Force 125 quits when shifting into or out of gear

[Mage11an]

I have an 86 Force 125. It runs great, idles smooth. However, it always quits when I shift into gear unless I do so very quickly. It also quits when I shift from gear to neutral. This happens either forward or reverse. It will start right up in neutral after it quits. Makes for some exciting docking evolutions, but otherwise is reliable. Any ideas?

 

[roscoe]

Re: Force 125 quits when shifting into or out of gear

What rpm is the idle at?<br />You may have to turn it up 100 or 200 rpm.<br />750 - 1000 rpm.<br /><br />It may be indicitive that the carbs need to be overhauled and cleaned out, and re-adjusted.

 

[Mage11an]

Re: Force 125 quits when shifting into or out of gear

I don't have a tach, so I'm not sure of RPM. It runs very smoothly, either in gear or in neutral. It just stalls when going from one to the other. Is there some kind of mechanism that speeds up the RPM when shifting?

 

[roscoe]

Re: Force 125 quits when shifting into or out of gear

Also, your motor may not be firing on all cylinders. This may be because of no spark, or because of poor compression.<br /><br />Yes, believe it or not, a 2 stroke outboard can appear to be running on all cylinders, when it is not.<br /><br />Check for spark, and do a compression test. You can get a compression guage fro any auto parts store.<br />If you have spark, and good compression ( nearly equal on all cylinders and above 100#), then you want to check your rpm and adjust the idle to 800-900.<br /><br />You can get an easy to install tach for about $40 from www.tinytach.com<br />Call them and tell them what motor you have, so they can send the right one.

 

[dickhuston]

Re: Force 125 quits when shifting into or out of gear

Had trouble when shifting into gear when I first bought my boat. I would stall either forward or back. Fixed my problem by installing the proper prop on engine I have a Bayliner 18' bass boat and it had a 19 pitch prop on it replaced it with 15 pitch prop. If you try this be sure you don't go over redline.<br /> ****

 

[dave in toledo]

Re: Force 125 quits when shifting into or out of gear

i think rosco might be right, this was the beginning of the end for cylinder number 2 on my force 150...

 

[John1957]

Re: Force 125 quits when shifting into or out of gear

It may be something as simple as the interlock<br />switch needs adjustment.This switch keeps the motor from starting if its not in neutral.I would guess when you move the shift lever it is grounding out the motor. Just a guess but worth a try.

 

[91formula]

Re: Force 125 quits when shifting into or out of gear

Nav,<br />Mine 92/120 Force did the exact same thing, always stalled when put in gear, ran great otherwise. try ajusting your idle like roscoe said, I uped mine to 850-900 and never ever had that problem again, I'm not sure on how to ajust yours. Mine has a bolt on the side of the block so I just took a screwdriver and turned it alittle. this ajusted the idle. First things first get a manual. If I did it anybody can. Good luck, let us know if this worked

 

[the hangman]

Re: Force 125 quits when shifting into or out of gear

My 1989 85 Hp Force did the same thing - but mostly when shifting into reverse while moving forward. Like when docking - you hit reverse - the motor quits and you bump into the dock. I adjusted the idle speed up a little and it solved the problem.<br />One word of advise if you make this adjustment in the water - tie a string or wire to your wrench in case you drop it - just something I read years ago.