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Hey guys need some help with this. A buddy has this 1982 Merc about 5 years but was sitting un used during that time. Prior owner said it ran when he last had it out but that was some years before my buddy acquired it. After changing all fluids, full tune up, carb rebuild, and of course the obligatory compression test....it ran. Ran well in fact...got it mounted on the back of his classic Whaler..and it still ran. Checked and re-checked as much as possible and all still checked out OK. Bought a new tank for his inagural first run. Got the boat off the trailer and it started and ran fine. Parked his truck after he splashed it at the ramp and still ran fine. Put it in gear and it stalled out..never to be able to be restarted whether mounted on the boat or on the stand. He put a fair amount of time, money, and effort into it and finally got fed up and it now sits in the garage. Can you possibly give me some ideas where to start. As of the last time, it cranks fine but won't start. I know he has not had the lower unit off and doesn't know if its ever been off. I am asking cause Im thinking of taking it off his hands since I need an outboard for mine.Thanks.

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I am not sure about that motor but on my 1994 Mercury there was a fuse located in a black casing under the cowling on the motors starboard side. If that fuse fails the starter will engage but the motor will not start.

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Not to over simplify but it takes three things to run, Fire fuel and oxygen. I pretty sure the air is good. First thing I would do is check the fire at the spark plug. If it’s there it has to be crab related if not its electrical. Could be a fuse, could be the control module. Does the motor have a kill switch on the controls? There has been a ton of money spent on motors with the pull cord “pulled”.

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I agree, check for spark first. Does the engine sound like it wants to start and then dies? If so I'd check the key switch, if he is using old controls that came with the engine I'd check for a neutral safety switch or a lanyard switch. Many times with a bad key switch you will get power while starting but as soon as you release the switch it will not stay running. Also you said new fuel tank, how about a new fuel line and bulb? only a few bucks and should have been replaced if it sat for years. Keep us posted, I had quite a bit of trouble with a 1989 evinrude but thanks to all the members on here it now runs like it was brand new.

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There is a chance a carb (or two) has injested debris and needs to be cleaned again. It sometimes takes more than one carb cleaning to get them totally clean.

Drain the bowls. Any debris?

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again, not to oversimplify things, but make sure that the spark plugs have a good ground when you are checking them.

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Thanks to all who responded. Gives me ideas where to start. I'm going to take the plunge and grab this and get it to run.

I guess its time to remove the lower unit and check it out. My buddy did not remove it, and he isn't sure if its ever been off. When I remove it am I opening a can of worms? What to look out for when removing it?

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be super careful not to break any of the bolts when you are taking it off. the one under the zinc was broken when we bought the boat and it was a pain.