Dettom
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Can anyone explain the difference and what exactly they do?
Neutral safety switch vs. shift interrupter
- Thread starter Dettom
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The neutral safety switch prevents the starter from cranking the engine ovr when the shifter is in gear. The shift interrupt kills the engine for a split second while shifting to aid in ease of shifting. These are common on drives with clutch dogs for shifting.
RiverDave
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They are in alphas not bravos.
Vegaskeith
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I replaced my shift interrupter over the summer. I bought the whole new arm. $150 came with the newer style switch and new bolts. Bring a friend to dial it in on the water. One guy at the helm and the other adjusting the switch.
Dettom
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Well I wondered. Bought a new (to me) boat a few weeks ago that has Volvo DPX drive and 600+ HP. Very hard to get it in to neutral. Found out the cable is about 5 ft too long. Ordered another one but didn't know if there was a switch in there and if it would be a problem. Had the drive checked out and it's solid, so hoping the cable will solve it. If not, I'm prepared to put Livorsi controls in it. I need it to shift in and out of gear like butter around the trailer and docks. Have not yet installed the new cable.
boatdoc55
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The Volvo should shift as smooth as butter, if not, something is bound up some where. It really should not matter how long the cable is as long as it's in good shape and has no tight radius bends in it. When you anchor it on the drive end, make sure all the pivot points on the linkage are free back there prior to hooking up the cable.
Dettom
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Well according the mechanic, the linkage on the drive end is good. I don't know how to check that myself. He's putting in a high quality cable and the old one is probably the OEM and its 19 years old. As far as idle rpm goes I'm not sure exactly what rpm it is but I believe it's a tick over 800. It's EFI so I'm not sure how to dial it down. It shifts into gear ok but I really have to jerk it to get it out of gear. It will sometimes skip right over neutral and go to reverse because I have to pull so hard on it. Very unnerving while trying to put it on the trailer. Appreciate your input.
Bigbore500r
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My dpx volvo drive was getting difficult to grab neutral, and it ended up being the shifter handle needing some wd40. Soaked it overnight and its been like butter for 2 years since
Dettom
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Thanks, that's something I'm going to look at too. With luck, a new cable and a well lubed control panel will solve it.
Instigator
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Tom
Let your mechanic change the cable and like has been stated here already....Make sure that everything is lubricated and I am sure that you will be fine. I would bet that a 12 year old cable that is 5 feet too long has a pretty sharp radius in it and that is causing the shifting to be difficult.
What ever you do, DON'T try to adjust the idle speed with any screws as all you will do is cause yourself some heart ache because it is EFI. The Throttle plates and the Idle Air Control ( IAC ) were already tuned with a Laptop when they plugged in to do the final engine tune in the boat. If you change any of that without having the laptop plugged in you will have changed the reference points and you could have stalling and idle issues.
Ask Alexi ( Boostpower ) here about this as he is a gury on efi marine systems.:thumbup:
Let your mechanic change the cable and like has been stated here already....Make sure that everything is lubricated and I am sure that you will be fine. I would bet that a 12 year old cable that is 5 feet too long has a pretty sharp radius in it and that is causing the shifting to be difficult.
What ever you do, DON'T try to adjust the idle speed with any screws as all you will do is cause yourself some heart ache because it is EFI. The Throttle plates and the Idle Air Control ( IAC ) were already tuned with a Laptop when they plugged in to do the final engine tune in the boat. If you change any of that without having the laptop plugged in you will have changed the reference points and you could have stalling and idle issues.
Ask Alexi ( Boostpower ) here about this as he is a gury on efi marine systems.:thumbup:
Dettom
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Noted. EFI stuff is above my paygrade. Just going to take it a step at a time. We'll see how that cable works out. Chances are it's an easy fix. And thanks, Jeff.
boatdoc55
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I'll agree and add that I'm an old sterndrive guy and know just about everything there is on anything old time sterndrive. OMC Stringers, M/C #1's, Alpha's and AQ Volvo Penta but when it comes to Bravo's and all the other outer space drives, I don't have a clue. I know nothing about fuel injection and my advise about the idle speed show's that. I do hope your shift problem is cured with the new cable and have many great years with the Volvo.
