Sterndrive shift kill switches

[MarkS]

As always every year brings a new set of problems to deal with. Beside a crack in the cap on my port heat exchanger, I was test running the engines before splash and discovered the starboard engine shuts off when I throw her in reverse. I am assuming the momentary switch that eases shifting is out of sinc. Any help on adjusting or other things to inspect for the fix?

[captbone]

You should have two switches depending on the year of your system.

One is the in gear indicator switch which tells the engine if you are in neutral or in gear. This is mainly used on EFI engine to put a rpm limit on the engine when it is in neutral.

The other switch is the momentary interupt switch that kill spark to a couple of holes to help drop the RPM so you can pull it out of gear.

Disconnect the switch and shift it into reverse. It should be able to go into reverse (some difficultly) but it would be much harder to pull it out. The switch should be centered on the plastic V that it sits in. When you shift it trips it and then releases. Move it closer to the knotch and see what happens. If nothing then swap them from side to side.

Just my 2 cent

[Bruce]

A stiff shift cable from the switch to the drive is common for that.

It hangs up the switch long enough to kill the ignition rather than interrupt it to allow shifting.

Watch the switch while someone shifts. If it kinda hangs up to one side out of the notch, theres your culprit.

While not impossible, the switch itself rarely moves unless someone has stepped on it.

You can also try removing all cables from the switch actuator and moving it back and forth yourself to make sure its not gummed up.

On occasion I've found that winterizing sprays and oils will gum.

[In Memory of Vicroy]

Had the same problem on the B20 Merc and of course, CX fixed it....just spray the whole she-bang of cables, little levers, etc around the switch.

UV

[MarkS]

Thanks guys!