LouC wrote:
I think you're right about that....
I had the same experience with the OMC Cobra, first year it would not go into neutral, engine could not plane out the boat....found a great mechanic....OMC school trained....they fixed both problems and I didn't have to touch the shift linkage till 10 years later when I finally bought the 3 OMC tools and learned to do it myself.
11 years of boating, it needed:
2 shift linkage adjustments, 2 seal replacements on the drive, 1 bellows, 1 set of trim lines, 1 gimble bearing, 1 cir pump, 2 starters (one was from getting flooded with salt water last year) 2 sets of manifolds (par for the course in salt water) 2 carb rebuilds. Not too bad actually.
Problems narrowed down; not the trim pump, not the wiring from the PCU to the trim pimp connector.
So, now it's the PCU, HCU or the interconnecting cable.> $2000, > $2000 and >$150 or so. No means apparently to test which is faulty, only substitution, so much for the diagnostic plug !
Side benefit; I now know the wiring on the boat intimately, after less than 1 season. Some absolutely bonkers features; like a 10+ foot cable connecting the alternator to the charge splitter when a 5 foot one would have worked, likewise overly long EVC cables, all folded up and retained by cable ties !