4.3 dying when putting it in gear

[dlowdog9]

Boat has been running really good the last year. New bellows, shift cable, rebuilt carb etc. Runs great. Was coming into the dock a month or so ago, put the boat in neutral and then back into forward and the boat died. Fired it back up and had the same result. Next time i gave it some throttle past the detent and was able to get the boat on the trailer over "no wake" speed.
Launched the boat today, and now i wasnt even able to get it to shift without it dying. Forward or reverse. Even if i pushed the trottle past the forward detent. Does this sound like a interrupter switch? I just read somewhere else that it only operates when you go from gear to neutral. Is this true? When it first happened coming into the dock, it was after a full day of the boat running great.
Any input would be helpful. I didnt look too much into it as the ramp was busy and I was already wet dragging the boat onto the trailer today. Stupid of me not to test it before untying my dock line!

2004 Sea Ray Sport 4.3L Alpha 1 G2

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Sounds like the interrupter to me. If the shift cable is binding or out of adjustment this could happen.

 

[nola mike]

Sounds like, or fuel related. Assuming carb. Have someone watch the shift plate/sis and see if it trips the switch when shifted

 

[stresspoint]

have fun replacing the lower shift cable

 

[Scott Danforth]

Adjust the lower shift cable per the factory manual

 

[Scott06]

Watch the shift plate when you shift see if it is tripping the interrupt switch. if it is take the lower shift cable off shift plate yiu should be able to shift it easily. If not pull the drive and see what is hanging it up.
would find it odd to be the cable since it was just replaced, but that is the usual culprit.

if it isnt tripping the interrupt would think you have a carb issue

 

[stresspoint]

sorry , i just noticed you posted that you have a new shift cable ,
ignore my last post.

 

[Lou C]

When this happens it’s because the interrupter is triggered for longer than it should be. It’s really just a split second when you are pulling the remote control from in-gear to neutral.
The Merc system momentarily shorts the ignition to ground so if the interrupter stays engaged too long it will kill the engine.
OMC used a similar system but has an ESA module; this lowers the idle enough to take the pressure off the clutch dogs but will not stall the engine if it’s in good tune with a clean well adjusted carb. On my Cobra it will drop the idle from 600 to 450 rpm when shifting to neutral. It has never stalled when shifting all the years I have had it.

 

[dlowdog9]

When this happens it’s because the interrupter is triggered for longer than it should be. It’s really just a split second when you are pulling the remote control from in-gear to neutral.
The Merc system momentarily shorts the ignition to ground so if the interrupter stays engaged too long it will kill the engine.
OMC used a similar system but has an ESA module; this lowers the idle enough to take the pressure off the clutch dogs but will not stall the engine if it’s in good tune with a clean well adjusted carb. On my Cobra it will drop the idle from 600 to 450 rpm when shifting to neutral. It has never stalled when shifting all the years I have had it.

This is kinda what ive been curious about. Mine is stalling going from neutral into gear.

 

[Lou C]

If yours is stalling going into gear, then the engine is not taking the load from the turning the driveshaft, that's more likely to be an ignition/carburation issue.
Unless, due to some other adjustment issue, your interrupt is engaging when it shouldn't. I'm not familiar with the Merc sytem so I can't say but on my OMC when the micro switches wore out the interrupter stuck on and made the engine run poorly, but did not stall, even going INTO Gear. I wound up replacing the switches and the ESA module (which failed at about the same time) and its been fine for 7 years after the repair.

 

[Scott Danforth]

if the cable and interupt are not set correctly, it can cut out going into gear.

 

[dlowdog9]

if the cable and interupt are not set correctly, it can cut out going into gear.

I will double check the cable. It was replaced last year and was set correctly and was working great up until i started having issues.

 

[Scott06]

I will double check the cable. It was replaced last year and was set correctly and was working great up until i started having issues.

Disconnect the interrupt switch and put it in gear. If it is the switch it wont stall out, if it does look for other carb or ignition issues.

 

[stresspoint]

i went through this earlier this year on my 4.3 , part of the problem was the shift cable hanging up in the drive and the PO of the boat messing with adjustments.
replacing the shift cable and correctly adjusting the mechanism kind of sorted the issue, but it would still stall out when i shifted slow in and out of forward or reverse , shifting aggressive it worked fine.
i read into the manual , there are 2 different switches , 1 has a metal roller on a spring tab that activates at exactly the correct timing , there is a exert in the manual that tells the exact setting ( i will post when i get home to my desk top).
the other (later version ) a plastic dampener type switch , the set up is the same as above except more complicated to set after someone messes with the 2 screws..
mine was binding right in the area where the most crucial spot it needed to work .
a good work out with some spray silicone grease seems to have fixed the problem "for the time being" , no doubt later down the track i will need to replace or re lube the button switch.

 

[ROY WILLIAMS]

inspect the shift switch ... probably lube it in the back of the top engine area ..
I was lubing it every year ...