I just bought my first boat. It has an '87 Mercury 45 hp (Classic Fifty) engine (ser# 0B298547). <br /><br />First time out it ran fine until about thirty minutes into the outing when it started dying upon putting it into gear and applying throttle. However it cranked fine & throttled up in netural. The only way I could get it going was to apply quick throttle. After a few minutes it began losing power at full throttle but soon started running fine again.<br /><br />Second outing it had some trouble starting and kept losing power (then regaining) at full throttle. After a few minutes it died and we enjoyed a tow back to the ramp. The engine would turn over but didn't seem to be firing.<br /><br />It's getting fuel. I cleaned both carbs for good measure. It does not appear to be firing on any of the four cylinders. With a multi-meter, I read ohms to ground on all four plug wires. The kill switch seems to be functioning fine and I'm definately getting power to the wiring harness upon turning the engine over.<br /><br />Does anyone have a 1-2-3 routine on how to diagnose electrical problems (or know of a web site)? I'm pretty ignorant of boat engines but I've gathered some understanding about the stator, trigger, powerpack and coils.<br /><br />Thanks
