1988 OMC COBRA 350 NOT SHIFTING OUT OF GEAR............

[Fordiesel69]

When ice cold, it seems to shift ok. When it warms up, I cannot get it out of gear without shutting the engine off. In 2013 cable was replaces. It moves like butter when it does work, and it shifts smooth when engine is off.

I found a micro switch with a roller on it that rubs on some eccentrics on the shift cam. This switch does NOT do anything when tripped by hand. Should it? On mercruisers it does.

 

[Thajeffski]

Yes it should - I have the SAME problem... waiting for someone else to chime in on what parts are needed to fix!

 

[Fordiesel69]

Anyone else? I am out of ideas on how this system works. All I know is on merc's, it will kill engine when micro switch is pressed. I was reading a little on the OMC ESA and I guess it makes the engine stumble / drop the rpm to get the dogs to unlatch.

I do not know how to troubleshoot.

 

[bullsnot]

Do you guys have a shop manual? In the manual there is a procedure to check the ESA (electronic shift assist). You really need the detailed instructions to do this. The roller, when pushed by the shift cam, should ground out the coil momentarily on the engine and allow the pressure to release on the clutch dogs in the outdrive and make shifting easy. I had to replace the ESA module in mine to fix my problem BUT proper shift cable adjustment is critical to this system working properly and I can't stress that enough! Checking proper cable adjustment is the first step. Idle in the proper RPM range is critical as well. Then you move on to testing the electrical components of the ESA system.

 

[bruceb58]

Do you still have the stock distributor or was it converted to electronic at some point?

Also, the shift switch won't cause the ESA to work if you are all the way into gear. There is another switch called the overstroke switch that opens up the circuit when it is depressed.

Make sure the ground wire for the ESA has a nice clean ground. Might be worth removing it, cleaning it up so ther is nice clean shiny metal on both sides and reattach.

BTW, if you still have you stock ESA, consider changing to the newer version. It bypasses the overstroke switch and puts a timer in there instead.

 

[Thajeffski]

Do you still have the stock distributor or was it converted to electronic at some point?

Also, the shift switch won't cause the ESA to work if you are all the way into gear. There is another switch called the overstroke switch that opens up the circuit when it is depressed.

Make sure the ground wire for the ESA has a nice clean ground. Might be worth removing it, cleaning it up so ther is nice clean shiny metal on both sides and reattach.

BTW, if you still have you stock ESA, consider changing to the newer version. It bypasses the overstroke switch and puts a timer in there instead.

Where can this new version be bought? got a link?

 

[bruceb58]

You can either buy the one that OMC specifies for your particular engine or the one made by CDI. Both have the timer. The advantage of buying the CDI unit is that it works with electronic distributors.

 

[Thajeffski]

Who's CDI?

 

[bruceb58]

http://www.cdielectronics.com/

 

[Thajeffski]

Thanks, how tough of a job is it to convert over? I know I don't have anything that looks like that... it's all old stuff.

 

[bruceb58]

Thanks, how tough of a job is it to convert over? I know I don't have anything that looks like that... it's all old stuff.

10 minutes. It's basically unplug and re plug in and remove from its mount.

 

[Thajeffski]

Sweet! So is this what's needed? http://www.cdielectronics.com/produc...-kit-423-3000/ I called them and the company gave me 123-9800 as the part needed, but that doesn't seem like it has the rest needed for conversion. Obviously this doesn't replace the microswitch, am I correct in assuming the switches dont usually break...it's the other parts that do?

 

[bruceb58]

Within the harness, it bypasses the over stroke switch. It's up to you to make sure your shift switch is functioning properly. Unplug the ESA and test the switch with a multi meter.

The shift switch is still used to initiate the stumbling of the engine, The timer inside only allows the stumbling to occur for a small amount of time. The reason they did this was to prevent a lower shift cable that was sticking from killing the engine when shifting out of gear.

 

[Thajeffski]

Funny thing happened today...

I ordered what we have been chatting about, hasn't made it here yet.

Today, this morning, it was cooler, went to move the boat from the mooring to my dock space... instantly noticed how easy it was shifting from either forward or reverse into N. Was like butter... no problem at all!! Couldn't believe it, figured "Oh man, now that I bought the parts, it's working?!?"

Sure enough after I got tied up at the dock I went down into the engine room and pushed the micro switch and it absolutely caused the engine to SLOW/stutter... everything suddenly seems to be working?!?! I shifted a bunch of different times, and I finally have an OMC drive that can be shifted with two fingers... it was.....................amazing to say the least.

End up taking the boat out to some favorite spots... the results are that it seems like once everything warms up, the ESA (ESC?) stops working...

Guess I'll just replace it anyway, but that makes me hopeful that the micro switches are working!

 

[Lou C]

Double check to make sure the interrupt switch works; I also wonder if your ground for the module might not be making good contact. Another possibility is that the module is breaking down due to heat; on mine it is near the lower exhaust pipe.
BTW last year I had similar issues; first the interrupt switch started sticking and the overstroke was not functioning. First I replaced both switches; worked for a few weeks; then the 28 yr old module failed. Got a new one+new switches and it all works perfect now. So your boat being an '88 also may be due for a new module...

 

[bruceb58]

Got a new one+new switches and it all works perfect now.

If you bought a new module, it won't even use the overstroke switch anymore.

To test that theory, push manually on the overstroke switch and then press the shift switch. If you have the updated module, you will still get a stumble.

 

[Lou C]

Actually the one I got from CDI is just like the OE one and does use the overstroke switch. However new ones from BRP do not.