omc shift interrupter switch

[jason9080]

ok. After reading a bunch of posts i was convinced my lower shift cable was bad. when i shift into gear my interuppter switch makes the boat stall. i was told it was my lower shift cable however the cable shifts with ease. i have no trouble shifting with my hand if i disconnect the cable. my boat is an 87 and as far as the esa module, i have a two little boxes with butttons on them. one box has a lever on it which activates the esa and makes the boat stall. the other box from what i have heard.... has a button which is supposed to make the boat run smoothly when pushed. i hope im not confusing anyone. anyway the one little box works correctly. push the button boat stalls. the second box when the button is pushed it does nothing. im thinking that its suppsoed to make the boat run smoothly again. instead the first box button is pushed and the boat just stalls. do i have to replac the whole think of just the little box. i dont know what to do. right now i have a toggle switch to disenagage the esa module when shifting into gear so i can use the boat. i would love for this thing to work correctley. im very confused.

 

[jason9080]

Re: omc shift interrupter switch

so anyway whe i shift into gear foward or reverse it just stalls unless i bypas this switch ....then it shifts great however i cant get it back to neutral withour the esa switch. thaks

 

[marunr]

Re: omc shift interrupter switch

If you push the lever with the roller on it, the engine should cut out. If you push the button on the other switch while the first lever is depressed it should smooth back out. You have to replace the whole mechanism.

If the roller on the lever is not centering itself in the "W" when you get the boat in gear your cable is most likely out of adjustment regardless of whether the switches are working properly.

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: omc shift interrupter switch

OK...those little boxes you are referring to are actually microswitches, the one with the arm is the interrupter and the one with the button is the overstroke switch. The interrupter switch can activate the ESA going into gear although it doesn't need to but it sure helps coming out of gear into neutral. First of all the ESA should never really cause a properly running engine to stall only stumble, what are your idle (in gear) RPM's like
should be around 650. If the engine is running in neutral and you engage the ESA by lifting the arm on the interrupt switch does the engine stall? If you can do that and the engine keeps running then push the overstroke button in and it should cancel the ESA. All the overstroke really does is prevent the ESA from engaging while you are in gear. After you do all of this then have someone put it into gear while you are watching the interupt switch, the v shape notch piece that activates the switch should just move momentarily while going into gear, is yours moving enough to activate the switch and keep it activated? If so then it normally sounds like a bad or mal adjusted lower shift cable. Here is a link to a webpage written primarily for Cobra shifting problems with lots of helpful info, you may want to give it a read.

Stuarts Site

 

[jason9080]

Re: omc shift interrupter switch

if the shift cable was bad wouldnt it be hard to shift??? anyway the lever is not centering itself back in the "w" no matter what. I have adjusted it for hours and hours. (from the engine side of the cable), the boat is in the water cant take the drive off now..... it shouldnt matter though cause as soon as the lever comes out of the "w" the second little box with button gets depressed. That should make the boat run smoothly correct. even if i press the lever to make it sputter, then press the second little box button nothing happens. it continues to sputter. therefor the second button is not is not making it run smoothly as it should. is the little button bad or do i need a new shift module.(the new modules dont come with little boxes and buttons) they just come wtih the acutally module. so if the button is screwed then basically so am it. maybe its the spring behind the "w" thats not pushing the lever back in the "W".



p.s. lifting the lever used to make the boat sputter and not stall. however i ran the tank to empty and now all of a sudden lifting the lever makes it stall. possible got some dirt in the carb or something. Ill try running some sea foam through the gas and hope that helps.

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: omc shift interrupter switch

Jason...if you can lift the interrupt switch and make the engine stumble and then let go and it returns to normal then the ESA module is working fine. Yes while holding the interrupt switch and the engine stumbles, pushing the button on the overstroke switch should cancel the ESA, if it doesn't it sounds like a bad overstroke switch. You can replace either one of the switches by itself. It's possible the spring could be getting weak, if you read through the link I sent there is mention of the spring but more a long the lines if the tension is too much, apparently at one time there was a bad batch of springs out there.

 

[jason9080]

Re: omc shift interrupter switch

thanks for all the help. i have searched far and wide. where do i get an overstroke switch?? i think your right about the spring. it may be weak however that isnt the only problem. i will try to play with the spring and see how that works. if anyone knows where i can get that overstroke switch please send me a link.

 

[marunr]

Re: omc shift interrupter switch

I don't know which engine you have, but here is the diagram for the switch in my boat...

http://www.dougrussell.com/partscat...6,447,448,449,450,451,452,453,454,455,456,457

parts # 58-60.

Last time I checked with my local dealer you had to buy the whole assembly, but you could call and ask if the overstroke switch can be sold seperately.

Jason, you must get the cable replaced or adjusted. Hard shifting is a relative term and if the roller is not centering itself with the cable properly adjusted you have some kind of problem. You need to read the Stuarts Site Bob posted.

Anyway, the cable MUST be adjusted with the outdrive off. It's possible you have a bunch of crud and corrosion around the bellcrank and that could cause enough drag to keep your roller from centering. Cable may be fine.

I'll bet the switch is fine if you get the cable adjusted. I had the exact same problem when I came to this site 2 or 3 years ago, and I ended up not needing to replace my switch after proper cable adjustment.

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: omc shift interrupter switch

I redid marunr's link as this board doesn't like link's with special characters in it (ie: comma) ESA Switch Yes you can order either switch separately. I had the opposite problem with that switch, it has a little rubber boot on it to seal the plunger and mine tore so when the plunger went in it got caught on the torn rubber and wouldn't come back out so my ESA never worked. Before you go ordering replacing the switch though I would meter it out first. If you trace the wiring from both of those switches back a few inches you will see they go into a 4 pin plug, disconnect the plug and meter the switches out. If I remember right the interrupt switch uses the 2 blue wires and the overstroke uses the 2 black wires. In actual fact these 2 switches are wired in series with each other. If you look at the othe half of the 4 pin connector it only has 2 wires and a jumper wire. Anyway the overstroke switch is wired fron NC (normally closed) meter that out, you should have continuity and hit the button and the circuit should open. The interupt switch is the opposite being wired for NO (normally open) and it should not have continuity normally until you move the arm . However even though you may have a bad overstroke switch I really don't think it's the root of your problem here. I agree with marunr about the cable problem, even though you don't have hard shifting that v shaped notch piece should not be flopping around causing the interrupt switch to move like that, except for a spring problem that you are going to check out go through Stuart's site (previous link) and do the checks he mentions in there...good luck!

 

[jason9080]

Re: omc shift interrupter switch

thanks agian. I actually learned something else reaing up last night. apparently some of the switches were replaced with a defferent system. the newer system doesnt use the overstroke switch. if you puch the button with the lever attatched its cuts the motor but only for about 6 seconds. after that it runs smoothly. it is a system that uses no overstroke switch. I think thats what i have. the previous owner prob replaced the whole thing. Im pretty sure i only have a two prong plug. that would mean there is no power even going to the overstroke switch. does that sould right. so yes if the cable is adjusted correctly then there is no need for a overstroke switch anyway. however in my situation the overstroke switch would be perfect because the lever is not going into the "v'" and the overstroke switch would temporary solve that problem by shutting down the esa as soon as i go into gear. i wonder if i can rig it to give power to that switch. basically i can put the boat into gear. wait 6 seconds and then go. not bad however docking is impossible. i guess the only solution is take the boat outof the water and adjust it that way.

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: omc shift interrupter switch

Your right Jason, the newer ESA module had a timer built in so they eliminated the use of the overstroke switch, one of my ESA's is like this, the instructions told you to just leave the switch in place though. Should be easy to tell though just by holding the interrupt switch until the timer times out and the RPM's should go back to normal. You've got to resolve the problem with the interrupt switch not sitting at the bottom of the notch first and foremost, that's an indicator that something is wrong with the shift cable.

 

[thomasjpierce21]

Re: omc shift interrupter switch

I am having a similar problem to Jason. My 1989 OMC Cobra 4.3 stalls out when shifting from forward to neutral and vice versa. The motor idles at 800 but cuts out when shifting. There is no tension in the shift cable so I think it's the position of the plunger in the 'V' which I can adjust with the test directions in the manual.

I tried the link to Stuart's site but it's no longer active. Anyone know of a similar site that will give me some direction?

Thanks for the help!

 

[DDS2008]

Re: omc shift interrupter switch

When you are in neutral and you pull up on the lever on the bottom of the shifter should the engine stumble or is that lever just a safety device to keep the boat from going into gear without pulling up on it?

 

[Don S]

Re: omc shift interrupter switch

If you have a question, start a new thread, don't just add onto a 2 year old post by someone else.