Power Trim issue, Seloniod replacement??

[Starcraft5834]

Pic of trim motor, pic of throttle,,, other day trim would not raise,, pushed button for trim or tilt raise,, clicking only, had to give the motor a whack and it started ok,,, that a selonoid issue? I found replacement seloniods for about $15 each,, there's two of em,,,one for tilt button and one for trim button... Checked it again this morning, the tilt works fine, trim button, only up is working, not down... This may be a dumb question,,why two buttons on the throttle lever when they both appear to perform the same function, raise and lower the drive..? The entire trim motor and unit is mounted on a base with three screws each side into floor, I assume all I need to do is unscrew those and pull the unit out to replace the seloniods?,, should I disconnect the trim lines? any http://forums.iboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=203952&d=1374246493&thumb=1&stc=1special procautions there? thankshttp://forums.iboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=203953&d=1374246511&thumb=1&stc=1

 

[stonyloam]

Re: Power Trim issue, Seloniod replacement??

This may be a dumb question,,why two buttons on the throttle lever when they both appear to perform the same function, raise and lower the drive..?

No such thing. The two buttons should not do exactly the same thing. The trim button should be routed through the trim limit switch that limits the amount of up travel of the outdrive. That limit keeps the outdrive from being raised too much while running which could damage the U-joints in the driveline. The tilt button should raise the outdrive all the way up for trailering. If your trim button raises the outdrive all the way up, the trim limit switch has probably been bypassed because the limit switch was not working. Look in the stern for two connectors, one with a purple/white wire the other with two blue/white wires. If they are jumpered together (rather than having single black wires) then your TL switch is bypassed.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Power Trim issue, Seloniod replacement??

Pic of trim motor, pic of throttle,,, other day trim would not raise,, pushed button for trim or tilt raise,, clicking only, had to give the motor a whack and it started ok,,, that a selonoid issue? I found replacement seloniods for about $15 each,, there's two of em,,,one for tilt button and one for trim button... Checked it again this morning, the tilt works fine, trim button, only up is working, not down... This may be a dumb question,,why two buttons on the throttle lever when they both appear to perform the same function, raise and lower the drive..? The entire trim motor and unit is mounted on a base with three screws each side into floor, I assume all I need to do is unscrew those and pull the unit out to replace the seloniods?,, should I disconnect the trim lines? any http://forums.iboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=203952&d=1374246493&thumb=1&stc=1special procautions there? thankshttp://forums.iboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=203953&d=1374246511&thumb=1&stc=1

Ayuh,.... Whackin' the Motor, 'n it Worked, would lead me to the Motor, 'n not the solenoid,...

I'd Start with Checkin' to see what's gettin' power, 'n what Ain't,...
It's cheaper than just throwin' parts at it,...
A Test light will work, a multimeter gives ya more options,...

Simple corroded wirin' connections are the leadin' cause of workin' starters, coils, 'n solenoids bein' thrown away,...

 

[sptjet90Reflexx]

Re: Power Trim issue, Seloniod replacement??

you need a new trim motor. or take yours to a alternator/starter shop for repair. a good cleaning will get her running again (did it to mine) but it can still be spotty.

or pay 66.00 and be done with it..

Amazon.com: New Mercury Marine Mercruiser Tilt Trim Motor: Sports & Outdoors

 

[IslanderVT]

Re: Power Trim issue, Seloniod replacement??

Not to hijack, but rather to multiply, this thread, my trim pump has the exact same problem.

Up button works every time. Down is intermittent. When hitting the down button, It sometimes just clicks with no motor movement. Then after a few more tries, it frees up and works normally. When its first started for the day it commonly takes a few clicks to get it to go down.

I've been thinking it seems like a bad solenoid. Maybe the contacts are fouled.

Its not clear to me how the trim pump could be the problem. Does the pump have separate windings/armature for each direction? It works perfectly when moving up.

I'm going to try measuring voltage across the secondary side of the solenoid (power to pump) and see if it jumps solidly to 12V when it clicks...will report back.

 

[Starcraft5834]

Re: Power Trim issue, Seloniod replacement??

perhaps the trim only raises it just so far, never really looked, both buttons perform same task at different levels..

 

[IslanderVT]

Re: Power Trim issue, Seloniod replacement??

As stonyloam mentions above, the trim switch (up/down switch on top) should raise the drive about 1/3 to 1/2 way up (there's a spec for how it should be adjusted) and stop. The square trailer button should raise the drive all the way up.

If the trim limit switch is working and has been closed (ie up over 1/2 way), then you should get no solenoid click from the trim up switch...it should do nothing at all.

If you push the trim down switch, you should get the trim pump to run no matter what. In my case, hitting this down button, I occasionally only get a click from the solenoid (and it sounds like a proper click...like the solenoid is actuating properly). A few more clicks and the trim motor starts running properly.

I'm planning to troubleshoot this with a multimeter...but I can't get it to fail at the moment. Plan will be to first try shorting the large solenoid terminals. If that's doesn't work, measure voltage going to the motor...if its getting voltage, then the pump is probably the issue.

Also as Bond-o mentions, probably a good idea to check all the solenoid terminals for corrosion. I noticed some rust on the screws. which appear to be plain steel.