Well...it is about a year later and I'm experiencing this issue again, but it seems to have become a little more serious/evident. I don't run the motor from December-April each year. Boat is in storage and is winterized before storage. (2000 Merc 150 efi)
Engine seems to idle fine.
Engine will "skip?/die" if throttle is applied too quickly.
If I throttle up slowly, the motor "skips?" but will not die.
Even after a slow throttle up, the motor will often die/skip at WOT.
Last year, replacing the water serperating fuel filter seemed to do the trick.
This year, there is no water evident in the fule filter.
I never replaced the in line filters, $ availability ain't what it used to be, so I'd like to have a decent idea what to tell the tech to expect when I visit. All the techs I"ve worked with are great, but I don't know anyone that specializes in mercury, or even outboards. Maine is a small place and shops just don't see the amount of work on each make/model to make common diagnoses without a lot of trial and error...refer to the $ comment.
-Could this be a spark plug issue?
-I've run the fuel tank on pretty low for the last two seasons. It has been 3 years since the tank has been full. Is there a chance I've built up a lot of nastyness in the bottom of the tank doing this?
-Are the "inline fuel filters" something a guy with a wal*mart took kit can replace? (that's me, not a tech)
Thanks again in advance for the expert advice!
mcbass 5/21/08
Greetings,
I have a 2000 2~ merc efi 150. Recently, it started "dying" most times out of the hole and many times while operating between 85-100% WOT. The motor just loses all power in a very short (almost instant) timeframe. Most of the time it will stall completely when this happens. If I "ease up" on the throttle, IE don't "punch it" the problem happens less.
I think the issue started when I bought gas at a place I'd never done so at before, not sure though. First thing I did was empty the water separating fuel filter. I'm pretty sure that there was water in it, although, I'd had no alarm indicating so. (I'd experienced the alarm a couple of years ago caused by this, I emptied, it went away). I also ran some stuff that was supposed to absorb any water in the gas and fuel system too. It wasn't merc or marine stuff, but it indicated that it was safe for 2~ outboards...
Anyhow...The problem went away, for a day or two. First thing I noticed the instant I ran it was the it seemed to have ALOT more power. I hadn't noticed the loss of performance prior to this, so I guess it took a while to happen and snuck up on me. ($gas=I drive slower). After a trip or two (less than an hour of outboard operaton) the issue returned. I re-emptied the filter and it went away again, but now has returned. The engine idles fine, as far as I can tell....and will only lose power when "punched" or near/at WOT.
MY QUESTIONS:
1. Do the water seperating fuel filters (Part # 35-18458T {or Q} 4) go bad? I've purchased a new one, even though the one I'm running looks great. The one on the motor is the one that came with it in 2000.
2. According to the merc parts schematic I use online there are 6 inline filters (Part # 35- 17422) in the "fuel management system". Could all of these or just a few or just one be causing this issue?
3. The tech I talked to also indicated that my fuel pump may be going bad. Does this sound like and issue where this may be the case. Is there anyway I could test this?
4. Could this be something else?
Thanks in advance for helping me out.
Regards,
mcbass
Engine seems to idle fine.
Engine will "skip?/die" if throttle is applied too quickly.
If I throttle up slowly, the motor "skips?" but will not die.
Even after a slow throttle up, the motor will often die/skip at WOT.
Last year, replacing the water serperating fuel filter seemed to do the trick.
This year, there is no water evident in the fule filter.
I never replaced the in line filters, $ availability ain't what it used to be, so I'd like to have a decent idea what to tell the tech to expect when I visit. All the techs I"ve worked with are great, but I don't know anyone that specializes in mercury, or even outboards. Maine is a small place and shops just don't see the amount of work on each make/model to make common diagnoses without a lot of trial and error...refer to the $ comment.
-Could this be a spark plug issue?
-I've run the fuel tank on pretty low for the last two seasons. It has been 3 years since the tank has been full. Is there a chance I've built up a lot of nastyness in the bottom of the tank doing this?
-Are the "inline fuel filters" something a guy with a wal*mart took kit can replace? (that's me, not a tech)
Thanks again in advance for the expert advice!
mcbass 5/21/08
Greetings,
I have a 2000 2~ merc efi 150. Recently, it started "dying" most times out of the hole and many times while operating between 85-100% WOT. The motor just loses all power in a very short (almost instant) timeframe. Most of the time it will stall completely when this happens. If I "ease up" on the throttle, IE don't "punch it" the problem happens less.
I think the issue started when I bought gas at a place I'd never done so at before, not sure though. First thing I did was empty the water separating fuel filter. I'm pretty sure that there was water in it, although, I'd had no alarm indicating so. (I'd experienced the alarm a couple of years ago caused by this, I emptied, it went away). I also ran some stuff that was supposed to absorb any water in the gas and fuel system too. It wasn't merc or marine stuff, but it indicated that it was safe for 2~ outboards...
Anyhow...The problem went away, for a day or two. First thing I noticed the instant I ran it was the it seemed to have ALOT more power. I hadn't noticed the loss of performance prior to this, so I guess it took a while to happen and snuck up on me. ($gas=I drive slower). After a trip or two (less than an hour of outboard operaton) the issue returned. I re-emptied the filter and it went away again, but now has returned. The engine idles fine, as far as I can tell....and will only lose power when "punched" or near/at WOT.
MY QUESTIONS:
1. Do the water seperating fuel filters (Part # 35-18458T {or Q} 4) go bad? I've purchased a new one, even though the one I'm running looks great. The one on the motor is the one that came with it in 2000.
2. According to the merc parts schematic I use online there are 6 inline filters (Part # 35- 17422) in the "fuel management system". Could all of these or just a few or just one be causing this issue?
3. The tech I talked to also indicated that my fuel pump may be going bad. Does this sound like and issue where this may be the case. Is there anyway I could test this?
4. Could this be something else?
Thanks in advance for helping me out.
Regards,
mcbass
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