1988 175 HP Mercury

by Kurt
(Ozark, AR, Franklin)

I have just been given a 1988 Ranger bass boat with a Mercury 175 HP motor. I know very little about boat motors. I can not get it to start. It did not have a battery, so I tried to use jumper cables from my car. It bearly turned over. Then I hooked another set of cables from my son's truck. Not a lot of difference. It turns over pretty easy with the plugs out. It has not been started in two years. Has fire at the plugs. I put fuel in the cylinders and it "popped" once. Never got it to do it again. My dad said to check the starter since it turns over so hard. The key switch stopped working (like a fuse blew) so I just jump around the solenoid when I try to turn it over. What do I need to do? How big a battery does this thing take to start? Thanks for the help and assume I know nothing. There are no silly suggestions.