Recent content by waynehol

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.

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...

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...

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)...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...