Can you start your engine with a Bravo Xr in gear?
 

I want to by-pass the safety neutral switch, (and I know all about the safety concerns, so please no lectures) have the ability to start the engine with XR in gear. My engine, when cold idles at 900 RPMS which is too high to shift the drive.
Thanks,
Dean

I have owned boats that will start in gear & never found it to be a problem. I believe the neutral safety switch is the only thing that keeps you from doing so. Might not be a great idea for initial cold start & certainly doesn't alleviate the high RPM shifts when docking but my guess is that you are simply trying to reduce the # of high RPM shifts your drives endure.

NC,
Exactly all the way around. On first cold start I will leave in N. But once she is warmed up, then I want to start her in gear. And I'm going to delete the neutral safety switch, I did this on my 2.5 280 EFI O/Bs and it worked great, never lost a lower on them in 7+years, and I think the starting in gear had alot to do with it.
Thanks,
Dean

You are an experienced boater so probably no worries, just have to alert others boating w/ you & assisting you & probably best to reconnect the switches prior to sale. A buddy of mine installed the new IMCO SCX lowers behind ILMORS that idle in that range. They slammed into gear so he had to install some shift interrupts to remedy the problem. ILMOR didn't want the RPM turned down nor is there really any type of external idle adjustment.

I would think the shift interrupters would be the way to go, tons of drag and road race bikes use them. Does MSD offer anything?

Yeah, I waiting for Arthur to leave and then i'm going to cut-out the safety neutral switch and just splice it back together. And if/when I do sell this boat, I will splice the switch back in.
Dean

I bypassed mine just in case it did stall in gear and I didn't have to scramble to try to get it back in neutral, re-fire, and try not to float into anything.

I just made a warning label and put it next to the shifter, that the boat will start in gear.

Good idea on the label, thanks.

just wire in a override switch so when you want to start them in gear just flip the switch. That way you haven't messed with the safety feature.

I put mine in gear at 900-1000 rpm and hold up fine ,but it s a light boat but turning a 30 bravo .

Well, I hope it lives for you, BUT Merc says the idle RPM should be 750 max for shifting.

Keep in mind shifting with the engine off is also very bad for the drive, and sometimes not even possible. Major strain on the cables and the shift fork

4,
Thanks for the reply , and I have heard that also, that is the kind of info. I'm looking for, so I'm trying to pick the lesser of the 2 evils here...

dean,i disconnected the neutral start switch on my cat and ran it that way for years,much better on the drives.

Is there any way you could install a shift interupt opposite of the alphas. Meaning going into gear instead of out. I dont have mich first hamd knowledge with bravos but just trying to help brainstorm.

I have been seriously considering inableing mine as well. Just cant get idle below 900-1000 even with the surge. Great thread.

I'd go with the switch approach. Sounds like a great option.

900rpms is no problem. When you start getting around 1000rpms,then it gets hard on the cone clutch.

You can easily wire in some bullet connectors and a switch.
I know most of shifting happens while docking. You won't be able shift the Bravos like a crash box with the engines off.

what if you just put a thumb button kill switch on the throttle or shift lever? just a lil touch when shifting. then wire the kill switch thru another shutoff so you can't inadvertently kill motor when running.

Mod done, just spliced out the safety N. sw. I'll check it out tomorrow and see how it goes. Thanks for all the ideas guys, I just wanted to keep it a KISS apporach.
Thanks,
Dean

I know ,merc love to keep warranty claims to a minimum , all manufacturers do it and I would do the same just wanted to give you some real live experience .

The xr s on my hustler whit diesels turning 34 bravo s make the same bang when put in gear at 600 rpm as my xr on the 21 at 900-1000

i guess shut off key just as u shift so drive is still spinning a little to ease up on shift yoke.

Glad to know I'm not the only one fighting this shift issue with the XR's. I snapped the shifter linkage a couple seasons ago going into gear, luckily it lock into fwd so I made it home. Like Bor I'm spinning a big pitch [35p or 37p] so it's loaded heavy, which makes finding neutral super tricky when the fluid is cold. Compounding this problem, there is no way to ignition cut out the diesels..

What I've done to compensate on the Dmax is "Torque Limit" the engine at idle speeds. Have your Hustler or Cumnins rep check for that option in the ECM tuning. It's Bosch fueled, so I'm betting it's an option. Lowering my idle rpm to 600 helped me some, but limiting the engine torque to 40ft lbs at 600-800rpm range has made mine shift 50 times better than the stock config. Still tinkering with it, but I've got it working great for the most part and should add more life to the drive.

Well the mod worked great, and like some suggested, when I go to shut down the engine, I just push her in gear as the engine is just shutting down, easy peasy, and then I start it in gear. I just take my time pulling up to the dock, and my engine fires up everytime. I think this will make my XR live longer, how much longer with 620HP pushing it, time will tell.