omc control

[louieg]

i have 1988 20hp johnson and a omc control unit dont know the yr of the omc so here is my prob,,,i cant find neutral to start it in.the moter will start
in foward and foward is where neutral should be stright in the middle of the
control.and neutral is all the way down but it wont start there. and reverce
is all the way forward but it wont go in gear.this is a mess can anyone figure this out. i dont want to hurt anyone,,,,,,,thanks

 

[scrampbell]

Re: omc control

I believe the neutral start circuit is in the control, so even if the gears aren't actually in neutral the boat will let you try to start it as long as your throttle is where neutral *should* be at the control box. Make sense?

You may have electrostatic shift on that motor, I don't know, but based on your description that's what I'm guessing. Can someone else weigh in here?

Can you give a little more background about this motor? Did you just get it or has it been working fine and all of a sudden started acting this way?

Let me just make sure I understand this, is the below correct? (Hope this is legible...)

Gearbox Should be:
Reverse----Neutral----------Forward
Gearbox Actually is:
Neutral-----Forward---------Reverse
|--------------|---------------|
Throttle Should be:
WOT---------Idle------------WOT
Throttle Actually is:
WOT---------Idle------------WOT

WOT=Wide Open Throttle

 

[Rscardina]

Re: omc control

One of two things... you either cranked on that arm and swung the cam out of whck or you have cable issues...

I would disconnect the throttle and shift cables at the engine and then work the shifter up and back and see if its smooth or not..if not then replace the cables..

the reason i am saying this is becasue first, your engine should never start in gear..period. if it can then the saftey/neutral sitch isnt working which leads me to believe your control is shot. but without taking the cables off and seeing what movement you get its hard to say.

They do sell Universal cnotrols that will fit your setup..they may require a slight adjustment but nothing rocket science about it..

Let us know what you find