Way2slow

OK Well, check the things suggested and make sure trimming in far enough. How many bolt holes is the motor raised?

Adjust all three evenly for now. going out about a 1/4 turn each time to see if that helps. Now, you could have some sort of ignition problem where it's loosing a couple of cylinders causing the problem, but I would start with the carbs.

Low speed are the idle mixture. Those are the only ones that are adjustable. Normally, if you adjust a two stroke motor so it idles the best and smoothest, it bogs on acceleration and sometimes lean spits. Mercury even put and idle control module on that motor to help make it idle smoother. Lets also state what I have said many times, I am not a Mercury person. The only reason I know much of anything about your motor is my dad had one, and I wound up with it and let my brother keep the boat it's on at the lake where he lives. So, I've had to work on it a few times and had to buy a factory manual for it, which I gave to him and he says I didn't.

Well, the stock is made, recoil pad is fitted on and the pillars are in and everything is bedded but free floated the barrel. Sanding is done, just waiting on a dye I want to try, which should be here in a day or two. Gonna try it on some scrap and see if it does what I want to make the grain pop even more, if not, I'll just finish the raw wood. Then all that will be left is the checkering, and not really looking forward to that job. Should have some completed pictures in a week or so. I will say for my first rifle stock, it turned out OK. There were some screw ups and lessons learned, but most of those, I'm the only one that would notice without someone that really knew there stuff examining it closely.

The way I measure prop height is, park the boat on a level surface, using the tongue jack, I level the boat by holding about a 4' level, 2' if you don't have a 4', on the bottom of the pad (very bottom surface of the hull). Set a level on the anti-cavitation plate and level it with the trim. Then I measure from the surface up to the bottom of the pad. Then measure from the surface up to the center of the prop/prop shaft. Subtract the prop shaft measurement from the pad measurement and that gives you distance the prop is below the pad. Just what the motor should be set at is dependent on a whole slew of things, the boat itself, the set back, type prop, how much cupping the prop has are three of the main ones. It's been many years since I've messed with a Ranger, but they used to be real sensitive to the type prop to get good bow lift. They had an eight inch limit on the size jack plate you could run without voiding the hull warranty, of course I think 27 years has probably voided the warranty anyway. First thing you need to do is make sure the motor is trimming in fully. The mid section should be at a noticeable inward angle toward the front of the boat. If it's not, make sure they don't have the trim stop out a couple of holes. From there, with no jack plate, I would probably try the prop and about 4 1/2" to 5" below the pad. It just seems strange the person you bought the boat from operated like that. Have you asked if that was the way it did with him, because it really sounds like operator error.

Sounds like the low speed jets to too lean, open each one about a 1/4 turn and see what it does. Understand, the carbs on that motor are a mother bear. I went through a set three times and adjusted them an 1/2 dozen before I ever got it to run right. If it does ok there, you can try leaning them back a little at the time if it idles too bad.

I hope "over 10,000 rpm" is a typo or math error. I would think 5,500 or maybe 6,000 would be the max for that motor.

This will show you were it's at. Item 28 http://shop2.evinrude.com/Index.aspx?s1=hpqkd6v8n4p2ekp545hb0ai6u2&catalog_id=0&siteid=1 OOPs, it only get you to the main index. select year then select hp then select model then select fuel bracket and components Then look at item 28, you can blow the page up by clicking the + in top left corner If you haven't replaced the spark plugs, it would be a good time to do that. Use Champion plugs in it.

That should be the 115 looper. Are you running the oil injection? It does have a fuel filter, but not one that is obvious, it inside the vapor housing. Do you know where the fuel filter is at? When it starts running bad, have you tried having someone pump the primer bulb while its not running right to see if it clears up. That an easy way to check if it's a fuel delivery problem. If the primer is weak and mushy, it may have a fuel pickup problem at the tank. Have you take the cover off and pump the primer bulb and held pressure on it to see if there are any leaks. Doing this pressurizes the whole fuel system, so if there are any fuel leaks, that means they might be sucking air when the pump is trying to pull fuel. The gasket around the cowling can be glued with 3M weather strip adhesive. The problem is, the best stuff comes in two different ones so you need to know what kind of rubber it is, and I don't know.

They made three different 115's in 98. the looper, the crossflow and the Ficht, all three are totally different. Unless you know which one it is, need the model number. Without knowing the motor, it's like trying to tell how to trouble shoot a Ford when you are driving a Volkswagon. There is that much difference between the three motors.

All these recommendations and know one knows what the motor is, other than a 115 Rude. There are a number of different 115s. Without knowing year model, it may or may not have a fuel filter unless someone added an after market, it may or may not be DFI, it may or may not have oil injection, which means there are several different fuel pumps it could have. So all you are doing is recommending things that may not even apply to this motor.

Looking at the plug you are using, do you have a in the control panel in the front of the boat and a switch labeled at charge and 12/24? I would have thought by 2003 they did away with that junk by then but looking at your plug, I guess not. First thing you need to do is get rid of that plug, did you not see the red letters on it saying 30amp. When you see smoke coming out of the that control panel, it's because you have fried that plug and receptacle that it goes in. The reason for the two red wires, most likely that thing was wired for the old 12/24 volt trolling motors. They may even have the charge switch that put the two batteries in parallel and they could be charged with a 12 Volt charger from that receptacle. So, do yourself a favor and get you a couple SB-50 connectors that you don't have to worry about going up in flames, take those two red wires up front and connect them both into on pin on the SB-50 and connect both the other ends to the positive post on the battery. It will give you a whole lot more efficient operation. If you do get the SB-50 connectors, they are the same, one just flips over and plugs into the other. They come in the size wire you plan to use. The housing a pins are the same except for the hole in the back of the pin for the wires, they are different sizes for the size cable. Also, make sure they are two the same color. They are keys so only like colors plug together.

What year model is it. There are some major differences in different year models.

OK, One thing, if you are taking pictures of the actual boat and motor. Let me suggest a couple. Take one of the vent holes in the prop. Those are the holes on the back side of the blade if it has them. Some props have interchangeable vents and if they are all out, the holes are massive and will cause your problem. Get down at the rear of the boat so you are level the bottom of the pad and take one of the motor from the center of the back. Want to see about how far the prop shaft is below the pad. Take one from the side with the motor trimmed all the way down/in so we can see about what angle it is fully tucked. Take couple of the prop from the exhaust end, up close so nothing but the prop is in the picture. Want to see condition and cupping on the blade. Now, if it's a black prop like in the picture above, don't bother, it's not going to have any of the things I'm looking for.

That looks like a plain Jane general purpose aluminum prop. Even if was working, that prop needs to go in the back as a spare. Do a little research and see what prop most are getting the best performance out of on the same boat/motor combination. That one fits in the grocery getter category, it gets you there and back but don't expect more. As WRB stated, looks like someone is pulling a prop swap and wanting to give you a $200 prop in the place of a $600 one. With that being said, if the boat was setup for a high rake, cupped, SS prop and they just slapped that one on, the motor is most like set too high. To run that prop, the motor will probably have to be set so the prop shaft is at least 4" below the pad and maybe lower. With the right SS prop, you will be amazed at the difference in performance . Hole shot will be better, it will pop the bow and hold it when you really want to air it out and will probably see several MPH more in speed. Now, don't just run down and buy any SS prop, the reason there are so many different ones, every boat and motor combination from every manufacture has different characteristics that make them do better with the right prop. On that boat, you need to be looking at high rake props that give good bow lift, and some stern lift. If Bob Lipton still owns Performance Props in St. Charles, give him a call and see what he might have or can recommend for you. The guy was a magician when it comes to making a prop work. One note, that sounds like a very nice boat, did you ask if it has a hydraulic jack plate. If it does, go down on it and make sure the motor is fully tucked.

Anything much cheaper than those suggested is called an anchor.

That's called cavitation. It either has a prop problem or a setup problem, UNLESS, you were not trimming it in, or trying to trim it out too fast as it's laying over. I like to come out of the hole and start trimming out just as it's starting to lay over. It makes the motor cavitate slightly so the rpm jumps up a little but then it's gone like bullet. Get it right and it sound neat. Get wrong and you blow the prop out and have to throttle back, let it catch and go again. Then it could be the prop. I have a 26" raker that runs on my 225 just fine, put it on my modified motor, and it does just what you are saying, you have to nurse it on plane. I had to install a hydrofoil to get it to come out of the hole until I had Bob Lipton tune me a prop for it. The dorky looking hydrofoil helped the hole shot so much, I put it back on even after getting the tuned prop.

99% chance that it's most likely not really a new powerhead. A few might be remanufactured powerheads by a reputable company and a small percentage of those might be done by the manufacture. Be surprised at how many people do what it takes to get one running again and the pawn it of "new" remanufactured, or even rebuilt. It's just had the minimum needed to get it running. Ask them how long, if it still has a warranty and show you the paper work. If they start making excuses, thank them for letting you see it and walk away. If they produce a repair bill from a shop that does not say replaced powerhead but list a bunch or part or says rebuilt powerhead, again be cautious. Even then, it's still a used motor and having a "new" powerhead really does not increase the value over the same boat with a good running motor. It just makes it worth more than it would be if they were trying to sell it with a blown powerhead.

For 36 volts. Connect the Trolling motors positive Red cable to the positive terminal of battery 1, connect the negative of battery one to the positive of battery 2, connect the negative of battery 2 to the positive of battery three, and connect the negative of battery three to the Trolling motors negative Black cable. Those small wires for the charger will connect to each individual battery with the red going to the positive and black going to the negative. Batteries 1,2 and 3 can be what ever battery you want to make them so the interconnect cables will reach. Now, is that one new battery connected to two older batteries or does the picture just make it look that way. Reason I ask, when running batteries in series it's very important for all batteries be of the same age, size and type, it's best if they even have the same lot number. If not it can cause problems with their load distribution and basically kill the stronger battery. Another thing I noticed, for a series connection, those interconnect cables look mighty small. Unlike a parallel connection where each battery is sharing the load so if the TM is pulling 50 amps, each battery is only seeing a share of the amps, in a series connection all batteries have the same load so if the TM is pulling 50 amps, all three batteries are seeing 50 amps. So, for that kind of a load, I would want at least 6 gauge interconnect cables and those look more like they are 10 gauge. To small of a cable and the resistance created kills a lot of the benefit of going to 36 volts. After looking again, they might be larger, than 10, I was seeing the charger cables at first.

It's coming from the motor. Actually, your guess might be right, but if it's not a major operation to get that lower cover off, you might want to remove it so you can see.

Looking at your bottom picture, I see something that doesn't look right to me. That U shaped bracket at the front of the bracket that wire is bolted to, going around the swivel shaft, I see daylight between the shaft and that bracket. I would think there is supposed to be a bushing there. You can go online and look at a parts diagram of your motor and see, but my basic knowledge of how things work says it looks like there is something missing there. That may just be a support bracket for that lower mount, but from the picture it doesn't look right with the end of that shaft sticking down unsupported.

Look on your mounting brackets that bolt the motor to the boat, maybe right on the very bottom. The T&T is mounted inside the motor mounts so it has to bolt to them somewhere. You should be able to find the other eyelet with maybe a little of the ground strap sticking out. (or the T&T housing) After seeing your picture, there won't be any voltage on that piece. I thought from the first pic that was mounted to the motor mount, but that's the other end that ties it to the midsection and the midsection is bolted directly to the block, which probably also has a ground strap but may just depend on the physical connection since it has several very large studs mounting it. If the short still exist, the motor mount will be showing a voltage between it and the battery negative, (make sure you get on bare metal, the paint don't conduct) or the midsection/block, or between the motor mount and the bolt holding the burnt wire. There should be absolutely no (zero) voltage showing on the voltmeter when you check it. If the positive source burnt itself clear, it will come back, and this time, if it can get a good enough ground through the pivot, it's going to smoke the wires in the motor and possibly cause a fire inside it. That could ruin your day. One other thing, if it has enough resistance to keep from setting itself on fire, it will most likely drain you battery. So if you wind up with a dead battery, you will know what caused it. So, basically, I would disconnect my cranking battery until I found the source of the short.

Didn't notice I was in the wrong post.

Forgot to mention, you need to replace that ground strap. Without it, the T&T motor is having to depend on metal to metal contact in the pivot or something else for a negative source. Meaning, if there is no metal to metal contact, the T&T is not going to run or run much slower if there is much resistance at that contact point. Also, normally the wires that are large enough to carry that much current are red, but that may not always be the case, but I would be checking all the larger red wires first.

That's the ground strap that grounds the motor mount to the main engine. The only thing that could have caused that was the T&T motor or wiring going. The first thing I would do is take a volt meter and see if I read voltage from the end in the picture to the negative post on the battery. If there is voltage, that means there is still a short on that motor mount. A fairly large positive wire had to have shorted to the mount to cause that, one that could handle more current than that ground strap. When a short happens, the smaller current source is the one that smokes, so the what ever shorted had to have been a bigger/better conductor than that ground strap. The T&T motor has fairly large wires going to it so I would make sure none have worn and shorted where they go through the hole in the mount. I would the cause because next time, you could be on the water and it get inside the motor cover, bad things could happen then.