1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

[phillim]

The motor was working great until the last trip when it just wont go into forward gear.Reverse gear works great.
I read in the iboat forums about a possible spun hub/prop.Question is..can anyone tell me how to rectify the problem.I'm fairly handy with wrenches and will tackle it myself with some guidance. Thanks for all the replies

 

[alldodge]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

:welcome: to iboats

If you spun your hub you would have trouble in forward and reverse. What kind of engine is on your 1962?

 

[HighTrim]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

Buy a mechanical shift motor

Kidding aside, do you have a multi meter?

 

[phillim]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

:welcome: to iboats

If you spun your hub you would have trouble in forward and reverse. What kind of engine is on your 1962?

Hey All Dodge thanks for the reply
The motor is a 1962 evinrude lark iv and reverse is working great.I'm beginning to wonder if the problem might not be electrical

 

[phillim]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

Buy a mechanical shift motor

Kidding aside, do you have a multi meter?

Hi Chris.I do have a multi meter and I think you may be right in that the issue might be electrical and not the hub

 

[F_R]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

Put that multi meter to work and check the voltages at the connections to the cable going down to the lower unit. Check the voltages with the connectors connected. Should be nominal battery voltage on green wire in forward and on blue wire in reverse. NEVER on both at the same time. If no or low voltage on one or the other, check the push button switch. They are notorious for being bad.

If the voltages check out, disconnect the connectors and check the resistance of the two wires going to the lower unit. I'm thinking they should be about 4 ohms, but haven't looked it up lately to verify that.

You can also use a jumper wire from the battery to the wires. To green should give you forward, blue gives reverse. NEVER, NEVER both at the same time while running. That will bust something in the lower unit that you don't want to hear about.

 

[phillim]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

Put that multi meter to work and check the voltages at the connections to the cable going down to the lower unit. Check the voltages with the connectors connected. Should be nominal battery voltage on green wire in forward and on blue wire in reverse. NEVER on both at the same time. If no or low voltage on one or the other, check the push button switch. They are notorious for being bad.

If the voltages check out, disconnect the connectors and check the resistance of the two wires going to the lower unit. I'm thinking they should be about 4 ohms, but haven't looked it up lately to verify that.

You can also use a jumper wire from the battery to the wires. To green should give you forward, blue gives reverse. NEVER, NEVER both at the same time while running. That will bust something in the lower unit that you don't want to hear about.

Thanks again Mariner
I'll give your advice a try.This is an outstanding forum site and I look forward to many years of perusing the q&a's.

 

[Vintage Boat Guy]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

I know this happens with our old 1963 Johnson 40hp, I've been told it has magnets in the lower end and after 50+ years of use they are worn out.

 

[phillim]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

I know this happens with our old 1963 Johnson 40hp, I've been told it has magnets in the lower end and after 50+ years of use they are worn out.

Thanks VBG.I'll start with the OHM Meter and work down from there,thank goodness there is an Evinrude dealer close by that still stocks a lot of the parts for that old motor so hopefully if it is the magnets,they will have them or at least be able to get them.The Lark IV still runs great(carb job done in Aug) and I hate the idea of having to replace it.

B.O.A.T. = Bring Over Another Thousand

 

[F_R]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

Actually, the magnets are very reliable. Unless it has been neglected and has sat/ran a long time with water in the lower unit. The electrical system is the #1 trouble maker.

 

[boobie]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

You could also have a bad forward hub and spring in the lower unit.

 

[phillim]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

Actually, the magnets are very reliable. Unless it has been neglected and has sat/ran a long time with water in the lower unit. The electrical system is the #1 trouble maker.

Hi Mariner,you my friend have hit the nail on the head.Did an electrical check this morning and I'm getting a very low ohm reading at the switch 1.2-1.5 ohms,so backtracking from there I've got a problem at the junction box that is going to need some attention.I get good readings from the battery to the box so the issue is inside there somewhere.thanks for your input my friend,it sure has helped.
The motor was put away carefully at the end of every season and the lower unit oil was changed faithfully with type c (getting harder to find) so had to resort to a premium blend from BRP (Bombardier) that is suited for electric shifts.
thanks again.It will be a spring time job unless we get a break in the weather up here in Northern Canada.
I had the motor from 1980 until 2002 when I sold it to my brother in law and as far as I know he never had it back in the water,then we pulled her out of mothballs this year to do some ferrying for family that bought an island cottage.
So hopefully next spring will see it back in service.

 

[boobie]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

Did you disconnect the blue and green wires right on the motor ?? And measure the ohm value of each wire going down to the lower unit. Put one meter lead to ground and the check the blue and green. This will give you the resistance of both the fwd and rev coils. The ohm value I can remember is 5-6 ohms.

 

[phillim]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

Did you disconnect the blue and green wires right on the motor ?? And measure the ohm value of each wire going down to the lower unit. Put one meter lead to ground and the check the blue and green. This will give you the resistance of both the fwd and rev coils. The ohm value I can remember is 5-6 ohms.

Good morning.No, did not disconnect at the motor,but that is a great suggestion.As a marine mechanic I would make a great plumber !!!! I will give that a try and let you know.Might be a day or two as I've pulled the battery and the weather is a little crappy right now,but I will give it a try.Thanks much for the help.....

 

[Grain Boat]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

I had a similar problem recently. Turned out to be the multi-wire connector inside the junction box (where the solenoid and voltage regulator are). Make sure the blue and green wires are making a solid connection there. Might save you a lot of grief.

 

[oldboat1]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

hope you get the shift electricals worked out -- sounds like you will. I've had that Lark, though think it had the manual shift -- anyway, had the hot water activated choke, which I thought was really neat. I don't know if they are a particular problem, but I thought it was a good feature. The choke system probably depends on a working t.stat, so need to make sure that works -- thinking (recalling) the t.stat is up on the top of the tower on the back of the head. good luck. nice motor.

 

[racerone]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

Sometinmes the tab breaks off the drive/ clutch spring.---------If these units jump out of gear on hard acceleration the hub and clutch spring need attention.

 

[boobie]

Re: 1962 lark iv selectric has lost forward gear

Agree with the tab breaking off of the spring. Seen it happen a number of times.