www.iFourWinns.com

Next question...I finally sorted out other issues with my 88 241 Libby but now have another one. After launching the boat, starting it up and allowing warm up I could not shift from forward to neutral or reverse to neutral without killing the engine. The engine is idling at a low 550 rpms so I don't think that's the issue. Any ideas?

Steve

ESM module or switches acting up or need adjustment.

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Brian Borchik
The Winds of Cold Springs Harbor Marina
Baldwinsville, NY

Do you have one of these? OMC Electronic Shift Assist "ESA"

The OMC Shift Dogs have an angled face of either 2deg or 5deg. This makes the dog difficult or impossible to disengage when there is load on it. The ESA is designed to drop the idle for less than a second while the engine shifts. It does this by interrupting the ignition to a couple cylinders during the shift. This takes the load off the drive momentarily so the clutch dog can disengage.

If the ESA is not adjusted properly, it can interrupt the ignition when it is not supposed to, or not at all. My experience with a 1987 OMC Cobra, with the 2deg dog, was that you really did not need the ESA to shift, it just made it easier, but because of stiff shift cables and worn parts, it was too difficult to keep it adjusted, so I bypassed it by bending the arm on that long switch in the middle of the picture away from the lever. However, if you have a 5deg dog, the ESA is much more necessary.

BTW, if you were to turn off your ignition for a split second while shifting to nuetral, and turn it back on before the engine died, you would be doing about the same thing as the ESA, so you could try that as a diagnostic tool (but not a permanent solution).

Look up "OMC ESA" or "OMC Electronic Shift Assist" to find information on diagnosing and adjusting the ESA system

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"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

Howdy,

With the engine running, try moving either the shift actuator or the microswitch that actuates the ESA.

With the engine idling in neutral, it should NOT kill the engine. It should "lope" however.

550 is too low for idle RPM. your engine should idle at 600-650RPM. The ESA will probably kill the engine at RPMs much below 600 RPM.

Also, do not allow an idle much above 650. too high an idle speed can damage shift dogs.
Before you adjust the idle, get another tachometer to verify your idle. Many times the tach is not correct.

The shift actuator may move some but should not move enough to activate the ESA to activate going into gear. It should only activate coming out of either FWD or REV

By the way, here's a link to a good online service manual. http://boatinfo.no/lib/omc/manuals/1986 ... al.html#/0

Regards,


Rick

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1987 Four Winns Liberator 211, formerly OMC 460 King Kobra powered, replaced in 2006 by a 1997 Mercruiser 454/Bravo III

Ok guys, I'm still playing with the ESA problem and am stymied. I replaced the module itself and no change. By the way everything is showing that they are powered electrically. I even tried " the bypass trick" and the engine just quickly stalls. Any ideas going forward?

Steve