omc esa upgrade ?

procut

Recruit
Joined
Aug 1, 2004
Messages
5
hi, just picked up an 88 bayliner w/an 3.0L omc. old owner said the engine was replaced w/a 2000 yr. model omc 3.0L from another boat. the problem i have is the esa kills the engine dead when engaged. i am thinking that they used the old esa from the 88 engine (points) for the new 2000 (electronic ignition). are they conpatable? thanks, tony
 

P.V.

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 14, 2002
Messages
452
Re: omc esa upgrade ?

OMC shift modules do not/should not kill the engine when engaged! They are designed to "scatter" the ignition to allow the fwd and rev. gears to unlock from the clutch dog durring shifting! The motor will run rough but should still run! Merc, however, uses its interrupter switch to do thew same thing but a mercruiser will die if it's engagfed too long due to misadjustment/wear !!
 

McKenzie

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 25, 2003
Messages
192
Re: omc esa upgrade ?

P.V is right, An OMC ESA should not kill then engine, no matter how long it is held on. My boat idles at 500rpms, and the ESA still never kills the engine, just drops the idle to around 275-300 rpms. If I hold the switch, it times out after 10 secs and the engine returns to normal (Stuart's website says this is normal, but some older models may not do this.) I'm a little confused as to how you have a 2000 OMC engine being that OMC was out of business long before that. Anyway, depending on what distributor the new engine has, the old points ESA could be made to work. If it is similar to the Pertonix igniter conversion kits, you could try their diode fix. Also, check to see that the esa is wired correctly.
 

procut

Recruit
Joined
Aug 1, 2004
Messages
5
Re: omc esa upgrade ?

Thanks for the replies, the esa kills the engine the second you push it in. there is a blue wire that goes into the harness and a black one that goes to the dist. I read somewhere the new esa combines the interupt & overthrow into one unit. mine is two seprate ones making me think I have the old points esa. the motor may be a 1997 not a 2000 as stated, however the 3.0L was fitted with electronic ignition from the factory from 1991 & up (I think) there not cheap but im thinking of buying an esa for a 1991 as that year had factory electronic ignition and one of the last years of the dog clutch before omc went to the cone clutch. please correct me if i am wrong in my reserch or thinking.
 

JustMrWill

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 12, 2003
Messages
877
Re: omc esa upgrade ?

With OMC, don't you need the Diode/resistor fix when going to electric ignitions? Or is that only if you use pertronix one?
 

procut

Recruit
Joined
Aug 1, 2004
Messages
5
Re: omc esa upgrade ?

HERES MORE INFO:<br />WHAT I HAVE: Bayliner 2155 (just bought from privet party) OMC Cobra Model # 985268 Serial # TO547088 Serial # TO124202 Engine : GM 3.0L 4cyl. The previous owner said that the motor was replaced with a 2000 motor from another boat. However, I am NOT SURE of the year of the motor as there are no tags on it. Casting # ON BLOCK: 14097080 97 It has electronic ignition that looks factory. THE PROBLEM: ESA (electronic shift assist) module kills the engine the second it is engaged. It is my understanding that when engaged it should lower the rpm’s (and possibly run rough) to allow for easier shifting into and out of gear. Pics I took of my motor showing the esa, dist, and wiring can be found at www.procutlawn.com/esa The motor runs perfect otherwise. There are 2 wires that come out of the esa & overthrow modules. The blue one goes into the harness (as shone in the pics) and a black one goes into the distributor. Stalling when shifting (unless I shifted VERY fast) in and out of gear was my original problem and found the esa was causing the stall. Bypass the esa and no more stalling but hard shifting out of gear. THINGS I THOUGH OF: A) They did not upgrade the esa when changing the motor (the original 1988 3.0L had points) to work with electronic ignition. B) They wired the esa wrong. C) Something totally different that I haven’t thought of. If I do need a upgraded esa I would need a part #.<br />Thanks, Tony
 
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