Morse control problem

[TRUE BLUE]

I got a 97 Parker with dual station Morse controls. Two levers, throttle and shift. The shift in the cabin you need a persuader almost to move it. The thing is, the outside shift moves both of them no problem. Does anyone know the cause or fix? The throttles are ok. :?:

 

[ppem45]

I just had new Morse Controls installed in my boat and had Teleflex Supreme 33 Cables installed with them because I was told they were the best to use with Morse. You may just have too sharp of a turn in the cables, I would follow them from one station to the other very carefully and start from there. Look behind the helms and make sure nothing is jamming up. If all else fails you may need a new set of cables or maybe even one cable. You know the old adage, if it's not broke then don't fix it.
I hope this helps you out of a jam, no pun intended!

 

[BradV]

sounds like something wrong with the control box inside the cabin. Not sure how it works but maybe its not disengaging correctly allowing the binnacle to move freely.

 

[PhilC]

I had same problem. Try spraying controls with WD-40. Remove the 2 screws or spray from below.

 

[Megabyte]

Also check the friction screw on the lever near the pivot point.
Could be that yours has tightened up over time.

 

[DaleH]

I can't wait to see the resolution on this ... as knowing the controls as I do ... I fail to comprehend how it could work fine from the other station, yet bind up from the main one :?: ...

 

[Devilfish]

I had the same problem on mine only in reverse. The second station would bind. My problem was simple- there was a screw on the side of the control, just about directly beneath the shift lever that had backed out a bit. As a result, the movement of the lever was impeded. (I really don't know how.) Simply tightening the screw completely alleviated the problem. And I found that out on my own after a Parker dealer's technician spent about 2 hours going over the whole deal and couldn't get the lever to shift properly.

 

[crabcake]

I just had the same problem. Same exact symptoms. I traced the throttle cable back to the second station and found that there was a tear in the cable jacket under the second station. Water had gotten in there and froze over the winter causing it to expand, shred and rust. I replaced the throttle cable from the main to the second station and now all is good. Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[TRUE BLUE]

Well, I took apart all the parts of the system. Individually, the cables and shifters worked ok. Put evcerything back and the same problem. Maybe a little smoother. Lubed all the pivot points. Backed off the brake screws on the side of the levers. Re-shimmed the shift shoe on the dp-s drive. No sharp bends in the cables, which each moved smoothly when disconnected. I did notice the cable came up hard against the neutral switch, but the trouble existed in gear so that probably does not apply. All I can say at this point is it might be the sum of the parts situation, where things are worn enough to cause trouble when combined. Next year maybe I'll start replacing cables, Im too worn out to do it now.

 

[sslocum]

My controls are driving me crazy. The second station on my 2120 is just about locked up the shifter in the cabin is sticky but I can get it to work. Had this problem at the beginning of the season and my mechanic who is not a morse control guy but is a certified yamaha mechanic took both controls apart and lubed them up adjusted tensions etc. He said that the bends were too tight in his opinion on the cables so he also removed some tie wraps. It is now doing the same thing a month and a half later. Any help on this would be appreciated.

 

[DaleH]

FWIW the Teleflex XTREME series of Morse cable is the bomb! Where std cables need an 8" radiius, the XTREME series can survive and perform in a 4" radius. They are soooooooooooooooooooooooooo slick and smooth that I needed to ADD braking effort to the controls, as otherwise you couldn't feel any resistance at all.

Best prices on-line for them are from www.surplusunlimited.com .

 

[sslocum]

Thanks for the tip, I will measure my current cables and see what I need. Does anyone have the lengths for a 2120 with the dual station deck mounted so I can check my measurements?

 

[DaleH]

Thanks for the tip, I will measure my current cables and see what I need. Does anyone have the lengths for a 2120 with the dual station deck mounted so I can check my measurements?

On cables, the LAST TWO NUMBERS after the model number denotes the cable length in feet.

Example:
OU812-12 would be a 12' cable.

On some 'other' brand cables, the THREE NUMBERS after the model number denotes the cable length in inches.

Example:
OU812-150 would be a 150-inch or 12', 6" cable.

 

[wrangler]

You probably have a bad cable if you can't move it effortlessly with two fingers then it is bad. The morse controll that parker mostly use will also wear the 90 degree arm that screws onto the cable and then attaches it to the control via a cotter pin. when this happens it will still start to bind when the control is used. It will usually be exagerated in the furtherest control box because this one will naturally have the most lost motion.
Do your self a favor if you ever replace these controlls buy a set of TELEFLEX CH5100 all stainless controls and teleflex extreme cables I put this set up on my boat a 2520 this year and there is no comparison. they even have a anti creep feature built into the throttle so it will never drift backward on you even with no tension screws aplied at all. It will also fit perfectly in the cutout hole for your morse controls.(Teleflex owns Morse) One other control that is excelent is Kobelt but they are a little more money. The standard and long arm morse controlls will probably last about 1-2 years on a crabpot boat but the kobelt will last 10+ and they also use teleflex cables

 

[Parker23.5]

Hey let me know if you find the probably? I have the same probably but my 2nd station binds and have to go inside to the main control to switch? Spraying it works for awhile but will bind up after awhile. I don't think my cable are bad because my boat is new 2008 24hr. on her? Tom

 

[wrangler]

You only have 24 hours of use but probably 8700+ hours of sitting up which will probably become more of your enemy than use. especially if you have just the plain series of teleflex cables and not the supremes or extremes. In your case I wonder if your boat came rigged with only one station and the second (rear) station was added later? That would explain why your controlls would be easier from the front instead of the back. The front controls are your primary and the rear is the slave which is the opposite of how it should be because this makes you have alot more combined cable lenght than you should have which attributes to even more lost motion which will exagerate your condition. If that is your problem You would have to take the set of cables that run from the motor to the front helm and replace them with a set that runs from the rear helm to the motor. The other two cables lengths will be fine from control to control.

 

[Parker23.5]

Hey is there anyway of telling if it the 2nd station was add later because the dealer said the boat came that way? When I lub it it works great I only use the boat now and then not ever day and not every week end? Tom

 

[Megabyte]

Hey is there anyway of telling if it the 2nd station was add later because the dealer said the boat came that way?

Not sure if there is a way to tell.

My dealer told me that years back, all rear stations were dealer installed.
However, as time moved on, and the option became something 90% of the buyers wanted, the factory took over the installs.

When the factory installs the free standing stations, they almost always move them well forward in the cockpit like this.

Because my rear station was added later, I could put it anywhere I wanted (and I wanted my moved aft).

Also note the configuration of the factory station and mine.
When the dealers installed the rear station, the customer had the option on where to place the steering and the controls. I'm biased, but I like my configuration better.

Not sure if this helps or not, but good luck with your control issue.

 

[Parker23.5]

Well the one on my boat looks like the first picture? I don't think my dealer would tell me a story but anything goessss when they know what you want? you know they dealer?? Like I said it works great when I lub it. Tom

 

[wrangler]

It is easy to tell the master it will have 4 cable ends hooked to it which should be the back helm. The slave will only have two hooked up to it. As far as the dealer install thing Just because they were dealer installed doesn't mean they were done right. You have to figure that this is probably one of few times that outboard boat dealers run into a situation with twin stations on a outboard boat so many just don't know any better. If your boat came from the factory rigged for a single station all they had to do was screw the back station down and run one set of cables from the back to the front helm and they are done. you also save the price of replacing 2 cables or they do anyway. The right way would require removing the existing cables and doing away with them, then running 2 shorter cables from the motor to the back helm and fishing them thru all the rigging. Then installing 2 short cables from the back helm to the front helm thru all the rigging and then adjusting all four levers for proper travel and stops. The right way takes alot longer and cost more so the dealer might have looked at it from that angle and just not realized that it was the wrong way to do it.