engine will not idle

[Sandra Calvin]

I just purchased a 1996 Sea Ray 190 Signature, with a Mercruiser 4.3 LX Gen + Alpha One sterndrive. I took it out on the river and it ran great, even idling thru 3 no wake zones.
But on the way back, at the 3rd no wake zone it idle thru okay but when I went to give it the gas it quit and then would not idle at all. I took it out a few days later to show a friend of mine what is was doing. Ran great again, idled thru the no wake zone and then when I went to give it the gas it quit and then would not stay running after that. I thinking some kind of fuel problem. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

One thing that did happen is a rope got rapped around the prop but I got it off and prop is spinning okay. Is there any possibility that a piece of rope got sucked in?

 

[Hoplite808]

Sounds like a fuel delivery issue. I would check fuel pressure first. You said you just bought it so how old is the fuel in the tank? Was the fuel non-ethanol? When was the last time the fuel/water separator was changed? If it’s carbureted and pressure is good and the fuel hasn’t suffered phase separation I would then try and rebuild the carb with a kit that has a new needle valve and accelerator pump in it. Also try double checking the electric choke.

 

[Sandra Calvin]

Thanks for the info. I'll post if I figure out what it is.