Low RPMs, no planning

[chiz]

Hi, I'm a new comer to outboards and recently fired mine up after a cold and brutal winter. I didn't winterize the engine. I have it going but it will not fully come up to speed. It just plows through the water at about 3000RPMs. Is this a result of old fuel or maybe off set timming? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[trumpetbucks]

Re: Low RPMs, no planning

By "is this a result of old fuel" I would have to assume you did not change out your gas before running it this year.<br /><br />If you do not FULLY winterize your engine (completely full tank with stabilizer) then you need to drain out all the old fuel (and the fuel lines if you can) and put in fresh fuel. If your tank was only partly full you may also have gotten condensation - water in the gasoline. A fuel/water separator between the tank and the motor is fairly cheap insurance against that problem.<br /><br />If completely new fuel doesn't fix the problem, check timing next.