AltheaToldMe
Petty Officer 3rd Class
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2008
- Messages
- 78
This is not really a question, but I hope it proves to be informative.
I ripped in to my trim/tilt limit switch on my '81 1115 Tower Of Power. I got an eyeball on all the guts and how they all interact with each other. It's very simple and will be easy to repair.
I see a lot of posts where folks simply say that the limit switch will probably be broken and not working. I decided to see why, in my case, it is not working. After reading the manual and realizing what it is supposed to do, I find myself wanting it to work as advertized.
I'll follow up with pictures when I get time as pictures will help explain a lot of things.
Once I removed the switch assembly body from the motor by removing the 4 stainless fasteners that hold it on. The entire plastic case came off and nothing popped out or fell off. Inside the housing is a small micro switch that is liberally coated in a sticky and very waterproof substance. I'm not sure what it is, but if you touch it, you will stick to everything else you touch.
The general design is such that is it very reliable save for one apparent flaw. There is an actuator button that interacts with the stainless sliding adjustment plate. The button fits in to a recess in the switch housing and is what triggers the microswitch when a certain level is reached. The problem in my case, and I assume a large number of other cases is this. The actuator button by it's nature of having to move up and down, cannot be covered in the sticky, waterproof goo. It needs to stay free. In the original design, there is a spring located underneath that button that would return it to it's "out" position when the adjustment arm lets it pop out.
The spring was never coated in any type of goo either and is now a mere pile of dust. I cleaned up the recess where the spring was and replaced the spring with one from a ballpoint pen and that caused the switch to begin acting like it should. I'm going to follow up with a better spring if I can and figure out a way to protect it from the elements.
There you have it. One mans trials and tribulations with the tilt/trim limit switch. Pics to follow.
I ripped in to my trim/tilt limit switch on my '81 1115 Tower Of Power. I got an eyeball on all the guts and how they all interact with each other. It's very simple and will be easy to repair.
I see a lot of posts where folks simply say that the limit switch will probably be broken and not working. I decided to see why, in my case, it is not working. After reading the manual and realizing what it is supposed to do, I find myself wanting it to work as advertized.
I'll follow up with pictures when I get time as pictures will help explain a lot of things.
Once I removed the switch assembly body from the motor by removing the 4 stainless fasteners that hold it on. The entire plastic case came off and nothing popped out or fell off. Inside the housing is a small micro switch that is liberally coated in a sticky and very waterproof substance. I'm not sure what it is, but if you touch it, you will stick to everything else you touch.
The general design is such that is it very reliable save for one apparent flaw. There is an actuator button that interacts with the stainless sliding adjustment plate. The button fits in to a recess in the switch housing and is what triggers the microswitch when a certain level is reached. The problem in my case, and I assume a large number of other cases is this. The actuator button by it's nature of having to move up and down, cannot be covered in the sticky, waterproof goo. It needs to stay free. In the original design, there is a spring located underneath that button that would return it to it's "out" position when the adjustment arm lets it pop out.
The spring was never coated in any type of goo either and is now a mere pile of dust. I cleaned up the recess where the spring was and replaced the spring with one from a ballpoint pen and that caused the switch to begin acting like it should. I'm going to follow up with a better spring if I can and figure out a way to protect it from the elements.
There you have it. One mans trials and tribulations with the tilt/trim limit switch. Pics to follow.