stupid question of the night

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sichef

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new to boating when i bought my small boat it came with a 2.5hp mercury outboard the seller told me that it did not need a kill cord [not sure how old it is] and he had recently used it but i cannot get it started any ideas please /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Some of these small engines did not have a 'kill cord' but a 'Stop' button on the front of the engine. Regarding starting - do you have a spark? If so then it must be fuel related. As it;s a Two-Stroke the carburettor could be gummed up. Strip it down and clean out all the jets etc. You can use 'Carb Cleaner' which is excellent. Use fresh petrol and it should start assuming it has compression. Oh and fit a new spark plug.
 
If it has a small button on the front that can be pulled out and not pushed in that is the kill cord switch and to complete it there is a plastic spiral stretchy cord that clips to your belt or goes around your wrist. The other end has a tapered "U" section that goes behind the button holding it out and thus completing the ignition circuit allowing the engine to run. If missing you will not start the engine. The whole idea is if you fall overboard the engine stops preventing that nasty red cloud in the water as the prop minces you.

If it actually is not set up with a kill cord switch but a stop button you push to stop, then check you have correct fuel mix ratio and fresh fuel, check plug and spark, if plug dry clean carb jets especially slow running, and so on. Just like you'd do with your mower at home. Good Luck.
 
ID the year from HERE (looks like it'll be from sometime in the 1990s)

You should be able to download an owners manual from the download center HERE (There's a year identifier on the same site I now notice!)

Even if the engine does not use a kill cord it presumably has a kill button. Make sure that is releasing and not shorting out.

Check for a spark You should get a good fat blue spark that will jump well over 1/4"
Often worth changing the plug as well.

Ditch all old fuel and make fresh, I'd expect a 50:1 mix unless truly ancient, but check with the manual.

When you have got it going consider changing the water pump impeller (I guess its water cooled) and the gear oil.

BTW do not run or even attempt to start it dry or you will wreck the pump impeller.

Well worth reading http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=158086 and following some of the other suggestions as well
 
If it has old fuel in ditch it and put in new.......petrol does go off especially in a small outboard......make sure all the old fuel is drained from the carburetor to.
 
My motor went dead as a dodo.

The kill button is sprung and will stop the engine if it is not lifted off the contact. I used a small cable tie as a collar to do that as original 'fork' was missing.

Motor only stops when I press the button ie. I've lost the man overboard safety feature.
 
Have you remembered to open the vent on top of the filler cap, also regap the spark plug,usually.024-.028".If old fuel could be grunge in the jets. Have you got the correct plug type for the model you have?Often the basic things that cause starting problems.
ianat182
 
Apologies if this sounds dense, but have you switched the fuel on? On mine I go through the same routine each time - 1/ open the fuel breather on top of the filler cap, 2/. Set the choke (engine's cold so needs some help) 3/. Set the throttle to just a little on.. 4/. Check make sure she's not in gear 5/. Pull the cord a few times and mine usually goes...

If you've changed fuel & spark plug, tried the above and it still isn't going, then I would ask the previous owner if he has any suggestions, if not possible then with my skill level I'd take it to the outboard shop and ask them to service it while mentioning my problem... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif)
 
Just been through this with a 2HP Mariner. Changed fuel, completely cleaned the carb, gapped the plugs, even gapped the points. Never did get to see a spark. Then used electric drill and socket on the flywheel nut to turn it over (arm had nearly fallen off from using the recoil starter). Even so, it must have taken 20 mins of spinning to get it to fire and run. After letting it run for 20 mins it now starts first pull virtually every time. It's almost as though it was 'charging up' the coils or magnets or something. Very wierd.
 
If it's reasonably new then, as described above, the red stop button has to be held OUT by the kill cord end. It's easy to get a spare if you haven't got one, but you could try slipping a couple of coins or similar (about 2mm thick on mine)(more like 8 or 10 on closer look) behind the button on either side to see if the engine will then fire.

The test is of course the spark: stop button held in by spring = no spark at plug, button held out by cord end or similar = spark at plug.

If you've been trying for while with no spark it will probably be flooded, so leave the spark plug out for a while and allow any petrol in cylinder to evaporate.
 
If the kill cord has a ring on one end, then it has the same arrangement as my 15HP Mercury and can be run without the kill cord.

There is a small toggle switch which, when it is flipped down to enable the ignition, traps this ring.

When the ring is pulled out, it flips the switch up to kill the ignition. Look for this switch (on mine its on the starboard side) and flip it down, with or without the kill-cord ring.

Good luck.

PS. Mine also has a kill button in the centre of the twist throttle.
 
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