1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

[micawber13]

Hello everyone , first a little back round. About 2 months ago I bought a 1972 Sea Ray 200SRV off of CL for 700.00 that had been sitting for 13 years in a garage. Well a couple thousand later and here I am. I pulled everything and did a little fiberglass work ( prompted by posts here) , then had the outdrive rebuilt (upper and lower), torn the engine apart and had a local machine shop due the machine work, then put it all back together(had to have one of the cylinders sleeved), new alternator, fuel pump, distributor, rebuilt starter, tilt and trim motors. I must say without this forum I would not have got this far without losing it a few times. Anyway thanks to the archived info here , I got it running(purring) again the other day and was ready to pull away from the dock , only one problem it won't go into gear. So I come back here , drop Mallory tech department a email and search. The result the tech department says I only need to drop in a 1.4 ohm coil and a ballast resistor(already have a stock ballast resistor there), there tech bulletins say I need to build a circuit comprised of 2 diodes in series and 2 resistors in parallel to add on to one of the coil circuits. So I turn now to the experts who have gotten me this far. Thanks a thousand times before hand. The outdrive is a OMC stringer electric shift(shifts fine on the bench) the engine is original GM 250 (165hp) the distributor is a Mallory points type , original coil and wiring harness. Thanks again

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

You don't need to do that for a Stringer drive. That fix is for an ESA on a Cobra drive.

You may already know all this but you have a electrical shift drive. You have two wires going into your drive. One is for reverse and the other is for forward and they should not get energized at the same time or you will have damage.

Please describe how you do your tests on the bench.

Your next step is to check the voltages to the two shift wires. Maybe your control isn't sending power to them.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

.....You don't need to do that for a Stringer drive. That fix is for an ESA on a Cobra drive.......

Wouldn't that also be a requirement for the '82-85 full mechanical stringer drive?

 

[micawber13]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

Had the outdrive rebuilt locally and was there for the test. the mech. had it on the stand and energized it , checked the shifting and a couple of other things and pronounced it OK. That was the second day I owned it, maybe should have paid attention more, but I did't. He has offered to take a look but encouraged me to try and figure it out on my own.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

Wouldn't that also be a requirement for the '82-85 full mechanical stringer drive?

True...should have said electric shift stringer drive

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

Had the outdrive rebuilt locally and was there for the test. the mech. had it on the stand and energized it , checked the shifting and a couple of other things and pronounced it OK. That was the second day I owned it, maybe should have paid attention more, but I did't. He has offered to take a look but encouraged me to try and figure it out on my own.

Make sure you are supplying voltage to the shift wires from your control.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

True...should have said electric shift stringer drive

...and hydro-mechanical drive!

 

[micawber13]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

Will do Bruce, have to wait til Thursday PM though, I will also check the ohms, and the ground (unsure where it is)but will check before posting again. Thanks Mike

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

The ground is just the drive itself. At least on the model year I had, there was a stainless steel cable that ran from the drive to the intermediate housing too as there is no guarantee you have a good ground if you don't.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

The ground is just the drive itself. At least on the model year I had, there was a stainless steel cable that ran from the drive to the intermediate housing too as there is no guarantee you have a good ground if you don't.

Indeed, from under the top cap of the upper gearcase, over to one of the 4 bolts on the left trunnion cap.

 

[micawber13]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

Evening all, well I checked the individual wires (2) on one when I shifted to reverse I got 11.14 volts (battery was 12.44) nothing at all when the other line was tested, I got 5.7 ohms of resistance on both wires( if I tested it correctly). Ok here comes another off subject question during the twenty minutes of testing the key was in the on position, when done I just happened to notice heat coming from the coil area so I reached over and felt around , well the ballast resister was damn hot and I don't know if some of it radiated over to the coil but it felt warm but not hot like the ballast resister. What gives (is the ballast resister bad) (could it be part of the problem). I await your comments and instructions. Thanks Mike

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

Your shifting has nothing to do with ignition system. With the key left on and the points closed, things get hot. You could rotate the engine slightly so the points are open for future testing or open the cap and put some paper against the rubbing block to open them up.

Does reverse work?

Time to look at your shifter.

 

[micawber13]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

Roger that Bruce I just pulled the shifter(getting a cup of coffee, thanks for the fast response) will check reverse in the driveway tonight.

 

[micawber13]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

Back, Bruce, Yes it does shift into reverse(good), the other night I just stopped and pulled the boat out when it didn't go into forward. So pulled out the shifter(I need to look in the service manual to figure out what all the wires are for and what are the reading for normal) basically I was testing voltage at various settings of the shifter, was getting about 2 volts out to one wire when in reverse, when in forward was getting about 2 volts out in four different wires. As I said I need to pull the schematic for a morse shifter(I don't know what it should be reading). Any input is welcome, I will be on and off all night trying to get this straightened out. Thanks Mike

 

[bruceb58]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

I am not familiar with the inside of the control. Could be a bad switch, out of adjustment switch or broken wire. At least you have it narrowed down now.

 

[micawber13]

Re: 1972 Searay New distributor (not shifting right)

Thanks for the help it is appreciated, I will post up dates