Mercury 150 Cannot start anymore

[necman]

I was able to start this motor several months ago. I think my starting battery is good, it shows over 12 volts anyways, but the motor just barely turns over when I hit the key. Any suggestions. It turns over a few times and then it seems like the battery goes dead. I do not know much about boat batteries to know if even though it reads 12.3-12.5 volts, can the battery still be bad?

 

[Trent]

Re: Mercury 150 Cannot start anymore

Yes it can be bad. Take it to a autoparts store and have them load test it and also use a hydrometer on it.

 

[kris_merc]

Re: Mercury 150 Cannot start anymore

At one point, we had similar symptoms with my Dads 90 hp Merc. Turned out to be the brushes on the starter motor. Took it to a guy in Aransas Pass that had a bunch of old Mercs, and to our delight, he sold us just a set of brushes, and fixed it for about $50 bucks I think. Just my $.02

 

[necman]

Re: Mercury 150 Cannot start anymore

I did load test it with my neighbors load tester, which seemed to show good, just makes no sense. What else would cause it to be sluggish. I just do not feel that something major could go wrong in just a few months sitting in the drive way.

 

[JB]

Re: Mercury 150 Cannot start anymore

Measure the voltage at the starter when turning over. If it shows over 12V your starter is bad or the engine is trying to seize.<br /><br />If it shows below 10V you have a poor connection in the high current circuit.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[necman]

Re: Mercury 150 Cannot start anymore

Sounds good, that will be my next test. Also, I will try a brand new battery. When I popped the tops on these they were low on fluid, I refilled with Distilled water and re-charged. I will try the voltage test at startup.

 

[necman]

Re: Mercury 150 Cannot start anymore

What shall it read if everything is ok?

 

[dmessy]

Re: Mercury 150 Cannot start anymore

Everything you need to know about batteries:<br /> http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/dcfaq.htm <br />I found this site very useful in determining the condition of your battery.