shift interrupter switch, 1976 cobalt, mercruiser ford 302 v8

[rharshbarger]

had all the symptoms of a switch failure last weekend, took boat into mechanic this morning, he couldn't start so checked carb for gas & plenty, checked for spark and none- isolated to shift int. switch so pulled it off and checked with ohmeter and tested ok so put switch back in and put boat in tank and everything now working... starting, shifting in/out of gear normally. I asked him to sleep on it and let's fire it up in morning & see if still working. Any thoughts? Seems to me like will be a re-occurring problem... my brother has same motor and had same problem years ago and his mechanic ran a wire from the switch to the coil and it's worked for years so I'm thinking about asking for the same?

[Bond-o]

Ayuh,... A Bad Ground,...

Workin' on it restored the ground path...

[rharshbarger]

thanks for replying Master, hope it lasts

[Fed]

Read the shift interrupt sticky then come back with your thoughts because so far you are no where.
Start thinking sticky switch or sticky switch plate, no ground won't stop the motor.

[Don S]

if the interrupt switch is energized, then it's not the switches fault. It's doing what it's supposed to do. Your problem is why is the switch energized. Probably a froze-up cable.