Don, another stupid question sorry

[mikepags]

rarely like once a month or every 20-30 hrs when I shift from neutral to in gear the motor will just die.......it seems to happen more when I go to reverse.......I also can't recrank it until I hit the stop button and then reenter my code and hit start (ranger z boat, no keys)........it seems to happen completely randomly and most of the time when I am pulling up to a dock or backing away from one........it will be idling smooth and when I put it in gear it just cuts out like I hit the kill switch (which has happened once and I freaked cause it wouldn't restart and then realized my visor knocked it off)...........it will fire right up and won't happen again for weeks so I have no clue what could be causing.........thanks again for any help

[EuropeanAM]

Might be worth taking a look at the control box and wiring around the box, to confirm that you don't have wiring that is "rubbing" against the control, or it's cables. No wiring should be "attached" to the control cables, within 36" of the control box.

I'd also recommend that you look at the shift cable attachment point on the engine. Ensure that the nut is not "tight"... it should be drawn down "snug", and then backed off approximately 3/4 of a turn (so that the plastic washer will rotate freely beneath the nut). Should not be any excess grease in the shift slide- only a very light coating. Excess grease can "jam" the shift switch... (which will eventually cause other issues you've not described).

Beyond that- pretty difficult to diagnose- since it's so intermittent!