Re: push button shift ?
There is a ton of stuff written here about the Hydro-Electric shift. But here gose some more.
In the first place, that is a bunch of horse-hockey. Unless the control has been tampered with, you can't push the buttons at high speed. OK, lets assume it was tampered with and they did---it still wouldn't cause it to lock up in forward. Not saying it would be wise to do it though because you could do great damage.
That motor shifts by hydraulic oil pressure. The pressure comes from a pump in the lower unit. If the motor is not running, there is no oil pressure, and it won't shift. Also, if not running, or in case of a failure, it goes into forward gear. So, it is NORMAL for it to be in forward if not running, and no you can't get it out of forward without running it.
Secondly, you are in for a great learning experience, since you have no clue what that stuff under the hood is for. Even if you do know, you can cause extensive and costly damage by monkeying with it. YOU MUST educate yourself about that motor if you want to do your own repairs. Start with a good service manual. Some books on basic electricity wouldn't hurt either.
i have a 1970 evinrude 60 hp outboard , never heard it run ( hope it is not an anchor ! ) was told it is runable but the pushbutton part was pushed in forward at a high throttle , so now it is stuck in engage mode , i looked under the hood , there seems to be an elect box with wires comeing out of it at the back rt side with some bare wires , i taped them up , hooked up a battery , engine would crank over but still locked in forward , is there anyway to manually put it in nuetrol ? or should i resale it for parts ? for info it is model #60073b , serial # j04521