Hey all, last summer we had to replace the shift cable to the outdrive on a
188 hp mercruiser. since then everytime you shift into reverse the kill
switch does its job and kills the engine. I have followed the service manual
to the letter and still cannot get the kill switch to behave properly. My
question is can I take the kill switch off the boat and run without it.

Thanks
Steve

seeray28 wrote:
Hey all, last summer we had to replace the shift cable to the outdrive on a
188 hp mercruiser. since then everytime you shift into reverse the kill
switch does its job and kills the engine. I have followed the service manual
to the letter and still cannot get the kill switch to behave properly. My
question is can I take the kill switch off the boat and run without it.

Thanks
Steve



You will quickly find out how hard it is to get into neutral if you can
do it at all without hitting a dock or worse...

So, it is fairly important to be sure you get the interrupter to work right.

See Mercruiser bulletin 89-4, pg. 15, #10d.

It sounds like the shift cable was not installed properly at the
bellhousing... it will likely require removing the drive again.

Rob

You really need to get the interrupt switch to work. I forgot to hook mine
back up one time after working on it. It was so hard to get out of gear
that when I finally pulled enough to get it out it slammed into the other
direction. I had backed it off the trailer and was at the dock trying to
deal with it. Finally I figured out to shut it off with the key when I
wanted to take it out of gear. Alphas and the original mercs have a gear
set that is designed to hold the gears engaged by the engine thrust. So
once they go into gear they really do not want to come out.

If you watch the mechanism carefully while someone else operates the shifter
you may be able to see what is happening. The goal is for the tension on
the cable housing to engage the switch just as the cable starts to pull the
unit out of gear. Because it does not want to come out of gear it is harder
to pull until the switch engages. Once it starts coming out of gear then
the tension on the shift cable lessens and the switch is released. The
trick is that you have to adjust it to work both ways. I did find that if I
very carefully followed the adjustment instructions I was able to get it
adjusted correctly when I adjusted mine.

It is also importatnt that you do not have too much other drag in the
cables. This can cause the switch to not release. There is a number of
merc bulletins about cable routing. The routing on my boat was not really
optimal and I rerouted the inside part of the cable to the outdrive and got
it to work a lot smoother. You can test the movement of each cable by
disconnecting them from the where the interrupter switch is and trying them
independently with the engine off. They should move freely without a lot of
drag.

"seeray28" wrote in message
...
Hey all, last summer we had to replace the shift cable to the outdrive on
a
188 hp mercruiser. since then everytime you shift into reverse the kill
switch does its job and kills the engine. I have followed the service
manual
to the letter and still cannot get the kill switch to behave properly. My
question is can I take the kill switch off the boat and run without it.

Thanks
Steve

I would not recommend removing the switch, there would be risk of damaging
the gears. Just keep working with the adjustments, you'll get it right.

Don Dando
"seeray28" wrote in message
...
Hey all, last summer we had to replace the shift cable to the outdrive on
a
188 hp mercruiser. since then everytime you shift into reverse the kill
switch does its job and kills the engine. I have followed the service
manual
to the letter and still cannot get the kill switch to behave properly. My
question is can I take the kill switch off the boat and run without it.

Thanks
Steve

On Thu, 12 May 2005 13:58:37 -0500, "seeray28"
wrote:

Hey all, last summer we had to replace the shift cable to the outdrive on a
188 hp mercruiser. since then everytime you shift into reverse the kill
switch does its job and kills the engine. I have followed the service manual
to the letter and still cannot get the kill switch to behave properly. My
question is can I take the kill switch off the boat and run without it.

Sure, just be careful.
Me and the wife
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/harkra...bum?.dir=/1323