The Force it baffles me, 85hp troubles..

Right on to the point. Does anyone know what the switch or lever underneath the engine (outside the casing) is for that gets tripped when the engine sits close to the hull or in all the way down position. This is a manual tilt engine. I am having trouble putting my 89 Maxum into 3/4 throttle position(pull hand towards you and push forward to prime or throttle) due to a stopper mechanism directly at the bottom of the engine. The cables work great, it shifts into forward and reverse but won't do the prime deal because when I start the throttle forward the two pins or cams line up directly and stop the throttle from opening. In forward the cam is offset to the bottom. In reverse it is offset to the top. Does the engine have to be all the way down to trip that lever and thus free up the throttle? WHERE CAN I FIND An 89 MAXUM MANUAL. Seloc Online has taught me zero!!

Re: The Force it baffles me, 85hp troubles..

I think you are talking about the neutral interlock mechanism. When in neutral the two pieces engage when the throttle is pushed about 1/4 way forward. This gives a fast idle for starting but will not let you over rev the engine.
There is supposed to be a spring loaded end on the throttle cable at the engine. in idle this should be extended about 1/4 to 3/8 inch. What this does is allow the shift cable to move the shift linkage without speeding up the engine. As the shift engages, the spring retracts the end, the throttle cable now moves the linkage, and the engine will then speed up.
To start the engine , Depending upon which control you have, you either pull out the handle then push forward, push a button in the center of the handle then push forward, or pull out a separate knob to disengage the shift and push the throttle forward. this is fast idle. push key in to choke and turn to start at the same time.
The lever under the casing sounds like the reverse lock and its function is to stop the engine from tilting up with power in reverse. It usually self locks on the tilt adjustment pin, but there is a lever under the cowl and behind the steering tube to manually unlock it. This lever often breaksand you may see only a black knob. You turn the lever one way to unlock and the other to lock.
May the Force be with you.

Re: The Force it baffles me, 85hp troubles..

That would be the tilt lock release lever?

The linkages prevent high RPMs in Neutral and prevent it from shifting at high rpms. The neutral safety switch for the starter is also involved.

I'm not quite sure what you mean about prime. Like pumping the gas pedal on an older car to set the choke and pump some gas? Not on your outboard. There is no accelerator pump to pump gas and the choke is fully manual. Push the key and it chokes. It's not automatic. As long as you're pushing in on that key, it's choked.

To get throttle-only, push in on the button in the pivot point of your throttle/shift handle and move the lever to either forward or reverse. You can operate the throttle without shifting. As soon as you return to neutral, the shift mechanism becomes active again.

Re: The Force it baffles me, 85hp troubles..

thanks that clears some things up, i am still having trouble starting this beast. I have choked and done the fast idle with the throttle and i get nothing. The starter works great and we are getting plenty of spark just not gas hitting the cylinders..The carbs are getting gas because we bled them and we did put gas in the spark plug holes and the engine fired right up for about 3 seconds. its getting warmer so i will try this jammer outside over the weekend..