91 Evinrude not idling properly

Ive got a 1991 120hp Evinrude, and the motor wont throttle all the way down to idle. With the boat throttle in the neutral position, the lowest it will go is probably 1200-1500 rpm or so. Im not sure, I dont have a tachometer yet. However, when I move the arm on the motor that controls the throttle, there is some play, so I can lightly push on the arm, and get the boat to idle just great.

Ill attach a picture of the motor and what Im talking about for a better idea.

#1 is what controls the idle. To the left idles the engine, right throttles it up. There's a little play here, about 3/16 of an inch.

#2 is the idle stop i believe, its set too far to be even close to where it stops against the engine.

#3 is where there is also some play, I can move this back and forth enough to put the motor in full idle, or rev it up. The boat throttle is locked in neutral, so I dont know why there is any play there.

#4 is the adjustment for the cable, but id have to check my service manual.

So, is this all that is necessary, to tighten up that cable? I should mention that the fast idle arm on the throttle cant get it to idle normally either. The only way to get it to idle is to move #1 to the left, by hand.

This is a video of the motor idling, but in the video you can see me move the trouble part that is not putting the engine at idle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-rYKtYYx0o

Re: 91 Evinrude not idling properly

remove the throttle cable, get the engine in the proper idle position, now adjust the cable to the motor connection, not the motor to the cable. #4 is the cable adjustment. control in neutral, fast idle all the way down.

the idle adjustment must be done with the motor in gear and in the water, cannot be done accurately, on muffs.

Re: 91 Evinrude not idling properly

tashasdaddy said:

remove the throttle cable, get the engine in the proper idle position, now adjust the cable to the motor connection, not the motor to the cable. #4 is the cable adjustment. control in neutral, fast idle all the way down.

the idle adjustment must be done with the motor in gear and in the water, cannot be done accurately, on muffs.

Click to expand...

I did read something like that in the service manual, about how it cant be done out of water, but why is that?

Re: 91 Evinrude not idling properly

on muffs there is not any backpressure on the exhaust. if you set idle at 700 rpms, on muffs the motor will not start in the water, because it cannot force the exhaust out the propeller. you can set idle at 1000-1100 on muffs, but it still has to be fine tuned in the water, so why do it twice, do it in the water, and make it easy on yourself.