Throttle questions

[kylant]

looking at used boats. test drove a 2014 210 yesterday. 1st thing I noticed was the throttle was stiff. not nearly as smooth as my '19 GS. looking around here, it looks like the throttle assembly may have changed in 2015.

Is the 2014 unit drive by wire? I asked the sales guy and he said it was. but from comments here, it looks like it may not be??
Looking at Nautiqueparts, they show a unit that appears to be correct for the boat and it does show electronics with it?

https://nautiqueparts.com/electronic...urethane-knob/
https://nautiqueparts.com/harness-el...ottle-2013-14/


any ideas?
thanks

[NautiqueJeff]

2014 should be DBW.

[DoubleUpDisaster]

The stiff throttle was the very first thing I noticed when I demoed my 2014 G21. I’ll defer to Jeff’s expertise, but it doesn’t feel like TBW. I suspect the 210 would have the same assembly, whatever it is.

[kylant]

bringing this one back up.

2014 210
the throttle is stiff from neutral to idle gear. beyond that it is smooth and easy. same for reverse.

is there any kind of adjustment or lubrication that can be done to it?

[kylant]

anyone??

I would really like some input whether this stiffness can be made better. i would really hate to buy a new assembly only to find out it is the same.
thanks for any input

[jpwhit]

I covered this in this post about the 200's. But I think it applies to the 210 as well.

https://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/f...981#post665981

[kylant]

just read your post.
just see where you said those years are stiff
then you talk about 2015-up having a retrofit
do the 2014s have a retrofit?
also, looking at the replacement on nautiqueparts, it appears that the 2014 is electronic ??
https://nautiqueparts.com/electronic...urethane-knob/
https://nautiqueparts.com/harness-el...ottle-2013-14/

[jpwhit]

I don't know if there is a solution for your boat or not. I specifically avoided those years so wouldn't have to deal with it. My experience from people that had those year boats at our ski club, is the throttle was horrible. And it was like that on most of the boats from day 1. One guy had his whole assembly replaced under warranty, but it was not significantly better. There were people online saying it was possible change to an earlier or later throttle assembly, but I've also been told there is no simple swap out replacement without modifications to the boat. Beyond that, I have no first hand experience with trying to improve the throttle on these years. Sorry, I can't be of more help.

[kylant]

thank you

[kylant]

update:
talked to my local dealer. they stated that assembly has a shift cable. he told me to engage the neutral lock-out to see if the throttle is stiff still. if it is, then the control box needs to be replaced. if it is smooth, then the cable needs replacement.
when doing this, the throttle operation is complete smooth and easy. so that tells me the shift cable needs replacement.

[Scooter G]

Well now that was a fairly simple process of analysis, makes sense. Glad you got it narrowed down.
Like steering cable's, eventually they start to lose their slide mojo.
When I changed out the '03 Supra steering cable, I plumbed a grease jerk on the rudder side. That seemed to be where most of the elements exposure was. Thinking that cable should be good to the death of the boat, maybe.

We use a simple cable oiler jig for aerosal cable lube injection on the dirt bikes and 4 wheel toys. I wonder if that is something applicable to boat cables for longevity, hmm?

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/...&sku_id=173912

[jpwhit]

kylant yes, your throttle assembly does still have a shift cable for the transmission. DBW refers to the throttle for the engine, not the shifting. When they control the transmission shifting electronically then there are no mechanical cables, they refer to that as "electronic shifting". Somewhat confusing terminology, but they borrowed the terms from the auto industry. Electronic shifting was introduced in 2015 with the throttle base assembly.

I should have read the details of your original post more closely, because in hindsight the fact that the stiffness in your throttle only happens in the portion of the travel between neutral and going into gear is a good clue that your issue may be the shift cable. The feel of the throttle I was talking about, occurred over the full travel.

[kylant]

jpwhit...
yes, only stiff from neutral to gear. beyond that, smooth.
i think i will have the dealer confirm in the fall and have the cable replaced during winterization

[Rednucleus]

Waking up this thread again - our club 2014 Nautique 200 shift lever is fine forward & back using the neutral button, but especially 1st run of the day it is VERY difficult to get the lever to move forward or reverse - like you are sure you will break it if you pull/push any harder! Once you get it moving it's not bad rest of the outing. So if this is the shifter cable binding, can it be lubed? I assume it's in a protective sleeve like a steering cable?? Is there a detent in the throttle assembly that affects this - seems like that would affect neutral motion as well.
Thanks for your input!

[bturner]

If there's a cable for shifting, that would be the first place I would look at. Should be pretty easy to trouble shoot. Start by disconnecting the cable at the trans as it's the easier place to disconnect and start the process. Try operating the shift mechanism at the trans to see if the bind is at the trans. Then try operating the shifter with no load on the cable (cable disconnected). If it's still stiff, you're into the gunnel to get at the shifter and the cable. From here you're going to isolate the shifter from the cable and see if you can determine which is the issue.

The problem you run into with cables is that a lot of times when you disconnect the load from them they operate fine. So say you disconnect the cable from the trans and everything is fine going to the shifter through the cable. If the shift linkage is operating smoothly, I'd still be replacing the cable. I've seen this with steering cables frequently. They operate fine when on the trailer but once the boat is in the water and a load is placed on the system they bind.

The other possibility is the shifter of course. Could be anything from grease that has aged out and has turned sticky to just worn out components.

On a 12YO club boat my money is going to be on the cable..... and a poorly designed shift mechicanism.