johnson 1972 model gear probs

[mick.j]

i have a johnson 50 horse hydro electric drive 72 mod ? model number 50es72c it seems to be stuck in gear foward or reverse i dont know, the cable is free flowing but when i use the throttle from reverse right through to full throttle foward nothing in the gear case happens. When i force the prop to turn it is under compression load and no grinding or strange noises are happing, it just seems that somthing has come a drift between the head and the gear box, can anyone help please with what it could be and where to start, i dont want to take it to a marine shop because the cost of a pro working on it would far out way the value :)

[cormorant]

Look up crowley marine on the net and they will have a full parts break down diagram if you key in your year and model.

From there you can follow linkage

[finga]

They're an electric solenoid operated gearbox in those aren't they??
Check all the wiring connections to the gearbox if it is.
Where are you matey??
If your handy to southside I could have a gander for you.

[Steeler]

Hi Mick J

Finga is quite possibly on the right track here,those swithch button hydr elec boxes were very notorious for going through solenoids.

Cheers

Steve

[mick.j]

if it is an electric gear box do i need to be sending power to the box to change gears ? it may have been switched off in gear , thus causeing the supposed problem, it has no battery in it at the moment !!!!

[finga]

You need power for the solenoids to work.
It could possibly be the problem and I would not run it without a battery as well.
Only one way to find out I reckon and bung a battery in and try.

[mick.j]

cheers Finga i am at southport i will wack a battery in and see what happens ....

[BM]

The electric shift boxes remain in gear when the engine is off. Forward gear is the "default", no voltage condition. Upon startup they shift into nuetral.

There are 2 wires coming up from the gearcase, through the midsection an into the powerhead area and they are terminated with "wrist lock" connectors.

No voltage = forward. Voltage to 1 wire = nuetral and voltage to the other wire = reverse.

The Evinrude control boxes had push buttons for the gears and the Johnson control box automatically shifted via switches inside the control box.

cheers

[Dave_H]

The electric shift boxes remain in gear when the engine is off. Forward gear is the "default", no voltage condition. Upon startup they shift into nuetral.

There are 2 wires coming up from the gearcase, through the midsection an into the powerhead area and they are terminated with "wrist lock" connectors.

No voltage = forward. Voltage to 1 wire = nuetral and voltage to the other wire = reverse.

The Evinrude control boxes had push buttons for the gears and the Johnson control box automatically shifted via switches inside the control box.

cheers

Further to what BM wrote the main issue with the elctric shift gearbox was the switchgear, not the box itself unless it got water in it (the solenoids were quite reliable, in fact I recently sold my old working 1971 60hp which had the original still operating solenoids in it - we'd owned the engine since new). The other issue they had was the wiring being stretched when dropping the lower unit. It isn't difficult to check the wiring. There is a good knowledge base of old Evinrude issues at: http://www.sterndrive.info/outboardmotor/i_need_help_page.html There is plenty of info out there on other websites for old evinrudes/johnnos.

Those NOS switches are still available however difficult to track down. Try Bill's outboards and more at 02 4936 1013 (he used to look after me by tracking down/sourcing all my old bits for the old Evinrude before I succumbed and bought a new outboard). He is located in Weston in the mid Hunter valley of NSW but could probably freight you the bits.

Regards,

Dave.

[mick.j]

thanks Dave_H and B M i will start the manual work fingers crossed
I may need to repost at a later date to give you an up date .Cheers again

[CT]

Our 72 Johnno 125 had this problem a few times. In our case it was always the solenoid activation switch in the throttle / control box.

This switch meshes into the bottom of the throttle arm (which is circular) and activates the solenoids depending on which direction the throttle is moved. As the throttle returns to neutral, the switch was sprung loaded, and also returned to the neutral position. Ours would brake and not return to neutral, hence the same problem you described.

I have replaced at least 3 of these stupid spring loaded switches and even cobbled together another one using all the leftover bits!

Good luck.
Craig

[Noelm]

BM is on the money,(as usual) you definately need a battery, other wise it is in forward, they sort of worked OK, but were notorious for failing at just the wrong time, OMC and other manufacturers fiddled about for many years to get a good forward and reverse gearbox that was reliable, one stoke of genious, was the system called the "dock buster" as the name implies, it was not all that flash, it relied on the motor being forever in forward gear, neutral was acheived by stopping the motor, reverse was by stopping, adjusting the timing (via a small lever) and restarting the motor in reverse rotation, something that could not be done quick if you were about to hit something, hence "dock buster" then the electric shifts hit the scene and they were an instant hit, but still prone to odd no shifting or shifting when you didn't want to, and then the system we know today evolved and we have not looked back!