I need outboard motor suggestions.

[Rosco_B]

I have been having problems with my Mercury 125 1995 2 stroke motor. When I try to start it it barely turns over it seems to try and work really hard (it sounds like the battery is dead) and once it finally starts to turn over then it will start. You turn the key and you get two or three really slow turns of the engine and then it will start turning over faster. If you just got in the boat you would say that the battery is dead. But I know the battery is charged and it is only one year old and it has always seemed funny with this battery. I had this problem two summers ago and I found I had a bad battery I replaced the battery last spring and it has started like this all last summer. My question is I have a smaller cheap fleet farm battery that only has 575 cold cranking amps. Is this to small of a battery for this motor? I don't want to run out and just buy a new battery if that isn't the issue. If there are any test readings I can take with a Volt/Ohm meter to trouble shoot please let me know.

[BoxMN]

Did you check the water level? Sounds real similar to what a low water batt would do. You can always take the batt out of your car/truck and just give it a quick test at the ramp. Easy and won't cost anything other than a few minutes to do the swap.

Good luck.

[Rosco_B]

I just ran out and checked and it is a sealed battery so I can't add water but when I put it in the boat it seemed to have plenty of water in it.

[BoxMN]

Hmmm. I still would bet anything it is the battery. My old buddy ran a battery and tire shop, and he always said "there is no such thing as a maintenance free battery"... but who knows.

It you put a meter on the battery, it should in the 12.3-12.6 volts range. If it is less than that it is not charged fully or not holding a charge.

[tonkapat]

I have a smaller cheap fleet farm battery

There lies the problem.

get a good battery

get a good onboard charger

plug the boat in always when not in use

u will save yourself a lot of money and time by doing it the right way. My batteries are going on 5 years old and are still in great shape. Went through the same b.s. before.

How much is it worth to u that your boat starts when your in the middle of the lake?

[Rosco_B]

I am just wondering if there is anything with the Starter or the solenoid that I should check? I might just try and find another battery to borrow and try starting my motor and see if it starts any easier.

[boatfixer]

Check and clean all connections from the battery to the starter and all the grounds first and have the battery load tested.