Tender Neutral Safety Switch

[LADYBUG TOO]

The neutral safety switch on "Ladybug, Too" is very tender, touchy or whatever the correct technical term. Has anyone else experienced the same problem?? I did find that the aft cable anchor had not been installed correctly so I fixed that and adjusted the shifter link to make sure the neutral position was correct at the Teleflex unit. The electronic throttle has been adjusted for better "friction" so we are not getting throttle runaway anymore. Still, the shift linkage seems very stiff and is not affected by the throttle friction adjustment. I noted that later versions have a shift detent adjustment in the control head but not mine. I could not even find an 1800 series on the Teleflex site. Anyone have any suggestions??

Pat

 

[abcandjrc]

Only the obvious: Don't disconnect it. I still can picture the Donzi which came charging at us one day as a near-death experience when it was started in gear and full throttle. Obviously, our boats don't charge at quite the same speeds but the switch is still important. Ours, on an R21, occasionally requires a bit of a wiggle but I can live with that. Literally.

(By the way, ours was disconnected when we bought the boat but with two previous owners, and various potential marina workers involved, who disconnected it is problematic. Every buyer should check to make sure his is operative, and perhaps check it periodically.)

 

[Levitation]

Along with this topic is the issue of the shifter staying in neutral with the engine running... I related a recent experience in Florida where we were docking, the dock boy had hold of the bow railing and I went aft to attach the stern line... As I stepped into the cockpit it suddenly dropped into forward gear and almost pulled him into the water...
One commenter said he always presses the unlock button on the shifter to prevent this... While I am not adverse to learning new tricks, it seems to me if the transmission shift arm is poorly positioned right on the razor edge of the gears engaging, due to cable creep/clamps slipping/whatever, it can drop into gear with or without the unlock button having been activated...
I am not a fan of the single lever throttle/shifter that is all the rage on boats today...
I am also not a fan of the neutral cutoff switch being mounted in the shifter/throttle head as any cable stretch, wear, age, etc. puts them out of adjustment... I would mount them on the transmission activated directly by the gear shift arm...

 

[LADYBUG TOO]

Thanks. I had to do the "wiggle" today even though I had shut down in the neutral position with the throttle release button depressed. The swith is mounted on the transmission shift arm and I am thinking that it can be adjusted a bit closer to the cam surface that activates it. I could feel some play between the switch and the cam with the arm perfectly in neutral. After today's hard run I think I'll let it cool off before I root around back there again. I guess I am just an old fashioned two lever guy. Red for throttle and black for shift.

Pat