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  1. W

    Does Pos Battery Cable go to Starter?

    I have 1988 Johnson 90hp. Unhooked battery cables and they arent properly marked. Does the POS side of cable go ultimately to the starter? Seems simple, but I dont want to get it backward.
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    Hot battery wires, slow turn over. uh oh

    1988 Johnson 90 hp o/b. 16' Cobia I just replaced the lower unit with another one because mine broke a gear. Trying to start on the rabbit ears. Turns over real slow like battery dead. Got new battery. Connectors were corroded so I cut them off and cut back the wire a bit and replaced with...
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    Tilt Trim Wiring to Battery. Trying to correct

    1988 Johnson 90 hp on 16' Cobia center console. My battery is connected directly to the engine (pos/neg wires to pos/neg terminal on the battery) I have been reading old posts all morning and have leared a lot. However, I am unlcear on 1 thing. but the tilt/trim relay box is also wired...
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    Confused about idle timing 89 Johnson 90ho

    Hi all, I was reading through the forums and learning about adjusting throttle cables and idle stuff and I read that the idle is set by the timing and not the throttle. Well, I replaced the throttle cable last week. I adjusted the cable to the engine (another great tip learned on these pages)...
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    Can I steam clean my outboard motor?

    May sound like a dumb question, but. I am getting a new steam cleaner and I was wondering if I could safely steam clean my outboard motor? It is a 1989 Johnson 90hp and it runs great but is is dirty and grimy. Somehow I am afraid if I get it too clean it wont run as well :p What are your...
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    Need advice on recoating/painting deck of small boat. With pics

    I have a 13' Cobia center console that we use for fishing and tubing. It is a great, strong boat but is short on looks. I want to paint/refinish the deck but I am unsure as to how to proceed. It appears a previous owner did this once before as there is some peeling/flaking paint and some...
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    1988 90 hp Johnson tilt stuck up, i hear it click :)

    My motor is stuck in the "up" position at my dock. I recharged the battery and checked the voltage and it is fine. When I press the "down" switch on the controller, I hear it click, and but not really "whir". It's not like the pubp is running and it's not moving, its like it just clicks. Same...
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    Why does my carb kit have so many extra pieces?

    I just did a carb job on an 1988 90HP Johnson and the kit has a lot of small o-rings and rubber washers and stuff that I cant figure out what they are for. I replaced the 0-rings on the drain plugs and new washer on new float seat, but that's about all I saw. Even the diagram doesnt show many...
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    Continuing saga of power loss on 88 90 HP Johnson

    Heres a recap of my problem from another post: "I was running WOT. Ran great as usual. All of a sudden, it dropped about 20% or so RPM. It was sudden and smooth, in fact I looked to see if my dog had knocked the throttle control back. It had not moved. It ran very smooth, no sputtering, no odd...
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    '88 90HP Johnson its not the spark (Ouch!)

    Heres a recap of my problem from another post: "I was running WOT after a day of fishing. Ran great as usual. All of a sudden, it dropped about 20% or so RPM. It was sudden and smooth, in fact I looked to see if my dog had knocked the throttle control back. It had not moved. It ran very smooth...
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    Checking spark - Using Top Secret File

    I read this on the TS File: Electric and manual start: Flywheel rotates but engine does not attempt to start. . Remove a spark plug, reconnect it and hold it against engine block. Keep it there while turning engine over. Does it make a hot, blue spark when attempting to start? If no...
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    1988 90 hp Johnson Loss of 15% power at WOT

    Hi folks, I searched old posts and found similar but different problems. Im looking for orderly steps to take to diagnose problem. I have 1988 90 HP Johnson that runs (has) run great. It is on a 16 ft center console flats. Does 32 at top speed according to GPS (no tach). I keep the boat in...
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    No overheat (or any) alarm, VRO was removed, Stray tan wire?

    Hi all, I have a 1988 Johnson 90hp. The VRO was removed before I bought it. The alarm horn doesnt work at all. I tried to test but no go so I am replacing the wire. On the engine there is a tan wire coming from the overheat sensor on each (of 2) heads. The wires connect together and to a third...
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    Almost sank my boat at the dock this morning

    I have a 16 ft cobia CC with a Johnson 90 on it tied to my dock. It rained really hard last. I have a bilge pump with an automatic float installed and it's pretty new. I looked at the boat and it looked a little low in the water so I went to investigate. Sure enough, there was a LOT of water in...
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    Charging battery at my dock

    Hi All, I have a 16 ft runabout that I keep in the water (salt) tied to a wooden dock. The dock has 110 electric (GFCI) at the seawall. I want to charge my battery on the boat overnight while it is tied to the dock. So, I would be running an extension cord about 25 or 30 feet from the outlet to...
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    1988 90 hp Johnson- Perplexing performance puzzle

    OK im pretty new to outboards and am having an issue. On a 16ft 1980 Cobia CC tri hull, running in salt water. For the most part it runs great and strong. However, when we pull a tube after a while, we get severe RPM drop. Throttle up does nothing. Last time I squeezed bulb during the episode...
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    Tiring of the neap tides

    Looking forward to the end of the week and this weekend. Tides are very weak last few days and fishing is nonexistant.:(
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    I sheared a bolt head and cant drop lower unit

    1988 Johson 90 HP Well, I have a book and it says nothing about what this cover is for. (see photo) I sheared the head off the top right bolt. How do I remove it and what is that cover for? Also, I searched these forums and found out about disconecting the shift linkage under the bottom carb...
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    Help me park my boat! Diagram included

    Hi everyone, I have a 16' center console flats boat (just bought!)and I am keeping it tied to my dock in a protected canal in the Intracoastal Waterway (West coast of Florida. Tide averages about 3'. I want to know how to properly tie the boat so it doesnt bang on the dock. I have included a...
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    Pulled the carbs, broke the primer solenoid, huge fuel consumption

    Hi All! I have a 1988 Johnson 90 HP, Just bought it. I pulled the carbs to check, didnt know how long motor had been sitting. They looked great, all ports very clean, so I didn't rebuild or replace any parts. Just cleaned. Anyway, I broke the 2 plastic fittings from the primer solenoid that...
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