Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hey All,

My buds got a merc 4.3 n alpha drive on his older 1988 Larson.

H'es complaining that it idles too high, but when shifting from fwd to rev or vs versa, it often dies.
Are there 2 idle controls to be set for that? ie idle and idle between shifting?
He'd like to turn it down so he's not idling around so fast, but doesnt want it to die while flipping back n forth...

I know its not a toon, but i figure some of you smart dawgs in here might know...

Yes, there is an interrupt circuit that cuts ignition for a split second to allow for a smooth shift. Follow your shift cable from the helm to the shift interrupt system. That system should have another shift cable coming from it to the outdrive. You should notice the circuit wires coming from your ignition to the system also. That's as far as I can go w/o a photo of it or being there. Well, at least that's how the system worked on my old I/O.

Carb or Injected ? If carb, what happens is there is a fixed adjustment screw at the carb's base with a lockout plug. After several years the carb plug needs to be removed and the carb idle settings adjusted. I'd also suspect a shift interrupt problem as well as the carb needing tweaking. If EFI, it should be scanned by a pro.

Cool!

I will pass the info onto my bud!
Thanks Guys!