PD99 wrote in news:PD99.7c921b6
@boatbanter.com:
It may very well be stuck in forward. (A mechanic told me these were
designed to be in reverse with the key off ).
I did have it running, not well, but running. I was unable to get the
thing out of gear. I have ohmed the solenoids, they appear to fine.
It helps to know how these things are supposed to work in order for me
to understand how to troubleshoot.
I will attempt to remove the lower unit again on Wednesday.

How important is the actual button? I just replaced the floor in the
boat.
I think the neutral button may be under it.!!!!!!

The buttons are all critical - they shift the gears.

Test which gear it is in by having someone pull the starter rope and
watch which way the prop turns. From the angle of the prop blades you can
tell which gear it is in - if the blades would push water to the stern
then it is in forward and vice-versa.

Technically it is not 'stuck in forward', it is supposed to be in forward
when there is no power which happens when the key is OFF or when power to
the first solenoid is interupted somehow.

If it is really stuck in reverse that would be because nothing is moving
it from reverse. There is a spring that pushes it into forward which is
why it is in forward when there is no electric power. The solenoids move
it out of forward. So if it won't go out of reverse a good guess is that
the spring is not pushing it - either to neutral or forward. Either the
spring is broken or jammed. Maybe there is a lot of rust or dirt in the
gear case? Or maybe no oil at all? Maybe it was not properly assembled by
someone and the spring was either not re-installed or installed
incorrectly?

If the wiring for the buttons is lying loose under the floor it may be
that one or more wires has been cut and that is why it won't shift. How
did you ohm the solenoids? Did that prove the continuity of the wires?

How did you get just the neutral button under the floor? The buttons are
in a fixture of three buttons. If you aren't pushing any buttons how do
you expect it to shift gears?

Remeber - the solenoids hold it out of forward - power one solenoid to
pull it into neutral, power second solenoid to pull it further into
reverse - cut power and the spring pushes it into forward.