. It should lock the prop to the crankshaft in both directions. Check the gear oil for water contamination and metal filings. Small metal filings are OK. chunks are not.

 

[j_martin]

Re: 92 Mariner 115HP - How to diagnose in garage

Throw it on a stand. run a compression test on it. (don't forget to ground the spark plug wires, all the plugs are out of course.)

Then dump the gear lube and check it for signs of catastrophic failure. Try putting it into gear manually as stated above.

Here's the bad news. If the compression is not good on all cylinders, yer looking at major engine work.

If the LU is bad, it's major.

At that point the engine is probably not a candidate for revival.

Do this first to prevent wasting a lot of time and money on a bone. If things look good, come back for more directions. If not, go look for a fresh motor.

hope it helps
john

 

[samm835]

Re: 92 Mariner 115HP - How to diagnose in garage

I will try the compression check soon, I did change the lower unit oil before putting it up a couple of months ago. I believe I have some major issues, the oil wasn't a good color, it was grey, and smelled like something died in it. There were not any chunks of metal, but there were some shavings, plus I can tell water was in there some how because of the color change. Thanks for the help to get started, I will update with the compression check soon, the compression was done right before the last season and it was 100 on all four cyl., I know its not any better, but hopefully it isn't worse. Thanks

 

[j_martin]

Re: 92 Mariner 115HP - How to diagnose in garage

The main theme for an outboard's long and trouble free life is systematic maintenance on a timely basis. One of the items in the LU oil change is inspection of the oil and debris magnet. If it's not right, ie there's evidence of water intrusion, you pull the foot and service it.

One other question. What makes the fine flakes in the oil is shifting gears. When you shift, do you slap it smartly into gear with a single solid clunk, or do you let it chatter a little as it goes in?

John

 

[sschefer]

Re: 92 Mariner 115HP - How to diagnose in garage

To run the motor remotely as you intend you simply need a battery, a remote starter switch that you can purchase at your local auto parts store and a on/off toggle switch. The toggle switch is connected between the black/yellow wire at the switch box and ground so on is open and off is closed. This will allow you to start the engine and stop it. The remote starter switch is connected between the battery pole of the starter solenoid and the small terminal with the yellow/red wire on it. You connect your batttery just as it was before you disconnected it.

You do not need your controls to shift the engine or work the throttle. They will move with hand pressure. I do suggest you use a spring or mini bungie cord to hold the throttle in the idle position or it can creep on you.

Since you are having problems with your engine I also suggest that you build a sturdy engine stand with a wide stance and sand bag the legs. 4 cylinder engines can shake violently when they're not running well.

As for the flywheel puller - Your gonna have to bite the bullet on that but they're not that expensive if you shop around. eBay is a good source but try to get one that has a fine thread grade 8 bolt. You'll use it more than once I'm sure.

 

[Bill Kilgore]

Re: 92 Mariner 115HP - How to diagnose in garage

Heartland products has decent prices on pullers and on puller/lifting combo's. Fastest way to get there is to Google "heartland products, puller" and choose the Amazon link (usually first). They have a 5/8" - 18 grade 8 pusher bolt (as mentioned above) Good luck with your situation.

 

[ExxWhy]

Re: 92 Mariner 115HP - How to diagnose in garage

I'm going to take a WAG here, perhaps someone with far more experience can chime in if this is possible.

Did it stop running at the same time reverse went out? Isn't there some sort of lockout that kills the spark if you try to start it in gear? If so, then perhaps something went in the lower unit and the reverse switch is stuck.

The gist of my thinking is when 2 things go bad at once, it's often related somehow.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: 92 Mariner 115HP - How to diagnose in garage

In-gear ignition lockouts are contained in the Throttle Control box.

 

[samm835]

Re: 92 Mariner 115HP - How to diagnose in garage

Thanks for all the help...and ideas, to answer your question exxwhy....no the reverse went out at the very begining of the summer. At that point I took the boat out, changed the gear lube to make sure there weren't any big shavings in it. Yes I know I am an idiot....because I went ahead and put the boat back in the water and used it for the rest of the summer and didn't fix the problem at hand. I know I could have caused more damage, and more money, but all I can say is I am an idiot. I am going to be buying the flywheel puller this week and do testing on the Stator and Trigger some time in the next couple of weeks to see if that is my issue before buying two new parts(stator/trigger) that I might not need to buy. I hope to have it all fixed and ready for the summer, the day the motor went out....it actually started, but then shut off. I didn't use the choke so it started then stop within two minutes because it was cold, I then went to restart and all i got was nothing, I honestly thought I fouled the plugs cause thats what it sounds like. My guess with the help of this forum is that its the stator and maybe the trigger. Thanks