Teleflex single lever control

[Sailorbob8599]

Hi, I'm a recent newcomer to the forum and have been impressed with the advice many of you long-time members have offered in response to newbies.
I have a small cruising cutter (24.5' LOD & 30' LOA incl bowsprit & boom-kin) that I launched for the first time this past August.
It is powered by a 12 hp single cylinder BMW engine, operated by a Teleflex single control lever. This is the first inboard power I have owned.

My problem is with the control lever which refuses to accelerate the engine in Reverse. It functions correctly when selecting Forward, and will shift the transmission into reverse ... BUT, it will not accelerate because the lever locks solid as if it is against a 'stop'. I see no reason why this should happen.

If I depress the red button in the neutral position, the lever WILL accelerate the engine but, it will not do so when moving thru the reverse position. This proves there is no problem with the Morse cable system or the linkage.

So far, I've removed the quadrant from the back side, cleaned it up (it was coated in sawdust from construction days), applied new lubricant, but the problem still persists.
The manufacturer's instructions are not very helpful beyond installation. ie: there is no "troubleshooting" info. ... Everything worked well until this past weekend when returning to our berth from an awesome afternoon of sailing.

I'm hoping some of you long time inboard owners may have run into this problem and have an answer or advice you might provide to help me resolve this problem.

[bony]

Hi Sailorbob8599,

I have been thinking about your problem. I don't know what your control setup looks like but if it's anything like my Morse MV2 single lever control then I have a theory which might be worth checking. On the back of my control there are two metal arms to operate the cable. One is connected to the gear shift cable and the other shorter arm is connected to the throttle cable. As the control lever is pushed forward the short arm moves the throttle cable in one direction increasing the revs in forward gear. As I move the control lever backward to engage reverse the longer arm shifts the gear while the short arm (after a slight delay) moves the cable in the other direction which increases the revs in reverse. During this action from forward to reverse the short arm passes through a position where it is directly inline with the lay of the cable. Perhaps here is where your problem might be. Maybe your throttle cable arm reaches that inline position and cannot go any further because it it stuck or cannot get past that position for some reason. If this is the case it might be fixed by undoing the bolt holding the short arm and adjusting the arm to a slightly different angle.

Not sure if I explained this clearly enough and it may not be the cause of your problem but it is worth having a look at I think.

Cheers,
bony

[Sailorbob8599]

Thanks for this reply Bony, but I don't think this is the problem. I too keep thinking about this problem knowing full well everything worked fine for the first month of operation. It only became a problem on the last two times we went sailing. The first time, i was able to get about half throttle in reverse, but on the last trip back into harbour, I was totally unable to accelerate in reverse at all.
As I stated in my first post, shifting seems quite normal in forward, but appears to come up against a 'stop' when shifting form reverse engagement to accelerate.
One thing I now realise I have not tried is to partially pull the engine stop cable to determine if that mechanism is playing a part in this problem. What I really need is a second set of eyes to watch what is happening at the engine linkage while another person operates the control lever.
This being a quiet time of year at the marina with few if any folk around or on their boat, I guess i'll have to wait until another family member can come and give me some help in that matter.

[bony]

If you can accelerate ok in forward that should mean your cable and throttle lever work ok.

The only other things I can think of is

1. It sounds like there's a problem in the guts of the control lever, something might be jamming the mechanism.

The first thing I'd do is disconnect the throttle cable from the control and see if the lever moves freely in the reverse throttle position. If it doesn't then you've isolated the problem.

2. The cable/throttle adjustment is out of whack.

3. There is not enough space behind the control lever to allow the cable to flex up and down (or sideways) as you operate the lever.

I have a side control fixed to the starboard side of my boat and the cables are concealed inside the gunwhale. When fitting it I consulted the user manual which said that for 24" back from the control I had to allow 4" of clear space to allow the cables to flex up and down. I fitted the control and cables anyway but the control wouldn't operate. I found I had not enough free space for the cables to flex because the gunwhale was filled with foam so I had cut out enough material to allow for that free movement, once I had done that the control worked properly.

These are the only other things I can think of that might be related to your problem.

bony.

[tenchiki]

I ran into a similar problem on a friend's boat (though it was a 2-lever style). It had trouble going into and out of gear, and wouldn't hold a throttle position. The problem turned out to be one of the screws that held the frame (that goes inside the boat, and holds the shift & throttle cable) came loose. So we were moving the frame instead of the cables... Worth a try in your case.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Sailorbob8599

Hi, I'm a recent newcomer to the forum and have been impressed with the advice many of you long-time members have offered in response to newbies.
I have a small cruising cutter (24.5' LOD & 30' LOA incl bowsprit & boom-kin) that I launched for the first time this past August.
It is powered by a 12 hp single cylinder BMW engine, operated by a Teleflex single control lever. This is the first inboard power I have owned.

My problem is with the control lever which refuses to accelerate the engine in Reverse. It functions correctly when selecting Forward, and will shift the transmission into reverse ... BUT, it will not accelerate because the lever locks solid as if it is against a 'stop'. I see no reason why this should happen.

If I depress the red button in the neutral position, the lever WILL accelerate the engine but, it will not do so when moving thru the reverse position. This proves there is no problem with the Morse cable system or the linkage.

So far, I've removed the quadrant from the back side, cleaned it up (it was coated in sawdust from construction days), applied new lubricant, but the problem still persists.
The manufacturer's instructions are not very helpful beyond installation. ie: there is no "troubleshooting" info. ... Everything worked well until this past weekend when returning to our berth from an awesome afternoon of sailing.

I'm hoping some of you long time inboard owners may have run into this problem and have an answer or advice you might provide to help me resolve this problem.

I am sure the others or you will find a solution to your problem, however, consider how vulnerable you are to a failure of this cable. When mine broke, I was stranded. I now keep a spare on board. I fortunately found the exact cable on Amazon for about ten bucks. WOW!

[darylat8750]

If something works ok for a whole then has a problem that gets worse with use I would think a screw or bolt is getting loose. I would look carefully at the shifter unit.

[Sailorbob8599]

Yes Daryl8750 ... I'm thinking similarly, and Bony pretty much touched on this in his reply also. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's something very simple that will cause me to shake my head and ask myself, now WHY the heck did I not think of that before?

However, you all need to wait a while for the answer ... I've not been to the boat for a few days due to other demands on my time; I shall likely not be able to go until next weekend when my son can accompany me to watch what is happening below when the lever is activated.

[fryewe]

If I am reading your synopsis correctly...

...the engine correctly responds to the control for ahead propulsion, both shifting the transmission into forward and accelerating.

...the transmission shifts to reverse when the control is shifted, but the control won't move further aft to accelerate the engine. This condition seemed to get sequentially worse over the course of several engine uses.

...if the button on the control is pushed, the engine responds to the cable control by accelerating in both the ahead and astern directions.

My thinking:

Since the same cable operates the throttle for both ahead and astern operation, and it operates fine in the ahead direction I think you can discount that cable as the issue. Since the throttle cable operates normally when the button to disengage the transmission shift lever is pushed, this further discounts the throttle cable.

Since the shift cable and the mechanism apparently shifts the transmission into both forward and reverse gears, the shift link and that cable may be okay as well. However, the mechanism has to continue moving past the shift point to operate the throttle link to pull the throttle cable.

So the problem must be a mechanical issue within the mechanism... a physical derangement of the mechanism that is causing the shift lever on the back of the mechanism to physically interfere with throttle cable operation or inhibit further movement of the shift link.

Optimally, you should have someone assist you in troubleshooting so the control can be operated while an observer checks the control system linkages and cables at the lever and the cables on the engine and transmission.

These mechanisms are fairly simple. If needed for troubleshooting, removing cables from the mechanism and putting it through its paces with cables disconnected should allow you to troubleshoot it in depth. If needed, pulling the whole mechanism and inspecting it should be straightforward. My memory is that my installation manual was fairly detailed...I'll see if I can find it and if needed can scan and post pertinent parts. Do you have the manual?

[landonshaw]

I have the same throttle and when I get to the boat today will take a look. One thing you might want to try is disconnect the cable from the engine and run through the process manually. That would prove there is nothing on the engine causing the problem. Then, maybe first, doconnect at the throttle and try it then. This will isolate engine, cable and throttle.


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[Pelagic]

Fryewe's advice and analysis is right on.... you need a 2nd person to operate shifter as you watch what is either slipping or bowing at the reverse throttle stage.
...quite often it is a slightly loose clamp mount that prevents full extension

[Sailorbob8599]

Thanks to all for your input but as said in my last post , . . "I've not been to the boat for a few days due to other demands on my time; I shall likely not be able to go until next weekend when my son can accompany me to watch what is happening below when the lever is activated."

[Sailorbob8599]

Originally Posted by fryewe

My memory is that my installation manual was fairly detailed...I'll see if I can find it and if needed can scan and post pertinent parts. Do you have the manual?

Thanks Fryewe, although I wouldn't refer to it as an 'installation manual' ... I do have the manufacturer's printed instructions that came with the kit and these were followed to the letter.
As I've said in a previous post, everything functions correctly except the ability to accelerate when selecting reverse mode. That is when the control appears to come up against a 'stop' so I believe as others have suggested, something simple has gotten out of whack and requires an additional set of eyes to observe the linkage when operated from the cockpit. This is NOT going to happen until NEXT weekend when my son is able to accompany me to the boat.

[Sailorbob8599]

OK, I don't want to keep anyone in suspense on this small problem longer than necessary; I went to the boat today with an assistant. As I surmised, the "cause" turned out to be very simple but not so simple to resolve . . . due to the confines of the location.
I suppose with any new installation, it's to be expected things will move about or 'settle' with vibration; and so it was in this instance.
A vertical 1-1/2" copper wet exhaust pipe is held tightly in the starboard aft position of the engine /transmission attachment. It is secured solely by a straight flat tab bracket, silver soldered to the copper pipe and bolted to the forward side of the transmission case . . . It would appear engine operation/vibration caused this pipe to move a smidgin sideways to starboard and into the path of the transmission shift lever, thus restricting its full forward travel. This in turn prevented the Engine Control lever from engaging the accelerator control cable.
As mentioned, the very location of the problem caused a lot of squirming around, trying to move the 1-1/2" copper pipe which was impossible. Luckily the top and bottom of said pipe is connected to rubber exhaust hose, providing a small amount of flexibility. A temporary "fix" was made by using a large zap-strap to cinch the pipe back into its original position which provides ample room for the transmission shift lever operation.
I can see the only way to resolve this problem permanently will be to disconnect, and slide the engine forward onto the cabin floor, allowing sufficient access to remove the copper exhaust pipe. Once removed, I shall place a C-clamp on it and put a large dent in the appropriate position on the pipe creating the required clearance for the shift lever.
This problem is my fault entirely, I thought when I originally installed and clamped this pipe into place there was no chance for it to move . . . I was wrong, totally WRONG!!! . . .
But thanks to all who responded, sometimes its good to be able to think things through by talking (corresponding) with others.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Fryewe's advice and analysis is right on.... you need a 2nd person to operate shifter as you watch what is either slipping or bowing at the reverse throttle stage.
...quite often it is a slightly loose clamp mount that prevents full extension

Told you so...:thumbup: