3.0 Mercruiser I/O intermittent trim issue (down only)

[1ARUNEM]

Having an intermittent issue with the tilt/trim on my 2001 Maxum 185 SR bowrider with a 3.0 and Mercruiser outdrive..

Trim up works fine always.. Intermittently the 'down' trim does not work. When depressing the switch on the controls, I hear clicking but no action or motor running.. I can hit the 'up' trim a time or two and then the 'down' will usually work.

Sometimes down works fine but issue seems to be getting worse and don't want it to fail completely and get stuck with outdrive up.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,..... Remove, 'n clean to shiny metal Clean, all the connections from the battery to the trim solenoids, 'n all the other connections at the trim pump,.....

 

[H20Rat]

In addition to what Bondo said, when it fails, try moving the shifter some. In my particular case, I had the exact same symptoms, after many years of use the trim wires that run in the handle had rubbed bare, and it was sometimes shorting itself out. Up always worked, down would sometimes engage BOTH solenoids, so I could still hear the normal clicking noises, but the system was locked up solid. First diagnosed it with a multimeter on the contacts on the pump to see what was happening, and then worked my way forwards.

 

[alldodge]

After cleaning, it could be the switch in the handle or the solenoid if problem continues. Issue is will need to find out which is doing it an with an intermittent issue it will be hard.

Could swap the up/down solenoids to see if problem moves