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October 2017 13 boatingonthehudson.com
BOAT TALKWITH
Alex Salomatoff.
Alex
Salomatoff
If you have a question for Master Mechanic and Owner of Alex’s
Marine Plus in New Windsor, NY, simply call Alex at 845-565-9199
or e-mail,
Alex’s Marine Plus
2907 Rte 9W Suite 200,
NewWindsor, NY 12553
(845) 565-9199
alexsmarineplus.com
You Have Boat
Questions and
Exper t Mechanic
Alex Salomatoff
Has Answers!
Boating On The Hudson is
starting our brand new Call-In
Online Radio Talk Show That Is
All About Boat Repair called “Ask
Alex!”
Alex Salomatoff is the Owner and
an Extraordinarily Exceptional
Mechanic at Alex’s Marine Plus in
New Windsor, NY. If you have any
questions at all about your boat,
your trailer or your Jet-Ski, Simply
Call or Text Lex Now at 845-363-
0004 to arrange a time ASAP to
ask your question directly to Alex
“On The Air.”
Help me Alex: My engine stalls in neutral, at idle, only.
For example your outboard starts right up, keeps running with throttle applied
in neutral, but shuts down the moment you come back to idle speed in neutral,
the issue is likely to be a sticky or broken AIS (automatic idle speed) valve. This
valve controls idle speed by regulating air intake, and when it gets stuck in the
wrong position, it can shut you down cold.
Answer: You need to clean or replace the valve; replacing is the favored
option, because once the valve fails you, it always seems to get stuck again
at some point down the road. (Again a poor design and poor quality part)
In this case you should bring it in and we will find it quickly for you. If you
want to try to replace it yourself you can save yourself a trip by starting
with the throttle slightly advanced in neutral, and bringing the throttle
back as close to idle as possible without actually going into idle. In most
cases, you’ll be turning about 700 RPM. Then shift into idle and then
directly into forward, without any hesitation or pause. It may take a few
tries, but when you do it fast enough, you can get the engine into forward
while it’s still running. Once it’s in gear and running, your problems are
over (throughout the RPM range).
We don’t recommend this as it is not designed to be used this way,
however you can get away with it for awhile, just remember not to shift
back into neutral, or the engine will cut out again. This is why we don’t
recommend this. Shifting this fast can be hard on the engine; it’s okay to
do it once or twice to save the day, but before taking the boat out again
please drop it off at our shop as sooner than later it will lead to much more
expensive problems.