I have a 115hp mercury outboard engine,can these motors get out of time.?

Question

If they can "Jump Time" what does it cost to correct the problem. How do you check for this.

Answer 1

You don't say what year or if its a 2 or 4 stroke. The really old Merc 115s had a distributor on them and could get out of time. The next design had no distributor but had a Stator and a pickup under the flywheel with rectifiers and switch boxes taking care of spark. There is a timing pick up adjustment  (look at the throttle arm, there is a s***w adjustment) that is checked with a timing light. Its actually easy IF you have a manual that tells you the numbers you need. If you took it to a shop I would say they will charge you at least an hours labor.

Answer 2

Any motor can get out of time, whether it be gas or diesel, two cycle or four.

Answer 3

the belt or chain located on top of the motor is a timing belt make sure your fly wheel is positioned correctly. if it is and the belt is tight check your spark and if you don't have spark you may have a solenoid out which is the black box on the other side of the spark plug wires.  If you engine is old enough it may even have a distributor cap much unlike a car.  These tend to foul open it up and make sure the bronze piece on the inside isn't corroded if it is replace it rather than attempting to clean it.

Answer 4

If it's a 4-stroke PFI ECM engine it shouldn't happen unless there's a problem with the crankshaft position sensor or the ECM.  

There is undoubtedly a procedure to check the base timing, but I don't know specifically on that engine.

(Assuming you're talking about ignition time rather than camshaft timing.)

Answer 5

First and easyest, check all your spark plugs for black colour around the sparking part, if it is fouled up with black soot and /or greasy then either replace or just clean on a bench grinder using the wire brush wheel. Clean em all up so they shineget the wire right into the part where the spark jumps, then put them back and try again. Out board motors spend a lot of time sitting and dirty spark plugs are common. If it doesn't work check your leads for continuity with a multi-meter. If still no good buy new plugs, Still have problem then Try this. If I have a timing problem on my jet boat I just get some one to drive and I losen the distributor off then turn very slowly untill I get the best performance, then I tighten it again. Bloody easy, but of course you cannot do in a car lol.