Motor stalls & shifter jams

[needmoremoney]

1992 115 evinrude 'esl or esm'' (i forget) model-runs fine. At least for last 5 seasons. Except 3 times in past 2 days. Cruising great south bay LI, NY, after 35-45 minutes, throttled down, slowly. as it gets near idle speed & 'clicks' into neutral, the engine stalls. It starts right back up, but is stuck in neutral-will not go into forward or reverse. After a couple minutes idling, turning the motor side to side & trimming up & down, it shifts & is fine. After a 15 minute slow speed drive into river/channel, all is fine. I have no idea if moving the engine had any affect on the shifter beginning to shift again or not. I could not duplicate in my driveway, with engine cover off, there is no 'slop', all looks good. After short 'faster' or longer 'slow speed' rides, it seems ok. Any ideas where my problem could lie?

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Motor stalls & shifter jams

Don't you just love those problems that seem to fix themselves for no apparent reason and then won't show up again (at least until it will cause you the most possible inconvenience and embarrassment)?

Based on the fact that the problem cleared up after taking the engine through all of it's range of motion I'd be suspicious of the the shifter cable. They (and throttle cables) can kink up and be very hard or impossible to move. Check the cable for any signs of a permanent bend etc., and make sure that it can't get a sharp bend in it through the entire range of engine movement.

 

[needmoremoney]

Re: Motor stalls & shifter jams

Don't you just love those problems that seem to fix themselves for no apparent reason and then won't show up again (at least until it will cause you the most possible inconvenience and embarrassment)?

Based on the fact that the problem cleared up after taking the engine through all of it's range of motion I'd be suspicious of the the shifter cable. They (and throttle cables) can kink up and be very hard or impossible to move. Check the cable for any signs of a permanent bend etc., and make sure that it can't get a sharp bend in it through the entire range of engine movement.

as if a 1976 proline cc with a '92 evinude isn't embarrassment enough.....in my defense, if i had enough money for paint, i'd name it '2 kids in college' & hopefully lessen some of the embarrassment.
anyway....the throttle cables APPEAR ok. so after being docked all day, it started right up when ready to leave & promptly refused to move from neutral. short of a hammer, i smacked the controller a few times & lifted & slammed down the fast idle lever a few times. promptly went into gear. hmmmm....so as i left the marina to head back to LI, i took things slowly, & all was well. til a larger boats' wake forced me to slow down. i quickly feathered the throttle & prevented a stall & continued on a 20 minute ride home.....in somewhat rough waters. as i entered the home marina, i pre-acted & feathered the throttle & made it to the ramp without stalling. once home, as i flushed the running engine, i messed with the controller & while i couldn't duplicate the 'stall', i could duplicate the 'stuck in neutral' issue. i'm guessing the 'antique' OMC controller has decided to quit several short weeks before i go on vacation?
does this sound like a fair diagnosis? having done nothing more to this controller-or any other-then change the ignition switch, is it rebuildable? is there anything internally i should look for? is there something i could replace it with, without breaking the bank or missing a tuition payment?