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I have a 2004 H190 that has 50 hours on it, just bought it from a dealer. When we sea trialed it the throttle handle, with the trim switch in it, seemed loose and I mentioned it but the owner of the dealership said it was not looser than normal and dismissed it. Well, first time out for a couple hours on the way back the throttle handle started spinning and not controlling the throttle or the shifting (this was while underway too). So I was able to push the handle into the housing to make it bite and control the throttle but it went on in the wrong position so after I shut it down at the dock it would not start (wrong position was not making the neutral lock out switch so it was or thought it was in gear). I got home and figured out how to pop out the gear dis-engage button and tighten it up but I was not sure if I should crank on that bolt or not. I have a clymers manual but it does not have any info on the housing so I am at a loss. Should I crank that bolt down tight or will that impede the shifting?

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2004 Four Winns Horizon 190

The throttle handle must be aligned to coincide with the position of the internal parts that control shifting and throttle stetting. This is done by loosening the throttle handle and rotating the internal parts with the handle to a neutral position. This will also set the throttle to the idle setting. One way to find the correct position for neutral is to see if the starter will engage. DO NOT ACTUALLY START THE BOAT UNLESS YOU HAVE CONNECTED A WATER HOSE TO THE OUTDRIVE OR ENGINE. If you are mechanically inclined, you will see the internal parts that engage with the shift handle lockout mechanism. These parts need to be rotated (with the shift handle on loosely) so that the lockout can engage with the handle in its normal upward position. Once the neutral position of the internal mechanism has been established, then the throttle handle can be pulled off and replaced in the normal upward position. You may need to experiment with a few settings until the handle is in the correct position. Make sure you cannot shift the engine into forward or reverse without first pulling up on the lockout mechanism.

If you are not able to do this confidently, take it to the dealer. This problem was his mistake in the first place. An experienced mechanic will need about 15 minutes to put it together correctly. Anytime a throttle handle feels loose in your hand you need to tighten it before boating because of the risk of losing control of the engine. You were lucky no one was hurt.

I found out about positioning the handle when I was trying to find the friction screw to tighten the throttle. Some idiot at the factory had not correctly trimmed vinyl around the throttle mechanism and the friction screw was covered over with vinyl from the side panel. I could not cut the flap of vinyl away to see the screw and tighten it. I had to disconnect the throttle mechanism and cut the excess vinyl away with a knife. There are many similar-sized screws on the outside of the throttle mechanism, but only one of them is the friction screw. The closeup picture in the manual needed to be rotated 90 degrees to match the installation on the boat. I labeled the correct screw that keeps the throttle from slipping with a red magic marker so that the next time I am in there I will not have to figure it out again.

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2006 Sundowner 255, 5.7 GXi, 320 hp
"Simply Irresistible"

Hmmh; my throttle lever came loose this summer ( 20 year old daughter noticed it the one time she's driving the boat for the first time in 3 years! " Dad, should it be like this" !!!). It didn't fall off though so I could just tighten the bolt up; in a 9 knot tidal flow with some long nosed pliers ! ( later with a socket / Loctite to stop it happening again)

Graham

I would not even touch it. Have the dealer look at it and fix it. If you try to fix it & make it worse, he could blame you.