Great way to end a day of boating

[Jetlink]

So, I'm wrapping up a day of boating and riding with friends, hauling butt across a choppy lake back to my truck and trailer and I seem to have lost any and all throttle authority. I'm still currently idling my way across all this water and bored, figured I ask the question how do I get behind the throttle to check the linkage there?

[jasun]

one place to check is on the engine and make sure that the bracket that hold the cable tight is still tight. I was hooking mine up tonight and the same thing happened... the clamp had come loose and all it was doing was moving the cable housing and not the cable itself.
there was not enough resistance to move the throttle so it just moved the cable.

[Jetlink]

Already checked all that while still on the water. Connection to the carb is rock solid...so much so that I had to removed the linkage at the carb so I could give it enough gas to get the boat up on the trailer.

[haugy]

First go by sight. When you move the throttle does anything happen on the engine end? Anything? Movement, stiff, a wiggle?

If nothing at all, then go back to the engine and disconnect it from the carb like before. See if you can move it in and out, basically pull and push on it to see if it's loose on the throttle end.

You'll need to remove throttle assembly. I can't remember who just did this and gave pictures. That would be the easiest way to explain it.

[Jetlink]

I checked it and also based off of feel, there was zero resistance in the throttle lever after this happened. I popped the dog house since I was at idle and checked for any movement of the throttle linkage when I moved the throttle. Again nothing, didn't matter one way or the other. The bracket that the throttle linkage bolts up to and the linkage itself on the carb were tight and strong, it was a challenge just popping off the linkage at the carb. It will be at least a few days before I go back to the boat to deal with this issue though so I guess I have more time to use that handy search function on these forums now that I'm home.

[cadunkle]

Same thing happened to me. Turned out to be the brass ends at the Morse control. I couldn't get the control through the opening in the panel so had to unscrew the panel, shimmy it out a bit, and reach behind. Check my thread here: https://forum.supraboats.com/showthread.php?11239-Broken-throttle-control-parts-needed-ASAP-in-Maine

Skidim has these parts. Also unhook your throttle cable at each end and ensure it moves freely with little or no resistance. If it's tough to get through the full range of motion then check for sharpp bends and lube until it does or replace it.

[wotan2525]

I just had this happen last week. My issue was simpler -- I pulled the control assembly through the opening in the panel (it's a tight fit... need to move control lever to the perfect spot) and found that the cable had pulled off the controller because of a broken/missing cotter pin. I put some safety wire through there and gave it a few twists and called it good.

[Jetlink]

Without looking at it yet, I'm thinking that due to the choppy conditions that exist on the lakes that I boat on and how the Comp rides like a Cadillac when there's even the slightest of chop... I'm thinking after years of pounding over waves something finally came loose back there where I couldn't see it as part of my normal checks.

[mabbore]

So, I'm wrapping up a day of boating and riding with friends, hauling butt across a choppy lake back to my truck and trailer and I seem to have lost any and all throttle authority. I'm still currently idling my way across all this water and bored, figured I ask the question how do I get behind the throttle to check the linkage there?

Ohh and Jetlink forgot to mention that I also ran over his nice new Wakeboard rope yesterday. #chainlife

[Jetlink]

Ohh and Jetlink forgot to mention that I also ran over his nice new Wakeboard rope yesterday. #chainlife

Haha, I'm not too wrapped up about that, plus the way I see it you weren't actually at the helm when that happened.

[haugy]

Ohh and Jetlink forgot to mention that I also ran over his nice new Wakeboard rope yesterday. #chainlife

Whooooops :D :D :D

Mental note: Mabbore is not allowed to drive at any of the meet & greets.

[mabbore]

Haha, I'm not too wrapped up about that, plus the way I see it you weren't actually at the helm when that happened.

Yeah, my same buddy tore up my other wakeboard rope last season. lol

[TitanTn]

I'm betting with Cadunkle on this. When I was rebuilding my boat a couple of years ago I took out the shifter assembly and noticed that the brass piece that Cadunkle broke was likely only going to last a couple of outings. I replaced mine at that time. It sounds like that could be the culprit for you too it your cable isn't moving at all.

[wotan2525]

I just had this happen last week. My issue was simpler -- I pulled the control assembly through the opening in the panel (it's a tight fit... need to move control lever to the perfect spot) and found that the cable had pulled off the controller because of a broken/missing cotter pin. I put some safety wire through there and gave it a few twists and called it good.

What are the chances that my "fix" would already fail? 0.

The brass end broke off of my connector! So crazy to have this fail twice in the same season....

http://www.skidim.com/prodinfo.asp?number=R024024

I didn't let it end my night though. We detached the cable, pulled it through the front and then used the throttle lever for gear selection and used a 2-hand method to control throttle directly with the cable. Wasn't easy but still allowed us to ride!

[whammond]

Jet,

This exact same thing happened to me about 10 days ago. Turns out my throttle cable just broke. You can verify this by unattaching the connection at the carb and seeing if you can pull the inner cable out (this will only happen if it is indeed broken and you will be able to pull it out freely until the break). I did this first because I was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with the throttle lever assembly (its a PITA to get out of the hole in the hull of my comp). Unfortunately, this wasn't the case.

If it is indeed broken, leave the existing cable in the boat until you get a new one. You'll want it to feed the new one through. I'd take pictures of the connections at both the carb and throttle lever assembly, as the cable connections can be adjusted by the location on the cable threads.

If you do end up having to replace it, would you mind posting pictures of both the existing carb connection and throttle lever/assembly connection? I made the mistake of not taking pictures before I replaced it with the new one so now I'm in the trial and error process.

[Cusefan78]

Ohh and Jetlink forgot to mention that I also ran over his nice new Wakeboard rope yesterday. #chainlife

I got mine on Sunday. I couldn't believe it

[92SupraComp]

a pair of vice grips makes manual throttle control a lot easier! lol

only its annoying when you have no control over the throttle and co-pilot is having "fun"...