Morse controls - what is the purpose....

[prv]

...of that flat springy bit attached to the gear arm pivot, between the arm and the main body?

I ask because I have just been cleaning up Ariam's control, which was pretty rusty since until now the binnacle has always leaked fairly freely. I actually wondered if it was worth replacing the thing, it looked so bad, but the usual story of rust being seven times bigger than steel has prevailed and after dismantling and a good wire-brushing most of it now looks quite respectable.



EDIT: Question now answered. Thanks. Further speculation not required (but will probably happen anyway)




The one exception was the aforementioned flat springy bit, which being thinner has suffered more than the rest. It's still just about in one piece, but if called upon to do anything it would probably snap. Thing is, I've never understood what it's actually for in the first place. Kindred Spirit's control had one too, and in neither case did it appear to do very much. But manufacturers rarely pay to include unnecessary parts, so it must have a purpose in at least some situations. I want to understand what its purpose is so that I can decide whether the rusted state of it is a problem.

If I do need it, are spares available?

Cheers,

Pete

 

[theoldsalt]

prv,

So many different types. Is a photo available?

 

[prv]

So many different types. Is a photo available?

Mm, I hadn't realised until I just tried googling it, quite how many different types there were. Both the ones I've dismantled happened to be identical, so I assumed they were all much the same. Apparently not.

I didn't have a camera in the shed to take a picture, or I would have done. Though I did think that anyone who knew the answer would recognise it from the description...

This is the version of the control where the main mechanism is in a flat aluminium box built into the main body. There's a prominent ovoid cam plate at the top which turns with the handle and drives the throttle plate up and down via a curved track in the cam plate. There's a separate pivot coming out of the box for the gear change arm, and the arm has two sides so that you can attach the gear cable for push vs pull. The mystery springy bit is a strip about 3/4" wide and 2" long, with a hole in one end that fits around the pivot for the gear arm. The other end is rounded, and has a small turned-up rim. When the lever is in neutral, it's hidden behind the throttle plate that runs down the spine of the unit, but when it goes into gear the springy bit pivots out from behind the throttle plate to become visible. But not to do anything obviously useful, hence the mystery.

Pete

 

[alahol2]

This is the version of the control where the main mechanism is in a flat aluminium box built into the main body. There's a prominent ovoid cam plate at the top which turns with the handle and drives the throttle plate up and down via a curved track in the cam plate. There's a separate pivot coming out of the box for the gear change arm, and the arm has two sides so that you can attach the gear cable for push vs pull. The mystery springy bit is a strip about 3/4" wide and 2" long, with a hole in one end that fits around the pivot for the gear arm. The other end is rounded, and has a small turned-up rim. When the lever is in neutral, it's hidden behind the throttle plate that runs down the spine of the unit, but when it goes into gear the springy bit pivots out from behind the throttle plate to become visible. But not to do anything obviously useful, hence the mystery.

Is it this one? http://www.troppo.co.uk/odds/TX%20Controls%20B700SS.pdf
Is the springy bit anything to do with the gear disengagement button that allows throttle only operation?

 

[prv]

Is it this one? http://www.troppo.co.uk/odds/TX%20Controls%20B700SS.pdf

Not quite the same model, but the mechanism looks the same, so for the purposes of this thread, yes

Here's another picture:

Annoyingly in both this picture and your manual, the springy bit is not visible. As I said above, it hides when the lever is in neutral (and the one in the photo is the wrong way up anyway).

Is the springy bit anything to do with the gear disengagement button that allows throttle only operation?

No. That is all dealt with inside the aluminium box.

Pete

 

[nigelmercier]

When the lever is in neutral, it's hidden behind the throttle plate that runs down the spine of the unit, but when it goes into gear the springy bit pivots out from behind the throttle plate to become visible. But not to do anything obviously useful, hence the mystery.

I've not seen the internals of that control, but my guess is that there is an optional neutral switch to inhibit or enable the starter, which is operated by this mystery part.

 

[cliff]

I've not seen the internals of that control, but my guess is that there is an optional neutral switch to inhibit or enable the starter, which is operated by this mystery part.

+1, I just replaced my original Morse control and found the wee springy bit on the new one - reading the instructions carefully (aka RTFM) is operates an optional switch to prevent starting in gear

 

[prv]

I've not seen the internals of that control, but my guess is that there is an optional neutral switch to inhibit or enable the starter, which is operated by this mystery part.

+1, I just replaced my original Morse control and found the wee springy bit on the new one - reading the instructions carefully (aka RTFM) is operates an optional switch to prevent starting in gear

Excellent. That's not something I care about, so the fact that the part is rusted to buggery won't matter.

Thanks.

Pete

 

[Lakesailor]

I didn't have a camera in the shed to take a picture,

Pete

What sort of shed-man are you? Very poor.