15 HP Evinrude won't stay at higher throttle

[Todd in NY]

It's a 1992 model that I use for trolling on my 19ft aluminum boat. It will run all day long at slow setting, which pushes my boat along at 1.1 to 1.3 mph in 2-4ft swells. But when I turn the throttle up on the tiller handle it falls back to the low setting. How can I adjust it so that it stays where I twist the throttle? I want to be able to change my trolling speed from 1 to 3 mph and know that it will stay where I adjust it. This is my first outboard with a tiller handle throttle so I'm not all that familiar with troubleshooting it. Thanks in advance!

 

[OptsyEagle]

Was this motor ever used with remote controls? If so the person that converts them to remote control will sometimes remove the friction control out of the tiller handle. When those are removed the grip tends to twist back from higher throttle levels to lower throttles when your hand is removed from the grip. Quite annoying, if that is what you are talking about.

 

[Todd in NY]

Good question... I don't think it was ever converted to remote control by the PO. I was told it was used on a small tin boat as a tiller steer, but it is doing exactly as you describe. It doesn't twist back to slow speed right away, but shortly after I walk back to the helm to steer the boat it slowly rotates back to slow. So it stays at the higher speed for a minute or 2. It feels like something might be out of adjustment, and it doesn't seem like it should be a difficult problem to fix. I just don't know where to start. It almost feels like the throttle cable linkage is slipping back to slow. My plan this weekend is to take the cover off and see if I can find a problem with the linkage. There's nothing in my owners manual that talks about that sort of problem in the troubleshooting section.

It does have the red and black wires for charging the battery, and the 5-sided fuel pump that is used on electric start models, and even a black button where the electric start should be, so I don't know what else was done to it. All I had to replace on it was the kill switch/button. I can post some pictures of the throttle linkage after I remove the cover this weekend.

 

[racerone]

See your dealer, I believe there is an item available to clamp the handle so that it stays put.

 

[ondarvr]

For a quick fix until you get it done correctly, get a bicycle innertube and cut a 2" wide rubber band out it, slide it over the twist grip down to where the tiller arm starts. Have it overlap the twist grip and tiller arm, this will hold it in place.

 

[oldboat1]

See your dealer, I believe there is an item available to clamp the handle so that it stays put.

There is a plastic clamp with a thumbscrew sold for that purpose, or used to be -- had to get one with a 1990 4hp used for trolling.

And there is duct tape. ondarvr's fix is a little more elegant.

 

[racerone]

Part # 174741

 

[Todd in NY]

Thanks all the ideas, input, and the part number! I hope to have it fixed this weekend.

 

[Todd in NY]

Duplicate post

 

[Todd in NY]

Part # 174741

I bought this part yesterday from a local marina for the same price it would have cost online. I installed it today and I hope to take my boat out tomorrow to test it out. I don't have any reason to believe that it won't fix the issue of the throttle slipping from higher speed to idle speed. Thanks again!

 

[oldboat1]

sounds good. worked well on my smaller motor -- should do the job.

 

[Todd in NY]

Took the boat out yesterday and did some trolling with that 15hp kicker motor and it worked great. We could hold our speed anywhere we put it. It seems like everyone else uses a 9.9 for boat the same size as mine, so I was a little concerned that this 15hp wouldn't allow me to troll slow enough at a decent RPM, but depending on the wind speed/direction and wave height, I can troll from 1 MPH to over 3 MPH if I want to troll that fast. It seems like we'll be able to troll for about 6 to 8 hours with that 15hp motor and a 3 gallon tank.

We didn't catch any fish yesterday but we were marking some really nice ones. The best part of the day is that it was our 4th time using this "new" boat and now everything works the way it is intended to work. So we have all the little bugs worked out and now we can just enjoy our time on the water.