omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

[Don S]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

swsidlo and Mystic Dragon.
Lets keep this thread for answers to wheelers questions. If you have a question, please, just post a new thread with your question instead of tacking on to someone elses thread.

 

[wheeler87]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

ok still no response from the esa switch , have checked all wiring near the engine and everything connected to the esa no corrosion and no broken wires , have put dialectric compound on all connections and fuse links just for insurance . also put it in the water today to see if lowering the idle helped and it did . Although the controle is still real stiff coming out of forward and only one finger to come out of reverse . so it definatly improved but still something seriously wrong . How did you make you're own shift assist maybe I can go that rout

 

[Don S]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

OF course it's hard to come out of gear when it's in the water, that's what the ESA system prevents. The clutch dogs are reverse cut, and if the shift interrupt system doesn't work, the dogs under load try to stay in gear.
That is also why I said to check by moving it by hand. Did you try that? if it didn't work, did you test it per the service manual? Did you disconnect the shift interrupt switch and verify the switch actually works?
I don't do OMC, especially the stringers, so can't give many suggestions on where to look or how to test.

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

There is still a few things to check with the ESA before you replace it with another one or something else. You said above you metered the switch, there are 2 switches, the interupt one has the arm on it and is wired through the NO (normally open) points, there is also an overstroke switch which is wired through the NC (normally closed) points. These 2 switches are actually wired in series with each other. You can ift the interupt switch all day long and if the overstroke isn't closed the ESA will never work. Unplug the 4 pin plug and measure both switches on the switch side of the plug. I think the blue wires go to the interupt switch, lift the switch and see if you have continuity. Then check the black wires you should have continuity without doing anything. You also need to check the 2 pin connection on the purple wire for 12volts to feed the ESA and also check the black wire that goes to ground.

 

[pra100]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

Everybody interested in how I came up with my own ESA.
When I have time I will start a new thread with all my experimenting and different designs.Not right to tack in on here as Don says.

 

[wheeler87]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

will try that sometime this week thanks

 

[Mystic Dragon]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

Sorry Admiral! Will let wheeler check his ESA module. I am in the middle of replacing my OMC 3.0L with a Merc 2.5 and will probably learn something from his endeavors.

I am probably going to try to retro-fit the ESA module onto the merc as I need to replace the Tilt relays anyhow and the ESA resides on the same bracket and is designed as a signal differentiator to avoid shorting the coil directly to ground.

Good luck wheeler!

 

[bruceb58]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

Wheeler,

The easiest way to test your ESA is to depress the microswitch to see if your engine stumbles.

Because you were able to get out of reverse easily makes it sound like it is not adjusted correctly.

OMC had come out with an updated ESA when they came out with their 5 degree shift dogs. I wonder which one you have.

 

[wheeler87]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

How do I tell if I have the updated esa or not , also how do I know if I have the 5 degree shift dog?? I have re adjusted everything today according to the hastings site that you guys gave me I had to use a squar because I do not have the omc tool for the bellcrank that they recomend. But I am pretty certain that all my adjustment are correct, although this is my first cobra and probably my last unless I can succesfully remedy my current problem . Other than my shifting issues this thing seems to be pretty tight.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

If I still had my Cobra I could tell you which ESA I had. I upgraded mine. It has been quite a few years since I replaced mine and have since sold it. Someone else will probably already know this...I somewhat remember that there was a microswitch which was not used on the newer ESA. I believe it was an overstroke switch. The newer ESA gets away from using the overstroke switch by using a time delay.

The only way you would know about the shift dogs is if there is a record that they had been replaced.

Have you tested the ESA by pressing on the microswitch while it is idling? Can you verify, by using a helper, that this microswitch is being pressed by the shift mechanism by going out of both forward or reverse?

Has an electronic ignition been added to the distributor of your engine? If so, the ESA may not be working unless a modification is added.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

I looked up some ESA numbers:

0984281 Old
0987740 New


The Rapair version is part # 123-9898-P or Sierra 18-5890. They carry them at iboats or other vendors.

 

[jfcar]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

Had same problem with 1991 4.3 OMC Cobra. Adjusted cables, no help. ESA and micro switches checks good but motor would not idle down when I shift. Every one said the ESA was probably the problem, replaced ESA module, no help. Was going to replace the distributor with a Mallory YLU 700 AV and they said their distributor does not send a 0 volt signal to the ESA between firing and the ESA would not work with their distributor with out doing the following modification to the ESA wiring. See mod at http://go.mrgasket.com/pdf/Mal_ESA.pdf (I used gray/black wire instead of gray wire because I had a gray/black wire going from ESA to coil). So I though I would try this mod with my distributor (Prestolite) before buying the Mallory, it worked. Motor idle down now when I shift, it shifts with two fingers. My guest is that my distributor has a problem and is not sending the signal to the ESA.

ESA Check for my 1991 4.3 OMC Cobra with Prestolite distributor, Connect a voltmeter between the blue wire at ESA and ground turn on key and check for 2.5-5.0 volts when shift assist switch is open (raise or lower the load sensing lever). Close shift assist switch and check for 0-1.0 volts.

 

[Boatin Bob]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

I wouldn't worry about which version of ESA you have, the only difference is the new style has a built in timer so the ESA kicks out after 5 or 6 secs plus it no longer uses the overstroke switch. The quickest visual way to tell which one you have is to look at the 4 pin plug from the ESA to the switches, the old style has 2 black wires and a blue jumper from one pin to another to give you the 4 wires, the new style only has 2 wires as it only uses the interupt switch now.

jfcar...I think you may be confusing the issue as you have electronic ignition and I'm assuming he still has points? unless wheeler says otherwise?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

Another difference in the newer version of ESA is that it drops the RPM lower than the previous version in order to counteract the increase in angle of the newer shift dogs.

I don't believe its confusing the issue to find out if he has points are not. Many people upgraded their distributors not realizing that it affects the operation of the ESA.

 

[wheeler87]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

Ok I still have a points distributer , I have the old esa according to the part numbers givin by bruceb58 and the wiring harness for the esa has 4 pins with one blue jumper . also judging by the condition of things on my outdrive it does not appear to have ever been apart aside from the work i have done . The point im trying to get at is it is probably the old dog not the upgraded one with the new pitch . I have checked both the esa switch and the overstroke switch both according to the meter are in working order . I guess it is a possibility that my problem is in the dist which I think without looking at it again is mallory . I dont know if they used these stock but mine is definetly original . I will try the mrgasket link and see what this does .

 

[wheeler87]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

jfcar ,

no luck with that link you gave says page not found

 

[vicsponjr]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

I didn't read word for word all the posts, but did you try disconnecting the shift cable and shifting it out of forward by hand?

 

[wheeler87]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

yes I have tried that both in the water and out . It acts the same.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

Wheeler,

Have you depressed the microswitch with the lever(while idling) and observed that the engine stumbles?

 

[wheeler87]

Re: omc cobra will not come out of forward gear please help

Yes I have when I depress the switch it does nothing . Im sorry I thaught I mentioned that in previos post