CS23 will not shift into gear.

[itsmike]

Hey folks!

I have a 2018 CS23 with less than 200 operating hours. I can no longer shift into forward or reverse and have ordered the factory manuals in order to diagnose the issue.

The engine starts and revs without issue, therefore the v6-280-c electronic throttle is working fine. I checked all circuit breakers and swapped the electric dagger breaker with another of the same rating. DVM check of breakers shows they're all good. Tried cycling the batteries but that didn't help.

Does anyone know if this has a shift cable or electronic shift solenoid? The dealer I spoke with was unsure. Our lakes are way down so I will ultimately have to work on the boat on the lift so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
itsmike

[Matts19]

I am pretty sure you have a cable operated shifter. Are you able to physically shift the control lever into forward and reverse, or is it stuck? If the shifter moves freely but the gears are not engaging, have you checked the fluid level in the drive?

[itsmike]

The shifter moves freely (revs engine) in both forward and reverse. I checked the fluid level in the drive about 20 hours ago and it was full. There are no signs of leaks from the drive. The drive is out of the water on the lift and visual inspection showed nothing. Our lakes are extremely low right now and there is no way to get the boat onto a trailer for service so there are limits to what I can do without risking damage to the waterway.

If this is a cable system, then I will check both ends and see where it broke. With only 200 hours on the boat and given it's always been in dry storage or lifted out of the water, I'm surprised that the cable would break. Is this a problem with Cobalt boats? My old Chris Craft has a 4.3-SX and the cable lasted almost 30 years.

Thanks for any additional.

Mike

[dustinm]

The shifter moves freely (revs engine) in both forward and reverse. I checked the fluid level in the drive about 20 hours ago and it was full. There are no signs of leaks from the drive. The drive is out of the water on the lift and visual inspection showed nothing. Our lakes are extremely low right now and there is no way to get the boat onto a trailer for service so there are limits to what I can do without risking damage to the waterway.

If this is a cable system, then I will check both ends and see where it broke. With only 200 hours on the boat and given it's always been in dry storage or lifted out of the water, I'm surprised that the cable would break. Is this a problem with Cobalt boats? My old Chris Craft has a 4.3-SX and the cable lasted almost 30 years.

Thanks for any additional.

Mike

Pin most likely fell out of one of the ends.. should be an easy fix.
Isolated incident either way, all boats buy from the same vendors and Im not hearing many complaints