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Starts, idles...stalls when in gear


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As soon as I put the boat into forward or reverse it stalls. Could this be a problem with the neutral safety?

I thought about jumping/shorting the two terminals on the tranny, but I am not sure what to do there. Would I leave the wires connected and just make a connection between the terminals or disconnect the wires and just jump the terminals or what? IF that is the problem.

The problem is that I dont want to put it in gear out of the water...right?...I have a flush system installed so running the motor out of the water is o.k., but I dont think I should put it in gear out of the water.

Mike.

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A quick note...last time out we completely destroyed the impeller and the engine got pretty hot. We caught that before it cooked though. I dont think we hurt anything there because it starts, idles, revs like normal in Neutral.

Mike

Edited by TeamLombo
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my bet is fuel related and/or vacuum leak. I've never had a bad NSS act like that though.

you'll want to make sure it is timed properly and getting a good spark before looking to far into the carb.

when at hot and idle spray some quick start (ether) at the intake manifold and the base of the carb to see if the rpms fluctuate. if they do then you have a vacuum leak and its time to replace gaskets.

next thing you'll want to check is the gas tank vent or anti-syphon valve if it has one - they can get clogged, but I doubt that is your problem (have to check).

next: check carb and fuel system components.

the carb could need a rebuild or replacement, could be blockage in the fuel system as well, but that may be coincidental.

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Thanks for the help. I am not second guessing what was said above, I am trying to learn. But, would a fuel problem present itself when put into gear and not while in neutral. It runs great (idle, rev) in neutral. Would that be because of running it under a load when in gear?

Mike.

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yes it absolutely could, because like you said its under load.

like I said though; check for vacuum leaks before you tear into the carb and make sure the timing is correct.

also, does it do it all the time? hot/cold

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I thought neutral safety only prevented cranking while not in neutral, what you're describing would either be fuel or ignition related (not cranking, since you're already cranked) but I could be wrong in that.

My '90 with 351pcm carby would idle and rev fine and stall out when put in gear:

Short term I did the following:

1.) raised the idle set screw level (worked but putting into gear at high idle is probably hard on the tranny, didn't really address my problem)

2.) rebuild the carb and cleaned out the idle mixture circuits (was also trying to fix a hesitation out of the gates) helped, but...

3.) choke. bingo, this was my issue. The electric choke was all whaked out of adjustment & sticky. Once I got this dialed in, putting in gear didn't cause a stall.

Even though it seemed like I was idling fine and revved fine, it wasn't, and the resistance caused by engaging in gear / tranny / prop caused it to instantly stall. Do you have this issue warm, cold or both? (doubt you need carb rebuild but could check your choke easy enough)

With all that said, the only thing that changed with you is that you overheated. That overheat may have rendered your tranny cooler (if you have one)useless and done some damage to your tranny in the process. The resistance encountered when putting into gear would kill the motor. These things don't have a torque converter so if the prop can't spin via the tranny, you stall, right? Did you check / change tranny fluid?

Edited by Green_Giant
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Did you recently have your carburetor rebuilt or adjusted? Try increasing your fuel/air mixture screws (both sides) about 1/4 turn out. Then reset your idle speed with the idle speed screw. The mixture screws should be set using a vacuum gage with the engine at idle and in gear in the water.

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If you have a Mercruiser 350, I had the same issue and it was the electric choke. There was a wire that ran to the altenator and plugged on a little post. It had been knocked off when we changed the spark plugs, so it was running rich. The choke was closed all the time.To check and see if it is working, start engine and put your finger on one of the brass colored posts and see if it gets hot within a few mins. If it does your choke is at least working. You then might need to check where it is set.

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Thanks again to everyone for their input.

I started with the air/fuel mixtures and then the idle on the carb. That simple step seemed to have worked. We ran the boat all weekend with absolutely no issues. It is idling great at 750 right now with easy movement right into gear. The only strange thing is that i need to give it slightly more throttle than before to start when it is cold. I think after our upcoming Shasta trip I might pull the carb and rebuild it. I just dont want to monkey with it right before a long trip.

Thanks again,

Mike.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 10 years later...

Have a similar issue, over the weekend with a 200hp EFI. After riding all day, switched tanks and within a few minutes it would only run in safe mode. Dies the second it’s pulled back to neutral. Won’t start or run any other way. Seems to obviously be a fuel issue. But has fresh gas, fuel filter, fuel pump, and good fuel prime. Not a mechanic at all but would appreciate being pointed in a possible direction. 
 

 

Edited by DanShafer
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9 hours ago, DanShafer said:

Have a similar issue, over the weekend with a 200hp EFI. After riding all day, switched tanks and within a few minutes it would only run in safe mode. Dies the second it’s pulled back to neutral. Won’t start or run any other way. Seems to obviously be a fuel issue. But has fresh gas, fuel filter, fuel pump, and good fuel prime. Not a mechanic at all but would appreciate being pointed in a possible direction. 

If it died soon after switching tanks, your second tank has water or crud in it. 

A second tank in a Malibu....

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  • 2 years later...

Hi...i have a 1996 175 hp merc...water pump went bad i fix it my self and now stalls out when i put it in gear but before the pump it rane perfect....have tu put it in 15000 rpm so can take the gear without stalling out but is bad for the tranny ...please any advice???

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