Throttle lever neutral button sticks

[saskcan99]

Hi all. I have a 2001 Glastron SX175 with a 3.0l Volvo Penta. When I press the neutral button on the throttle shifter so I can give the engine some gas as I start it, the button sometimes sticks in. As in once I return the lever back up (to center) the button doesn't release and I can't put the drive in gear. I have to basicly take my fist and bang on the lever to cause some vibrations so the neutral button releases. Any thoughts? Is there any thing I can lubricate or adjust?

I notice that the whole lever mechanisim was loose. So I took the cover off (a white plastic neutral button fell out) and then tightened the bolt that holds the lever on. The neutral button pushes in through a whole in this bolt. This helped tighten up the lever, but it now is harder to move the lever. And didn't do anything to help aleviate the sticking neutral button.

Appreciate any help.

Todd

 

[chiefalen]

Re: Throttle lever neutral button sticks

If it were me id shoot it with some pb. If that don't work take it apart and lube it real good.

Can you get behind it and shoot it. Some you can't.

 

[saskcan99]

Re: Throttle lever neutral button sticks

Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure what pb is though. Is it a lubricante like WD-40? I will gove that a try next time I get a chance.

Any thoughts about tightening the lever bolt? Should it be tightened right up or left back a bit? When I tightened it right up, it seems to make moving the lever harder, but I don't want to leave it to loose so the lever becomes loose again.

Cheers....

Todd

 

[sidechoke67]

Re: Throttle lever neutral button sticks

How funny. I have the same boat with the same problem, and just started a thread asking for help today in the General boating forum.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=274872

I opened up the outer shell (same as you), took out the white button, and sprayed some WD-40 back there last weekend. Took it out yesterday, and still had the same problem. I couldn't reproduce the problem in my driveway, and my boat is usually fine pulling away from the launch. When I take my kids tubing though, and have to start the motor each time someone gets in or out of the tube, I am bound to run into the problem a few times. I have resorted to banging my throttle as well.

Now, I'm wondering if being careful about not pushing the neutral button in any farther than I need to would help?

Please send me a message if you get it figured out, and I'll do the same.

 

[saskcan99]

Re: Throttle lever neutral button sticks

Sorry to hear that you have the same trouble. But at least I'm not alone on my quest to get this fixed. I also tried spaying it down with WD-40, but it is still getting stuck.

And it is happening the exact same way as you described. Works fine on the driveway and when first starting at the dock. It seems that only after I have been driving for a while and then take a break, thats when it acts up. Of course thats when I'm in the middle of the lake somewhere!!! I tried loosening the lever bolt, but no help. Not sure what else to try. I really hope someone has a solution for us.

Cheers....

 

[woosterken]

Re: Throttle lever neutral button sticks

could there be dirt or corrosion in side the bolt or is there a spring in there like an ink pin to push it back out.
take a Q-tip and clean it out real good

woosterken

 

[saskcan99]

Re: Throttle lever neutral button sticks

Thanks for the reply. No, the push button slides in the bolt fine. It's whatever it is pushing (which is spring loaded) that is getting stuck.

Not sure how much of this throttle unit is servicable? Can it be disassembled and if so, how much work is it?

Thanks...

 

[sidechoke67]

Re: Throttle lever neutral button sticks

I played with my throttle a bit in my driveway last night. At lease knowing that the push button is sticking helps to vibrate the throttle the right way to help it come out. Now, when I put the throttle upright, and just wiggle/vibrate it from side to side (port to starboard) the button seems to pop back out. That is some improvement anyway...

Does your boat idle well? I don't know if this is related, but at the start of the season, my boat idled fine, and I didn't have this neutral problem. As the season went on, my boat has more problems idling to the point that I usually need to put it in neutral and give it gas as I'm approaching a dock to keep it from stalling. As my boat got worse at idling, I have noticed it getting stuck in neutral more often. Again, no idea if these things are related...

 

[saskcan99]

Re: Throttle lever neutral button sticks

No complaints about idling. I also was able to get the button to stick on the driveway. Like you mentioned, if I just wiggle the throttle a bit while it is fully upright, the button (or whatever it pushed in) releases. The thing is when I'm out on the water when it does stick, it takes a lot of wiggling and tapping to get it to release. I have already once thought that we were going to have to start waving for a tow. I'm starting to get scared to put the lever into neutral. I have been trying to start the boat with out using neutral.

Summer/warm weather is starting to come to an end up here in Saskatchewan Canada, not sure how many more times I will get out. I hope you can figure something out before the end of the season.

 

[sidechoke67]

Re: Throttle lever neutral button sticks

Well, I ended up taking my throttle apart today, and found the problem. There is a spring behind that button that has a pin passing through it to hold it in place. The spring had turned on that pin enough so that very little of the spring was left to push the button out. All the parts are in perfect shape - I assume that the spring turned a tiny bit each time the throttle was used, causing the spring to turn around the pin like a screw and be less and less effective through the years.

Having taken it all apart, I can say with confidence that no amount of WD-40 would have fixed my problem. The only thing to do was take it all apart.

I re-positioned the spring so that all of it is pushing the button out now. It is still apart, but looks good right now. I'll repost after I get it all back together to confirm that it is fixed.

 

[sidechoke67]

Re: Throttle lever neutral button sticks

Yup, that was it. I put it all back together, started my boat in my driveway, and the throttle feels crisp going in and out of gear. Now, it snaps into gear after starting the boat. It is a really good feeling after spending all summer wondering if I would be able to put the boat in gear after starting it.

It took me about 3 hours, I would guess. I was working pretty slowly though, to be sure I could get it all back together the right way. Ultimately, there is a gear that sits behind the neutral button - you have to get that gear off, to get to the spring that is behind it and reposition it on the pin that holds it and the neutral button in place. Wasn't that hard - just a bit of a pain to work bent over and around for a few hours. I was careful to disturb as little as possible as far as wiring and cables. A true mechanic would probably pull the whole thing out and work on it on a work bench, which would have been a lot easier.

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Throttle lever neutral button sticks

Congrats! It's a nice feeling to be able to actually find out what's causing a problem and be able to fix it isn't it? Good job!

 

[saskcan99]

Re: Throttle lever neutral button sticks

Excellent!!!! I will try and attempt the same thing you did. I now have a much better feeling about this trouble. I won't be able to get at it for a couple of weeks though, but I wil post my results. Thanks sidechoke67 for keeping me up to date on your results.

 

[rrc0]

Bringing back an old thread. I also have a sticking throttle only button on the same boat - Volvo Penta 3.0 SX-M with the Teleflex SL-3 controller. Can anyone guide me to exploded diagrams or the repair manual for this throttle control?

Trying to understand the solution provided above. To access "the gear" and the spring and pin under it, does the plastic cover pop off and then do you have to remove the throttle handle? Never taken one of these apart. More detail and/or pictures would really help me understand.

Appreciate any help/advice offered. I am a Teleflex SL-3 controller newbe.