evinrude model 50273c will not shift into nuetral to enable start... where do i begin

i have a evinrude 50 hp push button shift that seems to be stuck in gear , where do i start to diagnos this situation ... any help at all is greatly apreciated ... thanks in advance ...

Re: evinrude model 50273c will not shift into nuetral to enable start... where do i b

How do you know it's stuck in gear? That motor will ALWAYS be in forward gear when it is not running because it shifts hydraulically. If the motor is not running, the oil pump is not turning, so it can't shift. Forward gear is the default when nothing is working (or running).

Re: evinrude model 50273c will not shift into nuetral to enable start... where do i b

Electrically, you start with the battery. Is it charged? Have you removed and cleaned the terminals shiny bright?

Then move on to the fuse. Normally near the starter solenoid in a rubber twist-apart holder around a half inch in diameter.

If that's OK, then move on to a systematic voltage check. You will need a voltmeter and at least a basic knowledge of how to use it.

Do not rush out and start buying parts before you have identified the problem. Thousands of starter solenoids have been sold that way, when that usually is the last thing to be a problem.

Re: evinrude model 50273c will not shift into nuetral to enable start... where do i b

ok here is a better explanation of my problem ... says on the throttle control engine will only start in nuetral. we put the muffs on ... went to start engine, was in gear with nuetral button pushed in i know this because prop wouldnt turn ... wiggled it and got it into nuetral , started engine< while it was running it shifted into gear and died, now prop will not turn , engine will not crank. do i need to drop lower end and manually shift into nuetral? what would be the cause of this problem? sorry if i sound stupid , this is my first electric start boat ... im use to getting blisters between my fingers

Re: evinrude model 50273c will not shift into nuetral to enable start... where do i b

I still don't get the picture. What did you "wiggle and got it into neutral"? The control? And when it was running and it shifted into gear and died, are you saying it went into gear by itself, or did you push the button?

No matter, here's the drill:
Forget the electric shift for the moment. To start the motor, push the neutral button and start the motor normally. If you can't push the button, check to make sure the throttle lever is pulled back toward slow.

Once the motor is running, it should shift to any gear by pushing the buttons.

Let's go over the shift thing once again. That motor is shifted hydraulically by oil pressure created by an oil pump. If the motor is not running, there is no rotation of the oil pump, thus no oil pressure and no shift. It is made to be "fail safe", that is if anything fails it automatically goes into forward gear. That is the situation when the motor is not running. It is in forward gear because the oil pump is not turning. Once the motor is running, there is oil pressure and the shift will work.

As for the electrical part, the push buttons send an electrical voltage to one or both of two solenoids in the lower unit. These solenoids operate two oil control vlaves. Those valves determine the flow of oil from the oil pump and cause shifting to happen.

There is also a neutral start safety switch built into the push buttons switch. That is how they force you to have the neutral button pushed before it will start. Other than the need to have the neutral button pressed, there is absolutely no interaction between starting and shifting.

Hopefully if you read this carefully you will understand better how things work and be able to figure out what's going on with your problem.

Re: evinrude model 50273c will not shift into nuetral to enable start... where do i b

we wiggled the prop to get it into nuetral... the motor will not crank in gear ... the starter engages but will not turn flywheel...the motor went into gear by itself .. button was still in nuetral... someone told me they had that problem a few years ago and there was a burr on the shaft and he had to drop lower end 3x to move manually out of gear and polish shaft ... finally worked, so i am going to try that unless any of yall have any other info as to why the motor wont crank while its in gear. i really do apreciate your time patience,advice and help thank you!!!

Re: evinrude model 50273c will not shift into nuetral to enable start... where do i b

Normally, you can wiggle the prop all day and it will not shift out of forward. As I pointed out, the oil pump isn't running.

So now you have me thinking you have catastrophic damage in the lower unit. Probably something busted and jamming the gear teeth. Just a guess.

Looks like the next step is remove the lower unit and see if the motor will crank without it.

Re: evinrude model 50273c will not shift into nuetral to enable start... where do i b

How about the nuetral safety switch? Could be bad, or not.