Engine stalls when going into reverse gear
chri...@my-dejanews.com
Have a question.. I have a Chapparal 198XL (1985 5.0 V-8 Merc I/O) that has
an annoying problem that just started happening. When you put the drive into
reverse gear, the engine quits...upon investigation, there appears to be a
"kill" switch operated by a cam of some sort (taking a guess here) that for a
split second, when you change gears, stops the engine just long enough to
switch gears smoothly, then re-engages the engine. When going forward, the
cam goes from the "up" position, to "down", then back "up" quickly, and
everything works fine. But in reverse, the cam drops like it does going
forward, clicks the kill switch, but never comes back up...leaving the kill
switch in the "off" position, thus shutting the motor off. Does ANYONE have
any knowledge of this system (as best as I can describe it) and where I can
look for the problem/solution? I believe that it is a simple
problem/solution, but I just don't know enough about that mechanism. Thanks
for your help.
-Chris
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Bill Vance
chri...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
>-Chris
Usually the shift cable (from the cam thingie to the outdrive) needs
replacing. If you're lucky enough to have a Mercruiser mech. you can
trust, have him take care of this-it ain't no picnic.
Tim
I had the same thing happen on the lake last week. my 350 Mercruiser was
stalling in reverse. At first the mechanic told me he would have to replace
the entire shift cable. When I told him that the boat is only 2 years old,
he said "well let me look at it a little closer" He took the shift cable off
did a minor adjustment of the cable, and kill switch. $30 later I was
running again. Beats replacing the entire cable.
chri...@my-dejanews.com wrote in message
<6n4j98$52i$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
@honour.co.uk ALTER_To_Your_Real_Name
When you put the drive into reverse gear, the engine quits...upon
investigation, there appears to be a "kill" switch operated by a cam of
some sort (taking a guess here) that for a split second, when you change
gears, stops the engine just long enough to switch gears smoothly, then
re-engages the engine. When going forward, the cam goes from the "up"
position, to "down", then back "up" quickly, and everything works fine. But
in reverse, the cam drops like it does going forward, clicks the kill
switch, but never comes back up...leaving the kill switch in the "off"
position, thus shutting the motor off. Does ANYONE have
any knowledge of this system (as best as I can describe it) and where I can
look for the problem/solution? I believe that it is a simple
problem/solution, but I just don't know enough about that mechanism.
> Thanks
> >for your help.
> >
> >-Chris
The solution IS in the adjustment of the mechanism (and your logical and
accurate analysis shows you will be easily able to fix it) this should be
described in the installation documents given when the boat was new.
You can get the details from a Clymer manual also, not a difficuld job, you
just need to follow the instructions to the letter and be accurate in your
measurments. Take a slow read over a coffee / beer beforehand and the job
should take no more than 30 mins. N.B. in an emergency you can disconnect
the lead at the shift mechanism ( motor end ). If you have had a full
service recently the adjustment should have been checked at the time.
Good luck
MTBoswell
After contacting my dealer, I found that this switch is a safety shut-off
switch for shifting from forward to reverse (just as you had figured). There is
a threaded adjuster on the linkage for this switch. I adjusted this linkage
slightly (about 1-1/2 full rotations outward), and the problem went away. I
started by adjusting in 1/2 rotation increments, until I was satisfied with the
operation of the boat.