Evinrude 90 high idle

[shnoutyberry]

Ok so I’ll start off by saying I am new to boating and do not know much about outboard motors. I bought a 16ft boat with a 1993 evinrude 90 (ve90tlets I believe). When I went to buy the boat and took it out on the water it didn’t seem to idle too high and it ran good at WOT. The tach on the boat doesn’t work but when hooked up on muffs the motor idles very high. I almost wouldn’t even consider it an idle. I guess I’m looking for information on where to start on diagnosing this issue. Are there fuel/air mixture screws on the carbs or maybe a choke that I’m not able to find? Or possibly just an idle screw? Any help would be great.

 

[jakedaawg]

Provably nothing wrong. Dont adjust anything while on muffs. Put it in the lake and it will idle normal most likely.

 

[shnoutyberry]

Thank you for replying but unfortunately I don’t think that’s the case. When I get some time tomorrow I’ll try to take a video to show what I mean. It’s almost like you’re holding it at 1/3 throttle.

 

[racerone]

Perhaps check the flywheel key.

 

[shnoutyberry]

Perhaps check the flywheel key.

Ok thank you for replying. I will look into that hopefully tomorrow

 

[Bosunsmate]

Check that the timing base is going back to its stop, sometimes it sticks at a faster throttle level

 

[oldboat1]

Don't run it on muffs. Find a trash barrel to fit, and keep the water level about half way up the leg. Your motor has a water-cooled regulator/rectifier, and it can torch your motor if there is insufficient water in the powerhead. If there is a charging or tach issue, you may already need the regulator.

On the idle rpm issue, you would see about 1000 rpm on muffs and 750 in the lake (in gear and warmed up). You have an idle adjustment screw by the throttle linkage on the side of the engine, but check first to see if your remote cable is attached and adjusted correctly. Best approach is to disconnect the remote cable at the engine, and adjust throttle manually at the engine, incl. idle. When set, reattach remote cable.

 

[shnoutyberry]

Thank you both for replying. Unfortunately it will be raining hard for the next two days where I live so I won’t get to mess around with it until Monday. I would also like to add that I do not have a service manual yet so if there are any pictures you have or links you know of that could show what y’all are describing that would be awesome.

 

[Bosunsmate]

http://www.boatinfo.no/lib/evinrude/manuals/1990-2001johnsonevinrude.html#/0
service manuals