Hi Guys. I've got a 1994 SeaRay with a mercruiser alpha 1 3.0L engine. Its been very reliable until last summer. We took our annual week on the lake and on day 2 in the morning it wouldn't start. It lit for 2 seconds on the first try, died and then wouldn't do anything but grind after that. You can see fuel being sprayed into the bowl when you pump the throttle, but I couldn't figure a way to check spark without better tools. Anyway I got lucky and got it to a mechanic that day. He replaced the distributor, plugs and wires (odd because it had been done 2 seasons ago) but it worked. Boat started fine. Used it the rest of the day. Next morning, same problem lit for 2 seconds then just turns over and over. So I poured a little gas in the carb. It runs for 4 seconds and dies. I did some research and saw some posts here and elsewhere on `cold start` issues. So I waited until it warmed up to about 70 degrees. And it started. So I put it on the trailer and brought it home. Now it starts fine in the driveway. Could it really be the air temp that's the problem? I mean it's Seattle in the summer, Which is cool in the mornings (like 50 degrees) but doesn't seem cold enough to matter. What might cause intermittent issues like this? Some posts say the coil maybe? What about the shift cutout switch? Appreciate any ideas.
