'88 Force 85 HP / US Marine Throttle Control - Neutral pull-out knob

[goldcrown44]

Invaluable information in forums, and I'm not new to iBoats but my old login info isn't working, despite resetting so I opened a new account.

First run of the season... 1988 Force 85. Got it started, purring like a kitten. Back away from the dock, but she wouldn't go into forward gear. I'd like to know how far the neutral 'warm up' knob is supposed to be able to be pulled out. I can hardly move mine and suspect the engine stays stuck in neutral whenever it's not in reverse ha ha. The throttle handle does not have a lever/button under the grip, and there is no center button at the pivot. Just the pull out knob under the pivot. I will take a photo tonight and post later. Hopefully I'm not crazy.

The boat ran great all last season. I think whatever mechanism is associated with the pull out knob needs lube, or some kind of adjustment. I've been thru a lot of forum posts, but can't find anything specific to the pull out knob. Should I just be looking in the cowl where the cables connect and go thru the linkage adjustment procedure or take apart the throttle control first?

And how can i be sure what year my Force 85 is? [Edit: My dad told me it's an '88]

 

[Frank Acampora]

The control handle should pull out somewhere between 1/8 and 1/4 inch. When using it to shift it should be flush against the control box. Pulling out the handle disables the shift mechanism so the engine can be throttled up slightly for cold starting. If the engine goes into reverse but not forward then the problem is probably not in the control box. Disconnect the shift cable at the engine and shift the engine by hand. If it still does not go into forward gear, then there is a linkage adjustment needed.

 

[goldcrown44]

Thank you for such a quick response. I had not considered disconnecting the shift cable from the motor, but not exactly sure how to go about shifting into forward manually at the engine. I guess since I'm not typing this next to the engine with the cowl off, it's hard to visualize what I'd need to do. I've reserved the shop manual at the library so I expect to pick that up today or tomorrow. I should also probably note that mid-Summer 2014 I serviced the lower unit and for the record, did not touch the "do-not-touch" screw. lol


Unrelated... but what is the best forum to post boat pics with the intent of getting help identifying make, model and year? Registration still says "Unknown".

 

[goldcrown44]

Frank, please excuse the ignorance in my previous post... I checked out the Clymer shop manual, and reviewed the procedure for throttle linkage adjustment. My 7 yr old moved the throttle for me so I could observe the linkage movement.The book said IF going from Neutral to Forward then back to neutral did not result in the white button to be depressed (by a black small anchor-shaped bracket) then it needed to be adjusted.

In the photo below you can see the white button not fully depressed (throttle lever was in Neutral) . There are two small bolts when loosened allow a short travel of adjustment. I moved it so it was aligned under the button per the book and reattached the cable that otherwise blocks the access to the screws. Hooked up the ears and water but wouldn't ya know it, I could not get the Force to stay running. I swear I didn't touch anything else. Backfires from starting attempts caused everyone around to check their bodies for bullet holes. Not sure what's up with this but ran out of troubleshooting time yesterday. Will give it another go tonight after work. (btw, I took some video of the linkage movement before and after the adjustment, but don't know how to share that here... if interested I could put it in my Dropbox i use at work.)

 

[goldcrown44]

Starting issues remain unexpected, but continue to plague me now... it will start and run fine but only for a second or two. Subsequent restart attempts will periodically cause a very loud backfire. As for the gear linkage adjustment, I don't know if what I've done has worked and won't until the motor will stay running long enough to test. For part of the adjustment procedure, the Clymer manual and Force User Guide say to mark the gear pin in three places (forward, neutral, reverse), but I cannot find where it is exposed to mark it for the different throttle lever positions.

Nor can I find a procedure on how to disconnect the gear cable IF it's not at the wrap-around clamp near the plunger/white button (interlock switch?) where I've already made an adjustment. There's another place it is mounted to at the aft end of the cable, but there is zero clarity on how to disconnect it there. Getting pretty frustrated.

 

[goldcrown44]

Wish I had posted this in the Force forum... but here's an update if anyone has been reading. The reason the engine wouldn't stay running is because, despite how careful I try to be, I must have been distracted by fighting kids nearby because i put the wire from #1 coil pack onto #2 spark plug, and 2 to 1. Upon correcting that, the motor started immediately. Had the water running and it went into gear just fine. River test is next.