2001 2500 SCR stuck in neutral

[tzw]

As the title says, its stuck in neutral. Worked fine last weekend, this weekend we go down to the boat, I push the button to put it in neutral to pump it a few times before I crank it over (no its not fuel injected) boat fires up. we untie and I try to leave the slip.......nuthin, I know the problem is in the shifter, it acts like the neutral button is still pushed in.

Anybody got advice or tips on takin the shifter apart. or what I should be lookin for?

[seapuppy]

yeah...had the same thing happen to my shifter..believe it was a 3000 model on my bayliner yrs ago....turned out it was the shifter and it's an easy fix for a tech.....they somehow take the unit apart (there is a clip or something that they break to take the shifter apart) and replace some sort of thing in the shifter...mine was covered under warranty so it wasn't a big deal other than it blew my first week vacation on the boat....

the tech came out and had it fixed in about a half hr........

SP

[tzw]

yeah....

So what google has taught me over the past couple days is the 3000 series throttle controls are junk..... and the replacement is about $350 plus the $90 gen 2 cables you have to buy.

Mercruiser has discontinued the 3000 series and there isn't much for replacement parts.

There was actually a recall in the late 90s

I removed the control box today, without having to break anything, and did not find anything in the control box broken.

With the cables unhooked everything seems to function fine, I can shift it in and out manually with the cable. but with the cable hooked to the box I can see the shift mechanism not functioning like it should. As I rotate the shaft as if the throttle lever was being pushed forward the throttle only button pushes its self in....

Thats all the further I got today, I will be disassembling the control box tomorrow.

I don't mind buying I new one if needed but I want to know whats wrong with this one first....

[rgreenwell8962]

TZW, I too, have a 2001 2500SCR and the same problem happened to me about 3 years ago. I replaced the entire remote.
Good luck. Keep us posted.

[tzw]

I completely disassembled the control box today, It looks like there are some broken teeth on the gear for the shift lever. I couldn't figure out exactly why it would have not been shifting. the throttle only mechanism seems to function properly. I put it back together and it magically started working but its now very stiff going into reverse.....


The general consensus seems to be these control boxes are junk. Due to the fact i'm going to Lake of the Ozarks in two weeks and I really really don't want to be effing with this while I'm down there I think i'm going to just chalk it up to the box being worn out and replace it.....



rgreenwell, did you replace just the box or the lever and mounting plate and all? did you replace it with a mercury 4000 series?

[rgreenwell8962]

I replaced the entire remote unit. I cannot recall which one I went with. I am heading to the boat this weekend so I can take a look.