Converted SE116 will not come out of gear

[flatwater]

I installed your OMC conversion kit and new outdrive last year. Everything went as planned and seemed to work fine the couple times I had it out last season after finally getting thru the break-in period. This week I have it at the lake and finally getting some time on it. After 3 days of good operation, it started to not want to come out of Forward and was hard to get into reverse. If I overshot the neutral spot on the remote I could get it to come out of Forward. I adjusted the cable from the throttle and that seems to have fixed the forward gear issue. But now I cannot get the unit to come out of reverse while the engine is running. If I shut off the engine, it comes out fine. When the engine is running and I try to come out of reverse, the black plastic barrel on engine end of the shift cable that goes to the lower unit starts to bend from the pressure but the outdrive will not come out of reverse. It seems to take way too much force to get it out of gear when running, but works fine when the engine is off. Any suggestions? I have the OMC ESA disconnected.

[admin]

Did you bypass the esa module or disable it. it should just be bypassed. The switch should be wired with one side going to ground and the other side going to the negative side of the coil. That will allow it to shift like a mercruiser.

Tech Support

[flatwater]

I had originally bypassed the ESA as described in the SEI instructions. However, the engine was stumbling when it was in neutral. I then disconnected the interrupt and overdrive switches as the 4-pin plug. This fixed my stumbling problem, but made it difficult to shift. So I re-bypassed the ESA, but it was still difficult to shift. After some troubleshooting, I realized that when I installed the unit, I did not adjust the override switch posts which caused the ESA to be overridden. I now seem to have the interrupt switch and override switch properly adjusted and functioning as designed (bypassed).

However, I am not able to shift into reverse. To troubleshoot this, I disconnected the lower unit shift cable from the shift lever and was able to move the unit between FWD, NEUT and REV. However, it takes more cable movement than my lever is moving. I took the following measurements from the center of the brass barrel to the center of the hole that connects to the pin on the shift lever. FWD = 6 inches, NEUT = 7 1/4 inches, REV = 8 1/8 inches. I then took the following measurements between the center of the brass barrel and the center of the pin on the shift lever. FWD = 6 inches, NEUT = 6 7/8 inches, REV = 7 5/8 inches.

As you can see, the shift lever needs to move another 1/2 inch to properly shift the unit into reverse. I am not sure I can get that much adjustment from the lever. Before trying, I wanted to make sure the measurements on the cable from the unit were within tolerance and see if you had any suggestions.

[admin]

I have sent you an email with a document on shift adjustment. Pay close attention to the remote cable output section. I think this will help you. Please let me know if you need more assistance.

[blaine59]

I'm having a similar problem. When I shut the engine off, I can easily switch in and out of gear, but not with the engine running. The engine will also shut off unless I try to shift very quickly. I have bypassed the switch per the instuctions in the manual that came with the outdrive, but I don't see anything in them about a second wire going to ground as you posted. Suggestions?

[admin]

The cutout switch has to be wired so that one side of the switch goes to ground, and the other side of the switch goes to the negative side of the coil. if you have the engine running and you hit the switch, the engine should stall. if you hold the switch the engine should shut off.

Tech Support

[blaine59]

I hooked up the switch properly. The engine stalls or shuts off when I hit or hold the switch, but the outdrive still only comes out of gear when I turn off the motor. It is easier to take out of reverse, but will not go into forward after reverse. Is this a cable adjustment, or what? Thanks!

[admin]

The purpose of the switch is to kill the engine while it is shifting out of gear. It should only stall it momentarily. As you are shifting out of gear, does the engine stumble? I wonder if you just need to adjust the switch a little bit. Maybe the lever is not moving enough to activate the switch?

Tech support

[blaine59]

It does stumble when I try to shift, and if I hold the switch manually, the engine stalls. I will see how the lever is adjusted, and on the shift cam and see if adjusting either helps. I'll also double check the shift cable adjustment. Have to get this fixed, the rain will end some point! Thanks.

[blaine59]

Your directions work correctly. As it turns out, the cam that moves the lever on the switch isn't moving properly. Thank you for your help!!

[gesteve]

Same shifting issue

I installed the kit late last summer and experienced the same shifting issue. My mechanic that installed the kit didn't install the wire and now it is lost. Is there any way you can send me another wire and detailed instructions to install it along with the cable adjustment instructions as I need to get the issue solved for this season.

[Guest]

Please refer to the email we sent you on 6-8-2018.

Regards,

Tech Support