elce shift stringer out drive won't tilt

[humboldtbrad]

I got a boat with the stringer drive and I was running in my yard today. it lowered like it was supposed to. I ran it for about a1/2 hour shut it off and tried to raise the drive and it dident do anything. when I press the switch to go down it clicks because its all the way down but when I hit the switch to go up nothing happens no click notthing. Any suggestions on what to check? Does it sound like a wiring issue? Or a problem with the motor?
Thanks
Brad

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: elce shift stringer out drive won't tilt

when you see where the motor is located, you'll want to go through the wiring first. check if you have voltage to the control side of the relays. then check the relays. corrosion common on the high current side of that relay setup and the fuse supplying them.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: elce shift stringer out drive won't tilt

Pull the connector for the motor, after the relays. This just happened to my '75. It went down but only clicked on the up stroke. I pulled the connector to check the voltage and it was visually fubared. I cleaned the contacts, slathered them in di-electric grease, reconnected the connector and up she roared. It takes a lot less amperage for the motor to drive down then it does for going up.

If it is not that connector, then check all the voltages and connections at the solenoid.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: elce shift stringer out drive won't tilt

I cleaned the contacts, slathered them in di-electric grease, reconnected the connector and up she roared.

Di-electric grease should go on the plastic parts to keep the connector sealed, but not on the contacts. It is an insulator.

 

[humboldtbrad]

Re: elce shift stringer out drive won't tilt

Pull the connector for the motor, after the relays. This just happened to my '75. It went down but only clicked on the up stroke. I pulled the connector to check the voltage and it was visually fubared. I cleaned the contacts, slathered them in di-electric grease, reconnected the connector and up she roared. It takes a lot less amperage for the motor to drive down then it does for going up.

mine doesn't even click. so I am thinking its either the control side of the solenoid itself or in the control wiring itself.
luckily i found a service manual in the boat and after reading it that is what i think. sound sensible? I guess we will find out tonight
Ill keep you posted

 

[Boomyal]

Re: elce shift stringer out drive won't tilt

Di-electric grease should go on the plastic parts to keep the connector sealed, but not on the contacts. It is an insulator.

Well, yes, true but.....I have always used it on the contacts as well. If the contacts are in good shape and able to grasp the opposing metal, then the grease keeps the corrosion from building on the connectors at the point of contact.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: elce shift stringer out drive won't tilt

mine doesn't even click. so I am thinking its either the control side of the solenoid itself or in the control wiring itself.
luckily i found a service manual in the boat and after reading it that is what i think. sound sensible? I guess we will find out tonight
Ill keep you posted

Yep, that should be easy enough to trace. Start at the the switch connection at the solenoid. It would be unusual for both solenoids to go at once (up and down) but not unusual for the terminals to be crudded up.

I recently had the up solenoid on a Mercury OD go t*ts up. It was old but very low use. After I diagnosed the solenoid as the issue I removed it and popped the rivets to check the contact surfaces. The inside of the solenoid was very clean and the contacts did not look particularly worn or burned. I cleaned them up and re-assembled the solenoid and it still would not pass juice, even though it clicked.

I took it back apart and applied valve lapping compound to the contact surfaces and spun the contactor around with my drill. This mated the surfaces. I re-assembled the solenoid and voila, it worked flawlessly. The surfaces had simply gotten out of plane with each other and were not making full contact.

 

[humboldtbrad]

Re: elce shift stringer out drive won't tilt

Well it was bad conections at the solenoid I got it to work but I'm going to replace them

 

[Boomyal]

Re: elce shift stringer out drive won't tilt

Well it was bad conections at the solenoid I got it to work but I'm going to replace them

I don't know why you would do that out of hand. My tilt solenoids are 38 years old, with many hours of use, and are perfectly fine.

 

[humboldtbrad]

Re: elce shift stringer out drive won't tilt

When a 10 dollar part can give you problems why not fix it?

 

[Boomyal]

Re: elce shift stringer out drive won't tilt

When a 10 dollar part can give you problems why not fix it?

If they are like the ones on mine, they are more like $40 each. Solenoid for OMC Sterndrive Cobra 979774, Chrysler Outboard, Force F177917, Crusader 9006320, MES 3367M - Sierra 18-5803 - iboats

Be careful what you buy, all similar looking solenoids are not necessarily created equal. Some have grounded bases, some do not.