Yamaha Side Mount Control Box problem

[Dave Jr.]

My side mount control box got really stiff yesterday while out on the water. When I go home I opened it up and check it. When I tried to start the enging it wouldn't get a spark from the ignition. I opened the box back up and noticed a small black switch with two brown wires attached. The motor acted like it was in gear and wouldn't fire. The little switch with the brown wires had a cracked cover and I could see in side. I figured out that if I toggle the switch manually the engine would start. I'm fairly sure that a piece in the shifter mechanism is suppose to toggle that switch when I'm in and out of gear. I had to wedge a small piece of plastic in the switch to keep the toggle switch closed so I could start the motor. The motor will start in gear now so I now know what the switch does. Can anyone shed a little light on what is going on or do I have a good idea of what happened?

[rj]

That switch is your neutral safety switch, its purpose is to prevent you from starting your engine in gear, you can bypass it and this will allow you to start your engine in gear (not recomended) or replace it

[Dave Jr.]

Thanks for the good info! I knew what it did but didn't know what the switch was called. I have it bypassed now so I'll leave it until the season slows down. I'm in the habit of always starting my engine in nuetral so I should be ok for now. Thanks again.