Unable to shift fwd or reverse from neutral (PROBLEMS)

ca3sar

New Member
May 8, 2016
7
Tampa
Boat Info
NA
Engines
3.0
Hi all,

I have a 2008 sea ray 185 sport. Boat starts fine and revs fine in fwd and reverse. Prob is after dropping into the water i cant get it to engage in fwd or reverse. Ive been able to get it before but this weekend i was a sitting duck. Felt embarrassed at the slip. I've tried the button on the side and its not working. Is it supposed to pop out or do i push it in? Can i take this control module apart and do maintenance somehow? Any help would be grateful. Thanks in advance.
 
What do you mean "revs fine in fed and rev" are you pushing the "throttle only" button and revving it? Have you engaged the prop out of the water?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You say the button do you mean the neutral button that allows you to have throttle only without engaging the outdrive? If the button is stuck in it is stuck in throttle only it should pop in & out when you push it.

Mine stuck in once I sprayed around the button with WD40 let it sit for 10 minutes then took a pair of needle nose pliers wrapped with tape didn't want teeth marks on the button & pulled it out then sprayed some more WD40 in there. I carefully pushed it in till I felt resistance then just pushed it several times till it felt free. I now spray it every spring haven't had a problem since.

If you don't have a manual get one the shifters have several adjustments & only come apart one way, there not complicated but you want it to go back together right, there usually not in an easy to get to area.
 
Before you start working on the throttle check the lower shift cable - at the engine - make sure it has not broken or come loose somehow. Hard to put in a post how it works, just google alpha I gen 2 shift cable adjustment.
 
Before you start working on the throttle check the lower shift cable - at the engine - make sure it has not broken or come loose somehow. Hard to put in a post how it works, just google alpha I gen 2 shift cable adjustment.

Good point.
I'm not that familiar with alphas have only worked on a couple.

On an alpha would a broken cable cause the neutral throttle switch to be stuck in the engaged position?
 
If the lower shift cable was broken or loose and was in neutral when it happened , it would act as if it was in neutral no matter what you did at the throttle. It could be an issue at the shifter, just more common for the lower cable to have problems, and easier to troubleshoot and eliminate it as the problem.
 
Last edited:
If the lower shift cable was broken or loose and was in neutral when it happened , it would act as if it was in neutral no matter what you did at the throttle. It could be an issue at the shifter, just more common for the lower cable to have problems, and easier to troubleshoot and eliminate it as the problem.

How would i spot this?
 
There is a plate mounted on the STB exhaust riser, it has two cables connected to it, the top one is the upper shift cable that runs to the shifter, the bottom one is the lower shift cable that runs through the transom to the outdrive. When you move the throttle it also moves the upper shift cable, moving the plate which moves the lower shift cable shifting the drive. Watch it as you move the throttle and you'll get an idea how it works. If your boat is on a trailer or lift, a basic check is to disconnect the lower cable and make sure it actually shifts the drive (without the engine running). If it does shift the drive, then you know it's either in the shifter /neutral switch or the cable has gotten out of adjustment. This sounds like a lot, but will tell you if the problem is the cable or not and is much easier than starting to disassemble the shifter.
 
So to add to this, The ignition broke. I have since replaced the ignition, but the boat still wont start. I have bypassed the neutral safety switch and is turns over with the new ignition. So could this original problem be a factor as to why it wont turn over?
 
Dont know what original problem your talking about but if it didnt turn over and now does with the neutral switch by-passed then the switch is bad. As far as shifting goes, remove the engine hatch and move the shifter, the unit mounted on the stbd riser (if V6,V8 or the valve cover (4 clyinder) should move. If not, the control box is suspect. If it does move , outdrive cable , coupler, outdrive is suspect
 
So to add to this, The ignition broke. I have since replaced the ignition, but the boat still wont start. I have bypassed the neutral safety switch and is turns over with the new ignition. So could this original problem be a factor as to why it wont turn over?

There are a lot of folks on here to give great advise, but you need to be clear about what your asking. Your OP was about the neutral throttle button wouldn't release, have you fixed that?

Now you say you replaced ignition are saying the key ignition switch or something else in the ignition system you never mentioned it wouldn't start you said it rev'd up fine but wouldn't go in gear because the throttle only button is stuck?
 
Original problem was I couldn't get out of neutral once in the water last week. During that process the ignition broke. I have since replaced that and a faulty battery which was slowly becoming a problems. I haven't been able to test if some wd 40 help the throttle button yet cause now the boat wont turn over. But does turn over when bypassing the neutral safety switch. So wondering if the control module or button has a part in the ignition not turning over to start the boat.

Thank you as well for the assistance.
 
the neutral safety switch prevents starting in gear.does not prevent the motor from running
Difficulty coming out of gear, in the water indicates a bad shift cable or a non functioning shift interupter switch
 
the neutral safety switch prevents starting in gear.does not prevent the motor from running
Difficulty coming out of gear, in the water indicates a bad shift cable or a non functioning shift interupter switch

Is there an easy way to tell the problem between these two?
 
turn the key to start, nothing happens
jumper the yellow wires, turn the key to start, motor spins
bad neutral safety switch

shifting out of gear, in the water motor stalls while shifting.
in neutral motor start, shifting into gear stalls the motor, or shifting out of gear stalls the motor
Bad lower cable or corrosion in the shift system

Difficulty shifting out of gear, in the water ,shift interupter switch not working
 
Hi all,

I have a 2008 sea ray 185 sport. Boat starts fine and revs fine in fwd and reverse. Prob is after dropping into the water i cant get it to engage in fwd or reverse. Ive been able to get it before but this weekend i was a sitting duck. Felt embarrassed at the slip. I've tried the button on the side and its not working. Is it supposed to pop out or do i push it in? Can i take this control module apart and do maintenance somehow? Any help would be grateful. Thanks in advance.

Bt,

His original post states the throttle only button is stuck in.
Am I wrong that the shift cable to the drive will not move till he gets this fixed?

It started fine before he changed the ignition switch he stated it rev's up in fwd & rev but won't go into gear. I think he needs to troubleshoot the ignition switch wiring now.

What do you think?
 
Bt,

His original post states the throttle only button is stuck in.
Am I wrong that the shift cable to the drive will not move till he gets this fixed?

It started fine before he changed the ignition switch he stated it rev's up in fwd & rev but won't go into gear. I think he needs to troubleshoot the ignition switch wiring now.

What do you think?

I took off and followed the wire exactly with new sea dog 4 prong switch. Would the wiring be wrong? And it turns over when by passing safety switch with the ignition.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,950
Messages
1,422,900
Members
60,933
Latest member
juliediane
Back
Top