To all who suggested causes last March as to why my Nissan 4-stroke wouldn't start, thanks again! The good news is, a local small motor guy isolated it as a cracked sparkplug that would only spark some of the time (which is probably why the first shop that looked at it determined, "Well, it has SPARK ...") ... I'm back in business ... Thanks! --Craig ----- Original Message ----- From: LUDLOWD2@aol.com To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Wednesday, March 23, 2005 8:29 AM Subject: Re: M_Boats: Re:OB Problem . . A couple of points. A motor need fuel, air, spark, and timing to run. A weak ignition will spark a plug in open air but not under compresion (higher resistance across the air gap). The best way to check is the starting fluid test. I've also run an outboard on propane from a blow torch by having somene hold the unlit torch next to the carb air inlet while I cranked the OB. This verified a fuel delivery problem. Good Luck Don