Anyone have any advice for me? New to boating. Have a 2003 Baja Outlaw with 305 Mercruiser. Just this weekend an alarm on the boat sounded and at lowest idle the engine dies. Starts fine I can bump the idle up one and it runs great planes out ect. BUT alarm still sounds two beeps every 60 seconds and at lowest idle engine dies. All fluids are full, new fuel filter, battery and boat was kept in excellent condition. Any one have any advice??

Welcome aboard !!

Just a guess here - but it sounds to me like a faulty Netural Saftey Switch.

I'm sure some others will help with some ideas too.

Scott

Welcome to the board.

IAC is bad....just got mine out of the shop for the same thing that you are discribing

see if this link look/sounds like your problem

the beep

Scott,
Thanks for the quick response, we can put it in neutral and throttle up one notch and it idles fine, only at lowest idle.. the boat runs great too. Planed out and ran like a new one!
First how hard to find switch and would this cause alarm to beep twice every 60 secs? Also whats your opinion on it being Idle Air Control sensor prob?

Holy cow! Sounds just like our problem. Hubby put muffs on today flushed out motor,checked every fluid every nook and cranny! Only would not idle at lowest idle speed..would putter out.. Does the mercru people have to be the ones to reset the beeping then after you buy the IAC?

not sure on that if it set a hard code it will not go over 2000 rpms so that you can limp back to a safe place. IMO I would replace the IAC and give it a try. At worst you would pay to clear the code. Mine dosn't beep and it runs great again.

GREAT! It dies under 1000 rpms, we were luckily out of the channel on the river and at the loading dock. He could bump up to higher idle, take off plane out. Now at least we know where to start. Been stumped all day and bummed out that we missed a day on the water. We even unplugged battery and main computer but still had beeps!
We have a local mercru dealer about 8 miles away. How long did it take them to fix it? Am I going to be without the boat for days or weeks??
Thank you so much for the help!

3 days to fix, cause they didn't have the part localy (all out if that tells you anything). The part is around $90 and the labor to remove/replace and clear the codes was $180.

Not sure if it would be the same thing as on my Volvo but Im having a similar issue (except mine doesn't stall out) that has been diagnosed as the throttle control position sensor. Part has been ordered. Should take me about 5 minutes to swap out.

That sounds better than I was expecting.. I was scared that it was something horifically major, but the boat ran to good for it to be major..I was expecting to drop at least $500! I can sleep a bit better tonight. I am so glad I found this site. Thanks for your help! I'll keep you posted.

Thanks Cincy! At least we have options now! Will pass along the word to my Captain!

You should be able to get the code from a code reader. Auto zone will do it for free. I'm not sure which reader you need but at least that way you know which part to replace. There was a thread about which reader you needed for a Volvo the other day. Maybe start a new thread about which one for a Merc.