Difficulty Establishing Neutral in order to start (2024)

I have two 454s.

On one of the engines, it is sometimes difficult to position the shift lever in neutral so that the engine will start. Once the neutral position is established, the engine turns over and starts without a problem. Is there something I can adjust on the transmission, or elsewhere, to improve this situation?

Don

Yes these are Velvet drive transmissions and I can see the electrical connections.. The boat is a 2000 Carver 356 Aft Cabin design.

Except for cleaning the connections, I do not see any other adjustment.

Don

I/B transmissions generally have a neutral dentent . Try disconnecting the gear shift cable at the transmission , confirm the transmission lever in centered in the detent and try starting .
If that works , readjust the cable so the control lever sits in what you feel should be neutral position , usually 90* from the control base.
If that doesn't work , there may or may not be a slight transmission lever/detent adjustment, or the transmission neutral safety switch may need replacing. On Velvet Drive 71C & 72C's the switch is on the exact opposite side as the shift lever.

Also the transmission lever & spring-loaded detent ball( at least on VD's) needs lubing occasioanally so the neutral position can be felt properly. And controls ,or much more likely the cables, may have too much friction for good tactile feedback.

quote:

Originally posted by rtribble

I've had a similar problem with trying to determine when the tranie's are out of gear when putting the boat back into the slip.
Would it be possible to wire an indicator light to the ignition switch which would come on once the safety neutral switch sends power to the switch. If this were to make sense, which of the ignition switch lugs would you wire the light to?

Click to expand...

I'm thinking that wouldn't be of great help as the power goes from battery to ign sw battery ternminal ,out the S (start solenoid ) terminal and through the transmission neutral start switch to the relay/solenoid & to the starter. So the only way the light hooked to the ign sw "S" terminal (& a ground) would light is if you were already turning the switch to Start. So... the light would only light if it was already cranking.

Yes there is, at least on older systems.

Simply wire a small indicator light between the "run" and "start" terminals on the ignition switch. The solenoid (and the neutral switch) act as as the ground for the light, but the light won't pass enough current to energize the solenoid. The light will come on any time the engine is in neutral. Nice for maneuvering, too.

It works for me but your boat might be wired differently. Worth trying anyway.

Thanks I used a small 12v indicator light from Radio Shack, $2.69 for two. Your choice of colors and easy to install. However IF the lamp gets shorted (say by water) it might engage the starter. A really small inline fuse might be in order.

I'd use the smallest I can get. You want a fuse that will carry the light bulb but NOT the solenoid. Those indicator lights draw very little power. Radio Shack has 1/2 amp and smaller fuses that you probably won't find at marine or auto stores.

To test turn on key, the light should light when in neutral. Momentarily short the leads of the indicator light. If the fuse blows, it's doing it's job; replace it and you're good to go. If the starter engages simply turn the key off (cutting power) and find a smaller fuse.