reverse lock not engaging

[Andy in NY]

follow up... reverse worked just fine for me today... except didnt lock. see my last post for details

1970 evinrude 85hp, electric shift.

leaving the sand bar yesterday another boat flagged us down, they were dead in the water. towed them back, nice and slow but it was really choppy out because there was alot of traffic. my 85 seemed to really struggle. i had reverse before towing. after pulling into the launch, i hit reverse to slow down approaching the dock and it just revved.


where should i start troubleshooting?

 

[royal0014]

Re: towed another boat now no reverse

Re: towed another boat now no reverse

where should i start troubleshooting?

Wiring, start at the shifter and work your way back. Maybe 'ya just bounced something loose.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: towed another boat now no reverse

Re: towed another boat now no reverse

1970 evinrude 85hp, electric shift.
leaving the sand bar yesterday another boat flagged us down, they were dead in the water. towed them back, nice and slow but it was really choppy out because there was alot of traffic. my 85 seemed to really struggle. i had reverse before towing. after pulling into the launch, i hit reverse to slow down approaching the dock and it just revved. Where should i start troubleshooting?

Start by making voltage measurements at the shift switch. That's a hydro-electric gearcase, so the motor defaults to forward with no voltage on either the blue or green wire. Neutral is voltage ONLY on green; reverse is voltage on BOTH blue and green.

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: towed another boat now no reverse

Re: towed another boat now no reverse

Thats correct... Been there done that.. Those wires have connections that aid in lower unit removal.. Check there...

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: towed another boat now no reverse

Re: towed another boat now no reverse

does the motor need to be running to check the voltage?

 

[Al-53]

Re: towed another boat now no reverse

Re: towed another boat now no reverse

no..just have it on run position and in the gear you are testing..u just need power to the selector switch and gear solenoids

Al

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: reverse lock not engaging

so i checked my voltages and everything was fine. dragged her to the launch and dropped her in. first thing i notced was that when i throttled up in reverse, the motor kicked up. obviously the reverse lock isnt engaging. but i was still able to go in reverse. last week the motor didnt kick up and didnt move in reverse at all.

i dont know if its coincidence or not...

but now i need to find out why the lock isnt working. the claws that grap the tilt rod seem to have a hydrolic thing attached to it that is fed from the same pump as the power tilt. my tilt pump has a leak, and is probably low. i usualy have to fill it every outing (once a week). would that stop the lock from engaging?