93 MERC MARINER WONT FIRE -HAS SPARK

[drcoates]

We have a 93 Merc Mariner and we just can't get it to fire. It's been cold here, but we tried several times once it warmed up too. It just won't fire. We have new plugs, battery and drained the fuel line. There is plenty of spark and it's definately getting gas. We sprayed starter fluid on the carborater too. Any suggestions??? We need to get this boat around to the marina to pull it. Help Thanks drcoates

 

[andy6374]

Re: 93 MERC MARINER WONT FIRE -HAS SPARK

Does it have compression? If it doesn't, you can have all the fuel and spark in the world and it still won't run.

 

[drcoates]

Re: 93 MERC MARINER WONT FIRE -HAS SPARK

Yes, it seems to have.

 

[drcoates]

Re: 93 MERC MARINER WONT FIRE -HAS SPARK

While reading other forums here I remembered another problem. The alarm (constant one) continues to sound. We actually disconnected the alarms and it still sounded. What can that be, a short? Thanks for all your help

 

[Silvertip]

Re: 93 MERC MARINER WONT FIRE -HAS SPARK

Constant alarm is an overheat warning. Since you didn't investigate possible overheat when it first happened you now have no idea if the engine has suffered any damage. Loss of compression is one of the effects of overheating. Blown head gasket is another. The engine needs fuel, air, spark, compression, and it all needs to happen at the right time in or for it to run. The flywheel key may be sheared which allows puts ignition timing way off. Lots of possibilities. Oh -- and stop using starting fluid as it contains no oil. No oil - no lub. Use a premix in a squirt bottle.

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: 93 MERC MARINER WONT FIRE -HAS SPARK

Check the dead-man lanyard. Most out-of-the-blue starting problems lie there. Regarding the alarm ... if it won't start, it can't overheat. There's a problem with the alarm system. May not be related to your starting problem. Just so we have a better idea how to advise, what 93 Merc/Mariner do you have????

 

[drcoates]

Re: 93 MERC MARINER WONT FIRE -HAS SPARK

I neglected to mention that the motor ran perfectly fine after the incident with the alarm-s. That happened early in the year and off and on continued to happen but the motor never failed to start and ran fine...do you feel it's still an issue? We ran the motor full throtle just 4 days prior to this problem of "no fire". We did investigate the alarm early on and found it continued to sound even when disconnected atthe motor and yet the motor continued to run just fine, it seemed it was just the annoying alarm that was a problem the remainder of the season. It wouldn't always sound, if I hit the throtle box hard it would stop for a while-days sometimes- then start again, that's why I thought a "short". Do you think this is still a significant problem? I'm new at this and computers, sorry. Thank you again

 

[drcoates]

Re: 93 MERC MARINER WONT FIRE -HAS SPARK

WE did check the "kill" switch and that seems to be ok. we have a 93 Merc Mariner EL HPTO 3 cyl-<br /> Thanks again

 

[andy6374]

Re: 93 MERC MARINER WONT FIRE -HAS SPARK

Something is wrong here.<br /><br />If you have compression, fuel/air, and spark(properly timed) then the engine must run. You must have overlooked something.<br /><br />Check everything again. Use a compression gauge, and inline spark tester or timing light, and make sure the fuel pump and primer bulb are in good shape. Have you checked the carbs, are they all varinshed up?

 

[drcoates]

Re: 93 MERC MARINER WONT FIRE -HAS SPARK

Thanks to all for all your help and advice we're off to begin again to try and find the problem. If we find a resolution this season, I'll let you know.

 

[drcoates]

Re: 93 MERC MARINER WONT FIRE -HAS SPARK

Oh yeah, to top it off, now the tilt-(up) part won't work and it's stuck in the all the way down position....just our luck this will be sure to make it easier to work on. lol

 

[drcoates]

Re: 93 MERC MARINER WONT FIRE -HAS SPARK

Thank you all for all your helpful suggestions. We pulled the boat, motor still not running after checking everything again...I guess it will be spring before we tackle this problem again. Thank you again.

 

[kchunn]

Re: 93 MERC MARINER WONT FIRE -HAS SPARK

Couple of things here. First, did you keep running the motor after the constant alarm went off? That alarm was telling you the motor was overheating. If you kept running it with the overheat alarm sounding, you've probably got serious internal problems. Second, you said "it seems to have" compression. You need to get a compression guage and check each cylinder. They should all read very close to the same compression. If one or more cylinders is reading a lot lower than the others, all the spark, fuel and air in the world is not going to make it run.<br />Good luck.