1982 Mercury 80hp ELPT

by Buck Corrigan
(Revelstoke, BC)

it's a two stroke that starts up fine, idles properly, but when I advance the throttle ,...unless I throw the lever all the way forward, it sputters and dies. I had heard somewhere that this model normally idles on 2 cylinders, and only fires on all four when the throttle is advanced. It just about jumps out of the water when all four cylinders fire, but I don't seem to be able to advance the throttle slowly without it dying. I'm at a loss as to what the problem might be ! After it's run for a few minutes I can throttle back with no problem, and,..throttle up slowly with no problem. Just don't seem to be able to throttle up conservatively when I first start up. Got any ideas?

Thanks
Buck Corrigan