77 searay OMC not engaging

"I have a 77 searay w/ an OMC

"I have a 77 searay w/ an OMC outdrive. When I took the boat out this weekend the outdrive would not engage, in either forward or reverse. Because the outdrive itslef is only a few years old I beleive that the problem is within the throttle. The cable-type throttle has a button which electronically engages the outdrive. The problem is that I cannot find a replacement unit. Any ideas or fixes?"

"Believe is one thing, knowing

"Believe is one thing, knowing another.
Do You have 12Volts to the shift switch in the controle?
Do You have water in the gearoil?
Check out theese simple thing first."

"I am hoping it is the button

"I am hoping it is the button in the throttle because previously there was "tension" when pressing it, whereas, now there is none. I cannot find any wires with 12volts. There are 5 wires in the harness that leads to the throttle: two white, green, blue, and purple. With batteries connected (stereo works so batteries are ok) and ignition on (or off)I get no voltage from any of the wires. The fuses are ok (at least the fuses in the fuse box). I can't see any in-line fuses, but maybe there are some behind the dash. Do you know which wires should have power? I haven't checked the gearoil"

"The purple should have 12 Vol

"The purple should have 12 Volts, ign on. Green and blue is the shift that goes back to the solenoids. Two white probably NSIG switch."

"Remember, you wont find any v

"Remember, you wont find any voltage on the connector at the shifter side of the harness, only on the harness that goes back to the engine. The five wires are the hot, trim up/down, and the fwd./rev. wires. In tracking down a shifting probem that I'm having I've done alot of tracing in this area. With the shifter connected to the harness, you can check the voltages in the back at the yellow harness connector on the engine top rear. With the ignition on, check for 12v at the female side when going from fwd, neutral, and rev. with the shifter. You should get it between green or blue (depending on which way you shift it) and ground. The wires are not marked on the connector so you will have to hunt for it. I drew a diagram as I did it. Good Luck!"