[OMC-Boats] OMC/Johnson and Evinrude Shifter switches

Jeff D,

Yes the black knob is a throttle friction adjustment.

But the switch you mention is worth alerting all OMC electric shift
owners about:

There are four different switches used on OMC boats. The dividing line
was 1969. Two for E-rudes, two for Johnson/OMC's.

Both Evinrude (push-button) and Johnson/OMC (single lever) and third
party (like Morse) introduced the 5-wire Neutral-only starter
interlock circuit, for 1969, most likely as a result of liability
concerns, but I don't know for sure. (If you remember, a lot of
federal safety legislation was mandated in 1968 on the automotive
industry, as a result of Ralph Nader's book, "Unsafe at Any Speed."

Prior to 1969 all remote control shift swicthes used only 3-wires and
did not have the safety interlock. E-rude pushbuttons all have a
mechanical sliding "aperature" that prevents operating the shifter
buttons beyond a partial throttle setting.
If this ever slips out of place, and prevents you from shifting (being
stuck in neutral, at your favorite fishing hole, 5 miles off shore is
not FUN!) simply carry your hand Phillips-head and pop off the cover
surround the push buttons. This will allow you do move the slider back
into place and allow you to now engage forward or reverse.

In my opinion, the Evinrude design, while perhaps less ergonomic (it
takes two hands to simultaneously move the throttle and shift, as in
docking) is a more robust design, and the switch assembly rarely
fails. Johnson owners aren't as lucky.

The Johnson/OMC switches are a weak point and often fail. In fact,
I've come across a couple of sources for present-day, aftermarket
sources. A gentleman, in Portland, OR is rebuilding these switches and
a Canadian source has claimed it has ramped up production of new
switches. (I have no direct experience with either and I'll leave it
to others on this list to track them down and have Phil add it to his
website.)

Bottomline is these switches are like gold. In either style, 5 or 3-
wire they are extremely hard to come by. Supply and demand dictates
market prices. Anyone who owns a Johnson should start looking for a
spare today! You should locate the current third-party sources. Just
buying a used control off eBay, won't insure you are getting a useable
switch. About half of them are defective, or will soon fail.

I've also got a little tip for 69-70 Johnson 5-wire owners. I find
that once in awhile my 5-wire, will only "reset" properly if I "back"
the throttle into REVERSE after shutting down the engine in NEUTRAL. I
call this my built-in, anti-theft device, like having to know the
secret key-code combination. Only problem with this little quirk, is
you don't want a big barge bearing down on you when your forget the
code!

Lee

On Aug 13, 2009, at 11:05 PM, jd wrote:

> hi, so for whoever is keeping track, got my boat out today for
> first time after weeks. temp prob was previous dilema, rewired
> about 75% as result. Ran around about about full speed for about
> 20 mins and temp stayed right at 160!! So yes, as I HOPED,
> knock on wood, but it appears the crazy high temp readings on 3
> separate gauges and senders I have been getting for 3 summers now
> were ultimately the result of some funky wiring grounding thing.
> Wow what a relief!
>
> But of course, another prob popped up (although everything seems
> downhill minor from here on). Sometimes the key would crank and
> sometimes absolutely nothing. Tracked it down to the shifter.
> Pulled it apart, poked around, traced it to a prob with the Pollak
> switch that controls forward or reverse. It was sticking, and not
> sending juice to the white wire while in neutral. Actually went
> further and did some surgery on the switch - drilled out the rivets,
> carefully took it apart. All plastic, and a crucial plastic
> piece in there is broken in half. Have it in the vice tonight and
> am hoping I can glue it back together strong enough to hold. Not
> fun. Fortunately, Have an older shifter as back up just in
> case, but it doesn't have the ":won't start in F/R" wires.
>
> Anyway, on to my question - what exactly does the adjustment screw
> right above the red throttle lever do? it doesn't look broken to
> me, but seems to be doing nothing. Is it a friction adjustment
> for the lever?
>
> jeff d
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Received on Friday, 14 August 2009