Neutral Safety Switch

[Mike Christie 4]

Been having trouble with the reliability of my boat starting lately. Turn the key for power on, then when you to start it....nothing. Starter solenoid is is good working condition is boat is not "in gear". After a few wiggles of the stick and a little futzing with the safety lanyard she usually fires right up. Is there a micro-switch in the gear lever that I could look at changing out, or could the safety lanyard connection be failing.

 

Any ideas are welcomed. I hate chasing electrical ghosts.....

[Bigcatpt 408]

I would first rule out the safety lanyard by disabling it. There are 2 wires on the back of the switch. Connect them together and see if your problem goes away. My safely lanyard went bad and would cause the motor to cut out and sputter. Once you have ruled this out you should reconnect it.

 

You can also disable the NSS which is located on the port side of the tranny. It has two wires coming into it. If you unscrew one wire and then hook them both together. Warning..... this will allow you to start your boat in gear and is not safe. This is just a way to test it. Having it wired like this may also give you a over-rev beep at about 3500 rpm instead of the normal .

 

But your problem sounds like a NSS problem.

[Mike Christie 4]

Thanks for the suggestion Bigcatpt. I replaced the NSS and no luck. I also replaced the starter and the ignition switch. Still nothing. Is there a micro-switch in the gear shift assembly? It is my understanding that the NSS on the trans is always powered on, but I am thinking there might be a micro switch in the shift assembly that when you put the boat into forward or reverse, it cuts the power to the switch on the trans. Make sense? Otherwise I am at a loss, except one thing that did happen when installing the new starter is that I cranked down a little too hard on the positive stud on the solenoid and heard a little cracking. I am afraid I may have wasted the solenoid so am going to pick another one up today and try switching that out.

 

Sucks so much to have boat trouble during the summer. So few months to really enjoy it here in the NW and it has been out of commission for the last 3 weeks. I have a service appointment for it next week, which was the soonest I could get, but am hoping to get it resolved myself so I can get some use of it this weekend.

[Mike Christie 4]

Oh, one other thing. Is there a positive and negative side to the NSS? In studying it before installation, I could not see any + or - markings. Since it is a switch I didn't think it mattered, but maybe that is an issue?

[superdtf 68]

Oh, one other thing. Is there a positive and negative side to the NSS? In studying it before installation, I could not see any + or - markings. Since it is a switch I didn't think it mattered, but maybe that is an issue?

No. It's just an interrupter. When it's in Neutral, it completes the circuit. When not, not.

[mojoridin 1]

Sounds like a problem we were having last season. Turned out to be a bad relay.

[Bigcatpt 408]

What relay? Where is it located? How did you trouble shoot it?

 

Lots of people struggling with NSS problems. Tell us more!

[superdtf 68]

relay?

[Mike Christie 4]

That and a new Cable Harness for the NSS are the ONLY parts I have not replaced, only because my local parts house did not have them in stock. 20 hours diagnosing and testing and it may all come down to a relay. Sweet! I will keep you guys posted on the fix.

 

The two fuses are part # 16 in the exploded diagram.

 

BTW. marineengine.com has great exploded assemblies and parts lists. No affiliatiion, just sharing the wealth of knowledge.

[Mike Christie 4]

Photo.

 

Forgot that little attach to this file button.