TOPIC: MerControl issues

Hey guys,

Had to do a little ignition switch tinkering on my '70 1350 and opened up the control box to replace\repair a few things. Everything in the box looked good otherwise and I cleaned and lubed all the mechanical parts inside. Running through my function check, the 'warm up' lever is coming out of its stowed position when advancing the shift\throttle lever to full throttle.

The ball detent for the warm up lever that helps hold it in place seems to be working properly and I don't see anything else obviously wrong... Any idea on what could be causing this and how to remedy it?

Hey Jer! I scanned the merc manual that covers those years. If ya want the pages on the controls, pm me and I'll email them to ya. I scanned them in as jpg files...

I got two 1350's apart and am gonna put together a runner for the Power Cat.

Frank

Was it doing that before you opened up the box? What kind of grease did you use? Too heavy and it'll stick to the warm-up lever.

Chinewalker wrote:

Was it doing that before you opened up the box? What kind of grease did you use? Too heavy and it'll stick to the warm-up lever.

Nope.

I too am thinking it's the grease. First time I put it together I used what I had on hand (standard all purpose grease) and went a little heavy with it. Since I ran out, I picked up a tub of Marine grease from Napa, cleaned everything and went a little lighter on it and all seems well again. It's still doing it a little bit going into reverse as you apply throttle but it did seem to lessen the more I worked the throttle. If it's still giving me issues after this weekend, I'll tear it apart and try again but I think a little bit of use should distribute the grease to where it needs to be. We'll see...

Appreciate the manual pages, Frank!

most of the time it is hard shifting. cables reverse locks etc.

WUL = Warm Up Lever...
I have 2 1970 Mercontrol units like yours (I think). One I use and the other is for parts. I had the same problem. If the throttle lever is hard to push it will raise the WUL. The harder to push the harder it will try and engage the WUL. If the WUL is engaged you cannot push the throttle beyond a certain point. I replaced the warm-up lever detent as well.
PLACES TO LOOK
I've noticed if the handle is not fully engaged with the toothed wheel there will be slack and things will bind. Get any dirt or grime out so it fits tight. These are simple units but hard to diagnose!!! Also where your ignition wires sit between the 2 cables you might check for side to side play (if it's not snug). I don't have ignition cables so I use a custom made stopper in place of the wires to keep them spaced apart. You might try taking it apart and just putting it back together again... sort of a "reboot." After a lot of tinkering I got mine working smoothly.

Here's a pic of the WUL cam. Make sure the unit shells fit together snugly after having it apart. There are 4 main nylon bushings... make sure you have them all:-)

I have the exact issue on my 1969 mercontrol and have since I boat the boat/motor. Terribly hard to push the lever forward and the WUL comes up so I have to two hand throttle it to get it going. Have a catfish juggig trip for our youth this weekend so I was hoping to resolve some issues with it. I have a 1969 Mercury 500 50 hp thunderbolt. I rebuilt the carbs about 8 years ago so I'm planning on having to clean them up and rebuild the fuel pump and check the impeller.