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

OMG! I think entire shifters come up on ebay for way less!

For those who care - my glue job held to reassemble switch, lubed
the hell out of it, but as soon as I moved the little lever back and
forth to test it broke again. Shouldn't have happened. But the fit
with those little plastic pieces is so tight, i think that is what
caused it to break in the first place. Too tight to rotate. Maybe
old plastic shrunk a little or something? Anyway, installed my 1 yr
older metal back up switch and everything seems to work fine. Haven't
tested F/R at dock yet, but should be fine. That metal switch is nice
and smooth, feels solid. No neutral safety feature, but oh well -
just have to be careful and not start in gear. So this websites
"new" switches for $195 look like they are entirely plastic. Not even
the arm is metal. I would be wary.

On Aug 14, 2009, at 2:33 PM, Lee K. Shuster (lks) wrote:

> New Replacement Switch for "only" $195.79
> http://www.sterndrive.info/electric_shift_replacement_switch.html
>
> Maybe Phil could add this link to the website?
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lee Shuster (lib1)" <lib1@...
> >
> To: "Evinrude & Johnson Boats of the 1960's and 70's" <omc-boats@...
> >
> Sent: Friday, August 14, 2009 8:07 AM
> Subject: [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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>>> OMC-Boats@...
>>> http://lists.ultimate.com/mailman/listinfo/omc-boats
>>
>>
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Received on Saturday, 15 August 2009