help with 1987 50hp mercury

yesterday i was out fishing and while cruising out to a fishing spot my motor quickly dropped rpms and then died, without me doing anything with the throttle. i was just wondering if this had happened to anybody else or if anybody knows what the problem might be. thanks in advance.

[yarcraft91]

You have a long list of possibilities, including....
- Failure of a key ignition part.
- Failure of a fuel pump.
- Overheating.
- Safety lanyard pulled from switch.

[staylor]

...the ignition switch is worn out from 25 years of having a key on a heavy key ring bouncing around. I've seen this farily often on older rigs. In fact, my son had this issue on a 1989 rig that ran fine for 1 season until his 1 lb of keys on a giant key ring failed the switch. You can test via the old car thief's method of a "hot wire'.
Doug

[Jerryv]

That's exactly what happens when you run out of gas!


Jerry

[mudpuppy]

To the original question. Yes I have. To the second question, not without determining if it's a fuel, ignition or powerhead issue first.

[Keith Walters]

I'll bet my money on a deteriorated fuel hose assembly. The ethanol in gasoline eats at the inside of the fuel hose. Flakes and gunk get in the fuel filter and restrict fuel flow. Fuel delivery problems can cause a lean running engine - lean running engine can equal blown powerhead. If your fuel hose has not been replaced in within the last year or so, I would replace the fuel hose assembly and clean/replace any fuel filters.

Good luck and good fishing,

Keith

[djcoop52]

Make sure the vent to gas tanks are open if small 6 gal tanks sometimes the vent will vibrate enough to close off vent. Motor will only suck so long. best to check easiest fixes first usually it is something simple. My old boat 87 with 50 horse merc had this happen to from time to time last year my friend who owns my old boat now had to replace the fuel lines on the motor while we were in Wi. So yours may be getting bad also not a hard job just pickup some fuel line and replace