Throttle Cable Adjustment 2000 Johnson 90

geofear

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May 6, 2012
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I just bought a used pontoon with a Johnson 90 on it. Motor runs well, but the boat does not go as fast as it should. I believe it is a cable adjustment problem because when I force it down a little farther, it picks right up and runs like it should. Same thing in reverse.
Pic2 shows the 2 cables going into the left side of the motor. There is a round adjusting knob on each. I can't find much info on this motor online. Can anyone tell me which cable is the throttle cable; upper or lower? Might my problem be fixed by turning the adjusting knob in the appropriate direction? which direction? Do I have to loosen something up first?
Pic1 shows the model plate on the motor. Note the in the lower left it implies the motor is from 2000, but the "SE" at the end of the model number implies it is from 2009. Any Johnson Gods out there that can settle this piece of trivia?
Thank you for your thoughts.
I am thankful for this wide array of experts here who are willing to share their knowledge.
 

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saltchuckmatt

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I just bought a used pontoon with a Johnson 90 on it. Motor runs well, but the boat does not go as fast as it should. I believe it is a cable adjustment problem because when I force it down a little farther, it picks right up and runs like it should. Same thing in reverse.
Pic2 shows the 2 cables going into the left side of the motor. There is a round adjusting knob on each. I can't find much info on this motor online. Can anyone tell me which cable is the throttle cable; upper or lower? Might my problem be fixed by turning the adjusting knob in the appropriate direction? which direction? Do I have to loosen something up first?
Pic1 shows the model plate on the motor. Note the in the lower left it implies the motor is from 2000, but the "SE" at the end of the model number implies it is from 2009. Any Johnson Gods out there that can settle this piece of trivia?
Thank you for your thoughts.
I am thankful for this wide array of experts here who are willing to share their knowledge.
It's a 2000. I forget if it's top or bottom but you can tell by moving the throttle at the control box and observing or if you move the warm up lever the throttle cable will be the only thing that moves. Rotate the plastic knobs so that it extends out longer.... assuming that really is the problem.
 

geofear

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Many thanks for your reply. I will use the warm up lever as you have suggested to identify the throttle cable. (I assume the large silver lever in motor pic 3 is the shifter.)

Pics 4 and 5 are of the control box. in the top center of pic4 is a soft button. Does it have a function?
Pic5 Any idea what that knob is in the center? Below it is an electrical connection that has 12v when the key is on. This is important to me because when the ignition and control box was moved to its current configuration, they just cut the live feed off the old ignition, and ran a hot wire from the battery direct to the fuse panel, which is always on. (That explains why the battery always goes dead!) I would like to use that 12 v outlet from the control box as a keyed hot wire. Any idea how I can use that connection, or otherwise get a 'keyed' hot wire? (Maybe open the control box, find a keyed hot, splice it, and bring it out.?) Many thanks for your thoughts.
 

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racerone

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The knob below the key is to adjust friction / stiffness of the big lever.
 

saltchuckmatt

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Many thanks for your reply. I will use the warm up lever as you have suggested to identify the throttle cable. (I assume the large silver lever in motor pic 3 is the shifter.)

Pics 4 and 5 are of the control box. in the top center of pic4 is a soft button. Does it have a function?
Pic5 Any idea what that knob is in the center? Below it is an electrical connection that has 12v when the key is on. This is important to me because when the ignition and control box was moved to its current configuration, they just cut the live feed off the old ignition, and ran a hot wire from the battery direct to the fuse panel, which is always on. (That explains why the battery always goes dead!) I would like to use that 12 v outlet from the control box as a keyed hot wire. Any idea how I can use that connection, or otherwise get a 'keyed' hot wire? (Maybe open the control box, find a keyed hot, splice it, and bring it out.?) Many thanks for your thoughts.
Pretty sure the thing in the middle is just a soft plug (access cover) not sure why maybe for greasing. Older boxes do not have that. Electrical questions don't make sense to me. If they ran a hot to your fuse panel everything after that should be switched. The control box gets it power from the engine so that shouldn't kill your battery. Switched power is attainable but not sure what you would want it for. Racer is correct the other knob is throttle friction. If your throttle starts slowing down than turn that clockwise to make the throttle stiffer.
 

geofear

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May 6, 2012
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Pretty sure the thing in the middle is just a soft plug (access cover) not sure why maybe for greasing. Older boxes do not have that. Electrical questions don't make sense to me. If they ran a hot to your fuse panel everything after that should be switched. The control box gets it power from the engine so that shouldn't kill your battery. Switched power is attainable but not sure what you would want it for. Racer is correct the other knob is throttle friction. If your throttle starts slowing down than turn that clockwise to make the throttle stiffer.
Many thanks both for your comments. Re your elec comment, you make a good point. Thank you.
The boat now has 2 12v batteries in parallel for starting+house. (Also 2 12v batteries in series for 24v trolling motor.) I am thinking of putting in a 1-2-off battery switch for the starting battery(s), removing them from parallel hookup, and just rotating between 1 + 2 on alternating days to keep both charged. The more I think about this, the less I think it has much merit. Any thoughts? Thank you.
 

geofear

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My motor runs well, but the boat does not go as fast as it should, IN EITHER DIRECTION. I believe it is a cable adjustment problem because when I force it down a little farther, it picks right up and runs faster. Same thing in reverse.
Might my problem be fixed by adjusting the length of the throttle cable? Should it be made longer or shorter? I know there is an adjustment knob on each cable, but not sure which way to adjust, assuming I must loosen the hold-down screw first.
(I posted a similar question in the Johnson motor section with some pics, but didn't get much clarification.)
Thank you.
 

saltchuckmatt

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Many thanks both for your comments. Re your elec comment, you make a good point. Thank you.
The boat now has 2 12v batteries in parallel for starting+house. (Also 2 12v batteries in series for 24v trolling motor.) I am thinking of putting in a 1-2-off battery switch for the starting battery(s), removing them from parallel hookup, and just rotating between 1 + 2 on alternating days to keep both charged. The more I think about this, the less I think it has much merit. Any thoughts? Thank you.
Battery switch is a must as far as I'm concerned.
 

geofear

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May 6, 2012
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Why? just to prevent against shorts? What about the 2 battery setup? Thank you.
 

saltchuckmatt

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Why? just to prevent against shorts? What about the 2 battery setup? Thank you.
For one thing convenience, the other thing so that you can turn them both off, run just on one so that you always have one ready to go if something happens, and then in a worst case if you need to run two at the same time to get your engine started you're all set. This is how they're mostly done. But now that I reread your statement I presume that you would just unhook and rehook the batteries? Seems like a little inconvenient really.
 

JimS123

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Disconnected the cable. Run the throttle on the engine manually to see the full movement. Then, adjust the cable setting to meet that travel. If the travel of the lever will meet the requirement, than all you need to do is adjust the cable position on the motor to go enough both ways.
 

Texasmark

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Dec 20, 2005
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My motor runs well, but the boat does not go as fast as it should, IN EITHER DIRECTION. I believe it is a cable adjustment problem because when I force it down a little farther, it picks right up and runs faster. Same thing in reverse.
Might my problem be fixed by adjusting the length of the throttle cable? Should it be made longer or shorter? I know there is an adjustment knob on each cable, but not sure which way to adjust, assuming I must loosen the hold-down screw first.
(I posted a similar question in the Johnson motor section with some pics, but didn't get much clarification.)
Thank you.
On my Mercury 2002 vintage, 90-115 HP, I adjust the barrel on the cable at the engine such that the WOT linkage on the engine stops before the control box can run the cable's length disconnected (at the engine). The barrel is moved forward on the shaft in your case then reinserted in the slot. On reverse it will be the same effect but I doubt you run full throttle in reverse!
 

racerone

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Issue has likely been sorted out a week ago.----No response from poster of this issue.
 

geofear

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May 6, 2012
Messages
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Issue has likely been sorted out a week ago.----No response from poster of this issue.
Gentlemen. I sincerely thank you all for your comments. I was hit with COVID last week, and am just getting back around. I also did not have my Preferences set correctly, so I wasn't aware of your comments. My bad, and that has been fixed.
I did manage to adjust the throttle cable to get more top end speed. The bad news was that it caused the idle to be increased, and a bit of gear clunking when put in gear. I backed it off, and things are a little better, but not perfect.
I feel the motor is idling too high. Where is it idling? That brings me to my next problem; the tach doesn't work. The needle moves a bit when I turn the key, but when the motor is running, falls to zero, so my gut says the gauge is ok. The tach sending wire is gray, and I found 2 gray wires in the harness coming from the motor. I ran a temporary wire from each directly to the tach, without any improvement. So I am thinking that the signal coming from the regulator/rectifier is bad.
Is there a way to test that theory without removing the regulator? I don't see any gray wire in that area. I assume it is located somewhere in the lower, right portion of the attached pic. I further assume it will not be that easy to get to.

Many thanks.
 

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