I've got a 1967 Larson with an Evinrude 55HP, Selectric shift. When I start the engine for the first time after putting the boat in the water, it will start in forward. I need to play with the shift buttons back and forth from forward to neutral and reverse and so on until it finally finds neutral. It will shift into reverse and forward, but when I hit the neutral button it just shifts to forward. When I finally find neutral, it works just fine for the remainder of the time I have it on the water. It will shift into and out of gear, goes into reverse just fine, even after shutting the engine down for a while it works great. It's just that first start that it's stuck in forward, until I find neutral. What could be going on here to cause this? I'm trying to sell the boat and starting up in forward isnt the greatest selling point! Thanks for any help.
It says "selectric" on the shifter unit next to the helm. Oh, and it only seems to do this when it's in the water....in the driveway it'll start in neutral.
Well, I had a thought until you added the driveway thing. I'm not sure how that dang motor knows it's in the water or the driveway, unless water temp is playing a role. If memory serves, about halfway down the lower unit, you should have an access plate that is sort of oblong in shape with two screws. There may be a plate under that plate. If you pull that, I believe there are two wires with little knife connectors. If you disconnect those, and put a volt meter on them (the wires coming from the powerhead), one should be hot in forward and one in reverse with respect to ground. Neither should be hot in neutral. If they are behaving properly, you could have a sticky chinese-handcuff spring or plate in the lower unit. Also, you might check your l/u lube. It requires the special lube for those electromagnets and springs. I think it typically slips if you have the wrong stuff, but if it gets thick or milky, it's possible something is sticking.
Oh ... if they are not behaving right, like one wire is hot when you are in neutral, I'd go with Lark's thought about sticking switches in your remote .. let's hope that's it. What is the model number on your motor?
The model number is 55873R....I guess it's a 1968 then....what's one year between friends I don't see the plate that you're referring to.Would these tests work with the key on, engine off, (i.e. using the buttons with the engine off will supply power to the appropriate places?) or does the engine need to be running for the thing to work properly? With the enging off, the prop won't spin, as if it's in gear.
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Re: Evinrude selectric - starts in gear
Easy guys. This is a hydro-electric shift. Not an electric shift. There is no plate on the outside of that motor.In neutral you will have power to one of the shift solenoid wires. In forward neither wire will have power. In reverse both wires will have power. That gearcase is preloaded to forward. It needs power to pull it out of forward.
Ah .. my bad. The shifter threw me .. is that the right one?WardenJ .. that one uses a couple of solenoids in the front to re-direct pressure to shift. I'm still thinking the two things to check are voltage at the wires as Dhadley described and your l/u lube. In that one, the lube is also the oil for the oil pump, and must be the right stuff ("BRP Premium Blend" I believe). Water in the gearcase can affect those a bunch.
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Re: Evinrude selectric - starts in gear
If you have a Selectric shifter on a HydroElectric shift motor, you have problems. DH is right. 12v to green = Neutral, 12v to both green and blue = Reverse. No volts to either = Forward.But with a Selectric control, Green = Forward, Blue = Reverse no volts = Neutral.Now you can put a hydro switch into a selectric control and it'll work, but is that the case? Or did somebody put the wrong control on?Another thing to check is the main wiring harness connector. They should both be yellow. There is also black and red. You can't mix them or you get shifting problems. Yellow plug to yellow socket only. I'm betting you have a black plug into a yellow socket. You might not be able to make that work. I mention this because both Selectrics and Hydroelectrics were available in both 68 and 69.
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OK, I tested the wiring and ran the engine, and it is correct as described. Forward: No power to eitherNeutral: Power to Green WireReverse: Power to both wiresIn the driveway, it works flawlessly as of two minutes ago. In the water (as of last Friday), it works flawlessly AFTER it finds neutral, which takes a couple minutes of shifting back and forth. I have not let it sit in forward with the gear shift in neutral to see if it settles there eventually. I have a feeling this is lube related...
Me too. You might pull a plug and see if it's emulsified (milky). If not, if you haven't changed it in awhile, it might make sense to pump some new lube in before you hit the water. Again .. the right lube is key on that one.
Anyone know how much lube it takes?Is there a way I can flush out the leg before I put in the new lube, in case the wrong stuff is in there now? Or would it be good enough to drain and fill, maybe let some good stuff run through it and out before actually filling?
Well, in my electric shift (different animal .. electromagnetic coils .. no pump) I fill with diesel fuel, and run for a few seconds, then re-fill with lube. I'm not certain that is good or bad for your setup. I don't know how much it holds, but if you are buying in "tubes", I'd buy 3 or 4. I think it holds 2 - 3 tubes, but never hurts to have extra. Fill from the bottom up until it runs out the top. Wouldn't hurt to replace your plug seals as well. If you have water or it is emulsified, you will need to see where your leak is and fix.
Beside's the electric shift switch, there is a shift blocking diode. It is located between the key switch, and the shift switch connector in the control box. You can't compare a selectric shift to a hydro-electric. They are not the same in any way, including the lube they use.
Alright so which is it, Selectric or Hydro-Electric? All I know is that it says "Selectric" on the shifter box next to the helm, the no power default is forward, and the wiring is correct per the information above. Which lube should I use if not Type C? What does this shift blocking diode do?
the model number for the engine tells us it's Hydro-Electric, a very diffent animal to the Selectric shift. The lube you need to use was once called Type-C, it is now called Premium Blend, and is sold by BRP. You should be able to buy it from your local Evinrude dealer.Don't quote me here, but, I think the shift blocking diode is there to prevent the engine from jumping staight into forward when you turn off the ignition, it allows it to hold in neutral until the engine has stopped turning.
lark is correct on the blocking diode. but I cant remember which years used it. I belive the 68 55 had a cut out diaphram on the block to keep the gear box solinoid powered up as the engine quit. but quite a few got modified, the 68 55 should have the black plug. the yellow was only used with one year or so of the 3 cyl and the 2 cyl hydroelectric motors. the problem your describing is either a low voltage or low fluid pressure or a bad clutch piston oring. first thing to check is the gear case lube, drain and change it. I have seen folks add rislone engine treatment and let them idle 10 min or so then change it again and add type c or a compatible lube. I have never tried the rislone trick myself but it may beat tearing the gearcase down to clean the pump filter and change the piston oring.
As a replacement for premium blend fluid OMC recommended Dexron tranny fluid at one time, it would probably work well for flushing purposes but I would fill it with the premium blend before running.
Hi there, I cant figure out how to create my own post for some reason, sorry. I have a evenrude Model#55873R Serial# J10987. My problem is the battery is not charging and when it gets low, wants to start in gear. I am good with cars but the boat motor is greek to me. I wonder if someone can tell me why my batt isnt charging and if this an easy problem to fix. I can see that my wiring harness isnt in the best of shape and would like to know where to buy one.
Thanks alot,
Kelly
They made controls that say "Selectric" on them that are wired for the hydro-electric lower units. The housings are almost identical. They seemed to come with mid-60's 55's. I think for a while the 40's were electric shift and the bigger motors were hydro-electric, same model years. You have to be very careful buying used controlers to make sure the controller is for the type you're running. Hook a hydro-electric (solenoid) "Selectric" controller to an electric (electromagnetic coil) "Selectric" lower unit and you kill it. Test used controllers with a continuity tester before hooking them up.
Evinrude selectric - starts in gear
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