I would like to know the proper way to start an outboard motor without
actually starting the ignition of the motor. I am doing this for two
purposes: (1) Do a "load test" on a battery to see how much life the
battery still has remaining. (2) Check the water pump in the lower unit
without risk overheating the engine.

According to the book "The 12-Volt Bible for Boats", the author
suggested the way to do a load test on a battery is by using the
starter as a load without starting the motor. What he said to prevent
the motor to actually start is "disconnect the primary ignition wire
that connects your ignition distributor to a small terminal on the
ignition coil to be safe." I don't understand this in the context of
an outboard motor. Did he mean turning off the "kill switch" (lanyard
stop switch)? Did he mean unplug the wire from all the spark plugs?

I keep having problem using flushing earmuffs to flush the lower unit
of the outboard motor. I cannot see the telltale water stream coming
off from the outboard motor. I can get around with this problem by
running the motor in a small water tank. However, using a flushing
earmuffs is surely more convenient. I want to try a flushing earmuffs
kit that is specifically designed for my outboard motor (Mercury Marine
Outboard). But I want to avoid overheating the motor in case the
flushing earmuffs kit doesn't work. Therefore, I am looking for a way
to start the water pump (in order to see the telltale sign) without
actually starting the motor when I am testing the flushing earmuffs
kit.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Jay Chan

On 25 Nov 2005 07:11:15 -0800, "
wrote:

Did he mean turning off the "kill switch" (lanyard
stop switch)? Did he mean unplug the wire from all the spark plugs?

================================

For your purpose either choice will work, anything that allows the
motor to "turn over" without actually starting.

Harry's advice regarding professional testing is good however.

Did he mean turning off the "kill switch" (lanyard
stop switch)? Did he mean unplug the wire from
all the spark plugs?

For your purpose either choice will work, anything
that allows the motor to "turn over" without actually
starting.

Great! I will use the kill switch to prevent the engine from starting
while I do a load-test on the batteries.

Thanks.

Jay Chan

With my 1993 Merc 150, water doesn't come out of the pee hole until
2100-2200 rpm, using the ear muffs, even with a brand new impeller.

Ron M.

With my 1993 Merc 150, water doesn't come out of the pee hole until
2100-2200 rpm, using the ear muffs, even with a brand new impeller.

Sound like this is a common problem with flushing earmuffs adapter, and
I will only run the motor at idle speed (around 1000 rpm) when I am
flushing the motor or running the motor to winterize the fuel system
anyway. Therefore, seem like this flushing earmuffs adapter is not
suitable for my motor, and I should be using a small water tank. Oh
well...

Jay Chan