NC33 Ford Lehman difficult start and bad time to stall

[Bruce Goldman]

1. THE Ford Lehman on my 1989 NC33 most frequently won’t start without manipulating the shifters at each helm numerous times. I have a keyed ignition in the pilothouse and no way to start the engine from the aft station. Initially, the turn of the key will excite the oil pressure alarm and idiot light but depressing and turning the key would have no affect. Even with the transmission assuredly in neutral I must nevertheless exercise the aft shifter and then leave it in neutral, and return to the pilothouse to attempt starting. With another failure to engage, I exercise the shifter and leave it in neutral, return to the aft helm, exercise the shifter, and return to the pilothouse, repeating the process until at some point the engine will start as normal.
Obviously, this routine does not instill confidence in any passengers.
Both a local experienced mechanic and an engineer at Borg-Warner, the makers of the Velvet Drive transmission, suggested the problem was a bad neutral safety switch. This is designed to prevent starting if the boat is in gear. I replaced the switch but the problem remained. I had the old switch tested and it was still good.
The ignition and starter were replaced last year and there were no problems until after launching this last spring.

2. Likely wholly unrelated, the engine has a tendency to stall when put in reverse at the end of the day. This of course occurs only when docking. As I usually do docking maneuvers from the aft helm and the engine can be started only from inside the pilothouse, I must leave the aft helm station. Fortunately, the engine starts first try every time after stalling. Unfortunately, landings predictably involve dock contact (at speed, best characterized as a crash landing).
To test, I put the engine in neutral and then reverse before entering the harbor, it seems always without stalling but it will ofttimes stall at the dock nonetheless. And I do put the engine in neutral before reversing at the dock. I am sometimes able to avoid stalling by throttling up quite a bit. Suspecting the problem was with the aft shifter, I tried docking from inside the pilothouse but it stalled all the same.

Thoughts and suggestions are most welcome.

[Piers Covill]

Hi Bruce.
Item 1. If you bypass the switch entirely, does it still do the same thing? I wonder if it is a wiring fault between the switch and the start circuit?
Best wishes Piers

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