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Hi - At the end of last season (on my very last ride) my 21BR gave me a hard time going into gear. Couldn't get it into reverse and once I got it into forward, I had very little throttle throw. The black plastic center piece on the throttle arm won't pop out. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Have you examined the shift cable to see if it needs adjustment?

Can’t tell if it needs adjustment since it’s so hard to move and the black center piece won’t pop out.

You should disconnect the lower cable at the engine and operate the control and see if the throw looks correct back there.

Personally, it does sound like a controller issue but that would help verify it.

The weather's warmed up so I can back to this. With the engine not on, I tried moving the throttle and it went forward and back without any issue. The black plastic center piece still doesn't pop out. I watched the top of the engine as I moved the throttle. The arm attached to the carb moved but I didn't see anything else move. There's another cable attached to a mechanisism mounted on the starboard heat exchanger but I didn't see anything move as I moved the throttle all the way forward or all the way back.

I’ve removed the control box and detached the 2 cables. The center black plastic button still pop out. With the back off, as I move the throttle, only the upper cable arm moves.

On a bravo OD, the engine needs to be running in order for the gears to mesh properly.

I assume you were trying to move the shifter with the engine off?

Try starting the engine and see if that helps.

Thanks. Yes, the engine was off. Before I run the engine I would need to reinstall the control box, which I had to cut wires to uninstall it. I'm going to call Mercruiser Tech support in the morning and ask them if, with the control box removed, should the black button should pop out when the lever is moved.

Well, I installed the new control box and everything worked fine but apparently my muffs came loose while I was testing it. Found out what happens when your muffs come loose - you burn up your impeller. Of course I was in the middle of the lake when I found out. Well, the impeller has now been replaced and the problem now is when I lower the drive all the way down, the engine dies, like it has been electrically been turned off. If I raise the drive a little, the engine fires right back up. Unable to rev the engine while in gear because it runs rough. However, in neutral, it revs right up like normal. Any thoughts?

You do have a Bravo right? Not an Alpha?

Impeller is in the engine compartment?