So I guess I am one of many to have problems with my evinrude electric shift. The motor is stuck in forward, not responding to me pushing neutral and reverse buttons on control box. I am suspecting low (or no) oil. Can anyone tell me how to change it and with what???
(Hydro Electric Shift System Explained)
(J. Reeves)
The shifting setup of the lower unit is what's called a "Hydro Electric Shift", which is quite complex consisting of voltage being applied to solenoids in the lower unit which in turn change oil passages via a oil pump that supplies various pressure on a spring loaded shifter dog. The wires leading to the lower unit (at the powerhead) are "Green" and "Blue". The engine must be running or cranking over in order to shift out of forward gear.
You CAN NOT use HI VIS lube in that lower unit. You MUST USE what OMC calls "Premium Blend" lube, commonly called "Type C". (A thinner lube)
Note: The engine must be running OR have the driveshaft turning by some other means in order for the engine to shift.
In neutral, you need 12v to the "Green" wire.
In reverse, you need 12v to both wires, the "Green" one and the "Blue" one.
In forward, there should be no voltage to either wire. (The spring loaded shifter dog forces the unit into forward gear)
To check the lower unit for proper shifting to make sure you have no trouble there, remove the spark plugs to avoid problems and to allow a higher cranking speed.
This next step eliminates the actual shift switch in case problems may exist there.... Disconnect the blue & green wires at the knife connectors (the rubber insulated boots) leading to the lower unit at the powerhead, then using jumpers, take voltage direct from the starter solenoid to apply voltage to the "Green" wire for neutral, then both wires 'Green" & "Blue" for reverse (Remember the engine must be cranking over in order to shift).
With no voltage applied, the unit should be in forward. No need for a ground jumper... the lower unit's already grounded. You may crank the engine with the key switch or by energizing the starter solenoid with a jumper wire.
Large slotted screw at lower portion of lower unit is the gearcase drain screw. A identical screw further up the gearcase is the oil level screw. Fill from the bottom drain hole until the lube flows out the top oil level hole.
thank you so much for all the info. How do I fill from bottom to top though?? do I have to take the engine off?? Also, if the solenoids are set to forward by default how does the motor start???
There are 2 straight slot screw on the starboard side of the lower unit. Top is vent plug, bottom, drain and fill plug. ( do not touch Phillips head screw).
Remove the bottom plug, put container under lower unit, now remove the vent plug, while the oil is draining, replace the seals on the plugs part # 311598, buy several of these, ( they are a one time use item)
Walmart and many places sell a little hand pump. To use to fill the unit, you insert the tube into the bottom hole, and pump till oil reaches the vent hole. Install the vent screw, then remove hose, install the drain-fill screw, clean up mess.
The screws can be hard to get out, do not mess up the head. You may need to employ an impact screw driver to break them loose.
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As soon as ther key is turned on, 12 volts is applied to the neutral solenoid. Turning the key further to the START position engages the oil pump in the lower unit, that solenoid places the oil pump in the neutral position effectively placing the shifter dog in the neutral position.
This all takes place is a fraction of a second so that the boat doesn't jump forward.
so then that's why the boat won't turn over by key, because it's not shifting into neutral, do you think I'm starting in the right place by changing (or adding) crank case oil?? Should I be starting somewhere else??
So can I run a wire from the solenoid to the blue wire (or is it the green one?) to see if shifts into neutral and will start that way, atleast that will let me know if it is the switch.
ok, printed it out, did the test, got forward and reverse but no neutral, but I also just realized I didn't unhook the knife connectors, just added the jumper. Not sure if that makes a difference but I'm going to try it again anyway.
ok, turns out this motor is a 69 not a 72. Does that make a difference?? I tried to change the gear oil today, but I can only see one slotted screw??? Is that the drain or the vent? Thanks again for all the help and patience with my ignorance!!!
ok, just did the test again and i could get forward, neutral, and reverse. Motor turns over but won't fire when jumping power to solenoid. Still get nothing with key. I'm going to change the gear oil anyway because it probably needs it. What do you think my problem is?? I'm checking for spark today.
ok, I'm not getting any spark, my mechanic buddy says it has great compression across all four cylinders, he says it could be a problem with the wiring at the key switch. Supposedly theres supposed to be a yellow and black wire which serves as the kill switch, but I'm not seeing any such wire. On the back of the key switch there are three prongs, one says "BAT" one says "IGN" and one says "ST". Does anybody know which color wires should be hooked up to which prong?
Th ignition circuit is by far a different one than the later model engines that incorporate that black/yellow kill circuit. Your engine doesn't have that setup.
You have 12 volts to the "B" terminal of the switch.
The "IGN" terminal should have a wire that leads back to the engine to provide 12 volts to the pulsepack BUT ONLY when the key is in the ON and START position.
The "ST" terminal would have a wire that leads back to one of the 3/8" nuts of the starter solenoid to energize it. This wire should have 12 volts applied to it ONLY when the key is in the START position.
Find the wire leading to the pulsepack at the engine wiring terminal strip that is PURPLE in color. When the key is in the ON position, you should have 12 volts at that terminal. Do you?
ok, what a mess that ignition switch was. Wrong wires everywhere. Also, the batt wire is messed up somewhere inbetween the motor and the switch, cause it tested 12v at the motor and nothing at the switch, so I just ran a new wire and taped it along all the other wires. Also, the solenoid wire was wrong as well, wasn't hooked up at all. My battery was dead so I couldn't do anymore today, but the starter was turning from the key switch now (yeah!), and yes I do have 12v at the purple wire with the key on. I will test for spark tomorrow with my freshly charged battery. Thanks for everything so far!!!!
NOTE: That ignition system demands a top notch fully charged battery with at least a 70 amp hour rating. Anything less will result in damge to the pulsepack.
yes I was told that as well. The battery got low enough that I could hear a difference when the starter was turning over the motor so I immediately put the battery on the charger. I'm excited to finally be making a little progress, but I will have to wait till tomorrow to start tinkering again. Thanks again joe for all the help, I hear you are the man, and it seems with the title of this thread being "Electric shift problems" and now my problem not being related to electric shift at all you may be my only hope!!!
just got back in town for a softball tournament, working on my boat today. Just out of curiosity what is the green wire coming out of the pulse pack for?? when I got the motor it was cut and taped up. By the way my pulse pack is the bombardier, don't know if that makes a difference. Also, I know this is off subject but does my motor (1969 Evinrude 115) have a generator/alternator?
Joe Reeves is the man!!! Just charged the battery, cleaned all connections, double checked my new connections at the key switch, and it FIRED RIGHT UP!!! Runs smooth, idles and shifts great. But doesn't seem to be sucking up water. Does anybody know the part number for the impeller for this motor, and if it is difficult to install?? I've worked on cars and dirtbikes but this is my first outboard motor.
Not sure of the part number, got it here on iboats. The trick of doing an impeller on that motor ( almost learned the hard way on my '69 115) is to unhook the knife connectors on the wires going to the lower unit and tying a string or something onto the wires that go down. You will use it to thread the wires back up when you put it all back together. Also get the genuine service manual, it'll be your best friend.
In some respects it easier than a manual shift ( no shift rod to fight) the down side is it has two water tubes to the pump to line up when you put it back together.
changing the impeller is to me, a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10. Make sure you get all the bolts off your lower unit. There is one that is a bit hard to find by the trim tab. Be sure you connect something to the wire's in order to pull them up through. I used electrical tape and started as far down as I could and when I got to the end I did a sprial wrap(hockey stick style) with about 3 feet extra. When I dropped the lower unit I could pull it out far enough to unhook everything. When done, I lubed up the wire, including the electrical tape and then pulled it up through the hole. Then unwrapped the electrical tape and hooked up the knife connectors. Just basically remember to attach something to the wire so you can pull it back up when done.
thanks for the input guys, I think I'm going to try it myself. Looks like iboats store has the impeller for the 69 115, but not the "impeller replacement kit", will just the impeller be sufficient. Also i never did find out what the green wire coming out of the pulse pack is, I'm guessing Neutral Safety Switch?? My green wire was disconnected when I got the motor, and when my motor starts up it is in forward, and that shouldn't happen if the neutral safety switch is hooked up. Also, does anybody know which color wires hook up to which prongs inside the control box?? Thanks so much for the help everyone.
The default mode on those is to be in forward (no power) until it first starts which is a matter of less than a second so it doesn't actually drive forward. The green wire goes to the number 1 terminal, the blue to the number 2 and purple to number 3/4. I can't stress the oem manual will be your best friend. Also, if it hasn't been done, these things had an excuse for an automatic choke override between the choke solenoid and a temp sensor on the head, search here on how to disable it your gph will appreciate it.
1972 Evinrude 115 Electric Shift Problems
Linear Mode
