Mercury 4 - Gear Shifting; Emergency Starting

OPERATION
28
IMPORTANT: If no water is coming out of the water pump indicator hole, stop engine and check cooling water
intake for obstruction. No obstruction may indicate a water pump failure or blockage in the cooling system. These
conditions will cause the engine to overheat. Have the outboard checked by a dealer. Operating the engine while
overheated may cause serious engine damage.
Gear Shifting
Your outboard has three gear shift positions to provide operation: Forward (F), Neutral (N), and Reverse (R).
Reduce throttle speed to idle speed.
Always shift outboard into gear with a quick motion.
R
F
N
ob00461
Emergency Starting
If the starter rope should break or the rewind starter fails, use the spare starter rope (provided) and follow this
procedure.
1. Shift outboard to neutral position.
R
F
N
ob00461
!
WARNING
When using the emergency starter rope to start engine, the start at idle speed protection is inoperative. Make
sure to have the engine speed set at slow, and the outboard gear shift positioned in neutral to prevent outboard
from starting in gear. Sudden unexpected acceleration could result in serious injury or death.
2. Attach the lanyard to the stop switch. Refer to General Information - Lanyard Stop Switch.