1973 OMC 225 hp Binnacle mounted shift control swith

[fdresser]

I believe I have a switch gone bad on my electric shifter but want to be very sure since a replacement is about $350.00 and will not be returnable. I have hooked a light tester to the pink wire on the ignition switch and jumped to both the green wire of the shift control for forward and the blue wire for reverse as instructed by the manual and have not gotten the tester to light up.
I have also tried to start the engine when I move the switch into a forward and reverse position and not been able to start but have been able to start in neutral as should be the case. My question is could the switch still be bad even though the cutoff works for start up?

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: 1973 OMC 225 hp Binnacle mounted shift control swith

to your last question - yes.

If you buy a new switch, you'll have to take the shifter apart to put it in, so you could just take it apart now and do a visual on the old switch - it might be all burnt letting you know your troubleshooting was good.

Another thing you can do is just jump 12v+ to the green or blue wire while tied to the dock and see if the drive engages. If it does, again that verifies bad switch.

Those switches take an electrical beating, because there is no flashback diode to absorb the huge outrush of current when the magnet in the drive collapses it's field.... It's like an ignition coil, you dump the power and you get a big spark. Most switches nowadays in circuits like that use diodes to prevent the current trying to arc the switch contacts (also helps keep an operator from getting a shock)

 

[patrickgerold]

Re: 1973 OMC 225 hp Binnacle mounted shift control swith

Hello,
I had the same issue, so when I took the controller assembly apart, I found that the electric shifter had broken off its plastic brackets. I have been looking for a replacement, but cannot find it. I have the Remote Control - Binnacle Mount 1973 OMC Stern Drive 225 hp 990211S Stern Drive. So the controller mounts in the dash, not on the side. Can I use a newer controller for this engine and just replace the whole thing??? if so, can you pass along the model number.
@fdresser, where did you find your replacement part?
Thank you

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: 1973 OMC 225 hp Binnacle mounted shift control swith

I might just go with seperate gearshift and throttle and mount something like this for the shifting- around $40 at home depot