I have had a hellva time getting my pontoon going for the summer.

Background:
I have a 05 merc 9.9 4 stroke (serial 0r064498) rigged to my 09 suntracker.

I rigged the motor myself so maybe something is wrong with my controls that could cause this issue.

The issue:
I can't not get it to fire up. When I turn the key, it just cranks (turns over) but does not start.

I know it takes fuel, air, & spark.

I have spark. I grounded each plug and it did arc a spark.

I thought maybe it was the fuel line so I replace ever aspect of that. (new tank, line, bulb, fittings)

Still after that it would not prime. I did get it to get hard once but the outboard would not start still.

I followed the fuel around to the fuel pump and disconnected the line on the carb side to see if fuel poured out, which it did.

So that leads me to a possible carb problem.

I'm somewhat mechanical but I've not worked with carbs before.

Also. Not sure if this matters but, I'm using a portable 6 gal tank. I have it on the rear back deck of the toon. It sets about 6 inches higher than the fuel line connection on the outboard. I wouldn't think that would be my problem though.

I sure would appreciate any advice in this matter.

New update.

If I spray carb cleaner into the carb I can get the outboard to fire up for a quick few seconds then it dies. We pulled apart the carb and the float looked okay but we pulled it and cleaned it well.

After we put it back on, it still was doing the same thing and would not start.

This leads me to believe it is again a fuel problem.
I know my tank and lines are good. They are brand new.

I wonder if it's the fuel pump.

Could it still be a carb issue too? I guess what I dont know is if the carb is flooded, will it still start if you spray fuel into the carb?

Second, is there any way to test and see if it's the pump?

Any help would be great.

Thanks

I wouldnt use carb cleaner if its 2 stroke..

I dont know too much about those engines but i can try to help you from what i know.. At the end of the fuel line where does it go.. Do to fuel pump.. or carbs??.. on the carb.. there should be a drain on the bottom of it.. i would take the drain out.. while you pump the ball.. you should start getting fuel coming out of the bottom of the carb.

It's a 4 stroke so no problem there. The fuel line travel towards the back of the motor. On the back, it attaches to a fuel pump and a new fuel goes to the bottom of the carb.

I will pull the drain plug and prime the bulb.

If there is fuel coming out, what does that mean? Bad fuel pump or could I still have a carb issue?

Thanks

Btw, I've order a new pump and will hopefully get it by this weekend.

Thanks again for your reply.

It was not the pump...

Guess I'll move to the carb.

I own an 05 15hp electric. My guess is the float neddle is jammed up into the
seat and no gas is in the float bowl. or it is loaded with gunk. Ifyou haveno eperience with carbs I would fill the bowl with Seafoam and let it sit for 15 minutes before you pull the drain plug at the side of the bowl. Try to catch the stuff that comes out and examin it you may still have to pull the carb down if there is alot junk in it. I made a fitting that alows me to put the seafoam directly into the drain port. Besure when you refill you use good gas.
also open the throtle enough to open the buterfly to start position. It is a great little engine but the carb can get messed up easly! Good Luck!

Pull the carb, get a can of Mercury Power Tune, carefully take the carb apart on a clean bench.
The idle/air screw will need to be adjusted so before you remove it GENTLY turn it in until it bottoms out counting the amount of turns.
after the carb is apart use the straw that comes with the Power Tune and spray it into every hole, crack and crevasse you can find inside the carb.
Let it set for a few hours then drain all of the puddles out and re-spray, this time looking for the Power Tune to be coming out somewhere else when you spray it into a hole.
When it does that plow the carb out with compressed air and reassemble. It is a good idea to use a toothpick with a piece of cotton (picture a miniature Q Tip) and put it down into the seat where the float needle goes and give it a couple of turns to remove any sticky varnish out.
Reassemble, If you haven't bent the tang the float needle hangs from then no float adjustment will be needed.
If it is in question, put the float/needle assy back in and turn the carb upside down, the float should be just parallel with the bowl gasket surface.
Re-install the idle/air screw and back it out to the setting you noted when you took it out.
Put the carb back on and go boating!