Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:46:06 -0700
Yeah _ i will be interested to find out how these switches perform
next season . If they work well, I'll probably buy one too. The
photos on their site show a shifter box that'd different than mine but
would probably still fit. The plastic arm makes me a little nervous
but i'm sure its better than original.
In the meantime........... miracles do happen! I FIXED MY ORIGINAL
PLASTIC 5 WIRE SWITCH! yay! So far so good I should say. It's
not something I would recommend for anyone lacking a ton of
patience. Anyone with Swiss watch making experience or brain
surgery experience would probably have an easier time. There's a
local place in town (actually other locations in west coast) called
Tap Plastics. They sell all the stuff to mold your own pieces.
So I made a mold of the broken disc from the original, and after
about 5 tries, got one that worked. Air in the curing plastic
bubbles were the main challenge. Once I got a good one, the next
challenge was getting the stupid switch back together without the
pieces shifting around. It;s sort of a smaller version of trying
to get the shifter housing back together without things shifting
around. Anyway - finally got it. Bench tested several times -
forward and reverse lighting up consistantly. Then installed and
reassembled shifter. Passed several back and forth tests. Then
water tested - also passing test. Even the neutral lockout works
perfectly. YEs, the original switch design still absolutely
sucks and it could fail again at anytime. But it's gonna get me
through the season until i can figure out my next move. Who knows -
it could in fact last another 5 seasons for all I know. Here's some
photos. More details to anyone who's interested.
latex mold, new part, old part.
guts of 5-wire switch. metal plate serves as contacts to close
wires. Metal arm relies on a rivet and a couple notches in the
plastic to stay secure. probably loosens way up after years of
moving back and forth.
On Aug 28, 2009, at 3:47 PM, Lee Shuster wrote:
> My local OMC dealer, HANSEN MARINE in Salt lake City, invited me
> over at lunch to take a look at the new TC Electronics (of Ontario,
> Canada) SINGLE-LEVER REMOTE CONTROL replacement switch, which they
> got in today to evaluate.
>
> This is one impressively re-engineered and built marine electrical
> component. Our first observation is that this is one ruggedly
> designed and smooth acting unit. One that can be easily rebuilt with
> off-the shelf micro switches, (but that need will not likely happen
> in our lifetime).
>
> The unit thoughtfully comes with a liberally long wiring harness,
> complete with inline fuse protection and stripped and tinned wiring
> leads. A very easy to follow table, documents how to replace a
> variety of OEM OMC part number switches. You will need to provide
> you own new quick wiring connectors, as it would be nearly
> impossible to source or provide the variety of connector types (3-
> wire vs. 5-wire) OMC used over the years in various applications.
>
> All of the plastic housing and cam parts were done in CAD and the
> fasteners and hardware have a better-than-original look and feel.
> The mechanical smoothness of operating the short toggle arm is
> apparent, as is the positive action of the computer-grade micro
> switch. It takes a considerable amount of thought to re-engineer an
> OMC designed part but TCE has managed to come up with a winner.
> Someone's spent considerable resources doing the design and tooling
> on this product.
>
> My original OMC switch is NOT (yet) broken, but I will be getting in
> the queue for one of these gems. I probably won't get one installed
> in my boat until later this winter, so I won't be able to do a full
> report this season. From our first impressions we see no reasons why
> (when correctly installed) this switch won't provide a lifetime of
> trouble-free electric-stringer shifting.
>
> HANSEN MARINE is willing to help sponsor an OMC-BOATS discount, but
> they would like me to help gauge the interests of this group before
> dropping a large qty order. Apparently TCE builds these in small
> batches, so sometimes there is a waiting period of several weeks.
>
> I'll be out tomorrow on the lake for what may be my last run of the
> season. Hope your season's been as fun as mine!
>
> Lee
>
>
>
>
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