Johnson Electric shift stuck in reverse
 

Help! I recently purchased a 1971 Evinrude 60HP with an ELECTRIC shift.
First time I tried to start it ( with earmuffs in the driveway ) at idle it was not in gear. Somewhere along the line of tinkering with it, it has locked into reverse. I have been told when the key is off, it is designed to engage reverse, when key is on - neutral. I purchased a manual, ( on CD and difficult to manuever in ) found a section instructing me to ohm the solenoids. They seem to fall in the 5 to 7 ohm range. The unit is still stuck in reverse.

Are the solenoids grounded to the casing?
Should I be able to apply voltage directly to the wires leading to the lower unit to make them operate?

Also, I removed the bolts, and the trim tab to the lower unit. It will not budge. Is this because it is stuck in reverse?

PD99

Johnson Electric shift stuck in reverse
 

On Aug 24, 1:40*pm, PD99 wrote:
Help! I recently purchased a 1971 Evinrude 60HP with an ELECTRIC shift.
First time I tried to start it ( with earmuffs in the driveway ) at idle
it was not in gear. Somewhere along the line of tinkering with it, it
has locked into reverse. I have been told when the key is off, it is
designed to engage reverse, when key is on - neutral. I purchased a
manual, ( on CD and difficult to manuever in ) found a section
instructing me to ohm the solenoids. They seem to fall in the 5 to 7 ohm
range. The unit is still stuck in reverse.

Are the solenoids grounded to the casing?
Should I be able to apply voltage directly to the wires leading to the
lower unit to make them operate?

Also, I removed the bolts, and the trim tab to the lower unit. It will
not budge. Is this because it is stuck in reverse?

PD99

--
PD99

I'd try to find a service manual. Most of the lower units will come
off no matter if they are in gear or not. Need to make absolutely
sure you got all the bolts. Sometimes they can be pretty welll stuck
together if they have not been apart for many years.

Johnson Electric shift stuck in reverse
 

jamesgangnc wrote in
:

On Aug 24, 1:40*pm, PD99 wrote:
Help! I recently purchased a 1971 Evinrude 60HP with an ELECTRIC
shift. First time I tried to start it ( with earmuffs in the driveway
) at idle it was not in gear. Somewhere along the line of tinkering
with it, it has locked into reverse. I have been told when the key is
off, it is designed to engage reverse, when key is on - neutral. I
purchased a manual, ( on CD and difficult to manuever in ) found a
section instructing me to ohm the solenoids. They seem to fall in the
5 to 7 ohm range. The unit is still stuck in reverse.

Are the solenoids grounded to the casing?
Should I be able to apply voltage directly to the wires leading to
the lower unit to make them operate?

Also, I removed the bolts, and the trim tab to the lower unit. It
will not budge. Is this because it is stuck in reverse?

PD99

--
PD99

I'd try to find a service manual. Most of the lower units will come
off no matter if they are in gear or not. Need to make absolutely
sure you got all the bolts. Sometimes they can be pretty welll stuck
together if they have not been apart for many years.


Is it stuck in reverse when the engine is running? Do you mean that with
the engine running it will not shift to neutral or forward?

I have a 1969 Evinrude 85hp with the electric shift. These are designed
so that they are in forward with key off or with a dead battery - that
way you can always get home, after a rope start. Neutral and reverse
require pushing the corresponding button. Pushing neutral activates the
first solenoid which pulls it out of forward. Pushing reverse activates
both solenoids which pulls it into reverse. It is unlikely to get stuck
in reverse because two things need to fail - possible but less likely.
It will only be in neutral if the neutral button is pushed in with the
key on. Simply turning key on does not put it in neutral.

Is it really stuck in reverse when the ignition is off? It is difficult
to tell forward from reverse. Be sure it is not in forward - that's
where it is supposed to be when the key is off. With the key ON try
shifting to neutral - maybe it will do that and that means it is normal.
With engine running try shifting from neutral to forward and reverse and
check the rotation of the prop. Do not touch the prop when the engine is
running, not even with a stick.

If it is really stuck in reverse look at the simplest things first like
a stuck button or loose wire either at the control box or somewhere
along the wiring harness.

The electric shift lower units require a special oil. If the engine has
been run with the wrong oil the lower unit may be damaged. Try draining
the unit and re-fill with the correct oil and cycle the gears a few
times to loosen things up.

These old motors have had a tough life and may have had no or incorrect
maintenance. The shaft seals leak when they get old and let water into
the lower unit. Changing the oil every fall helps avoid damage but the
seals should be replaced wheb water is present in the oil. The oil
should not have a milky appearance - even old oil should be transparent
- dark brown maybe but partly transparent. If it looks like coffee with
cream in it then there is water in the oil. If the water has been there
for a long time then rust will be causing all sorts of problems,
including seizing the gears.

Being stuck in reverse should not be what is holding the lower unit
tight because the shift mechanism is all electric and just slides the
gears along the horizontal shaft at the bottom of the unit. If all the
bolts are removed then it needs a good rap but be careful because
aluminum can't take much hammering before it breaks. As the other poster
said, it may be stuck on good be old gunk. Try penetrating oil along the
seam overnight before bashing too much. When it comes loose it will fall
down so have someone help to keep it from breaking off the skeg or
falling onto feet. Put boards under it so it can only drop a 1/2 inch.
The electric shift has a plug that you need to undo before you drop it
too far.

Guys, I do appreciate the help.
I did buy a manual, but as I stated, it is on CD.

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.!!!!!!

Johnson Electric shift stuck in reverse
 

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.

The bolt under the plate is what I was missing out on. Got the lower unit off today. The impeller was indeed in bad shape. Hard and two wings broken off.

The cap for the neutral button must have fallen off while I was rebuilding the floor. The switch still functions.

Mike