Tilt Trim Motor on 1987 Force 125 not operating

[joejoe77]

I bought this Bayliner Capri 18', with a Force 125 on it last year and it has been relatively reliable. I recently was launching and my trim/tilt motor was unresponsive, you could hear an electrical click in the back but no response. A guy came over to help me and he said if it sits a while the brushes inside the pump sometimes get stuck. He whacked it a few times with a rubber mallet and it worked. About a month later it happened again I whacked and it again worked. I tried to take it out this past weekend however and it did not work. I can hear what I believe is the relay energizing, but nothing happens in the motor. My question is where do I begin troubleshooting? How difficult is it to rebuild or repair? Does the entire unit need to be replaced, and approximately what is a reasonable cost for repair so I dont get ripped off. New to this board and would really appreciate any information.

Thanks again
Joe Joe

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Tilt Trim Motor on 1987 Force 125 not operating

The motor comes in 2 pieces.
The top is the electric motor,bottom is the hyd. pump.

You can remove the electric motor and clean/replace the brushes easily.

You should be able to do it yourself.

Profile? Location?

You might be close to someone who can help??

 

[RRitt]

Re: Tilt Trim Motor on 1987 Force 125 not operating

first try to hot wire the motor directly to a battery. if you have motor problems hot wired then it is definitely the motor and not wiring. 1987 should be 3w. it should have a large aluminum cable fitting coming right out the side of the round steel frame. If so, then it probably isn't worth messing with. You can get replacement motors for $70-$80. You can even upgrade to 3w motor with 4 pins relay wiring for around $120. It is best of both worlds. The 3w motor has less corrosion problems and the relays have less wiri8ng problems.

 

[joejoe77]

Re: Tilt Trim Motor on 1987 Force 125 not operating

Thanks Jerry,
I updated my profile . I did read somewhere on here that the brushes are probably the problem. I was really hoping to find some instructions on here about how to remove the motor. I have this weekend off and plan to try cleaning the brushing with some fine grit sandpaper. I also looked into replacing the entire motor, but on the iboats store it says a replacement motor was like 350.00. I only paid 1400 for the boat so if I dont want to put alot of money into it, Id rather teach myself how to fix it.
Again thanks guys for the quick replies, any other tips you can think of will be greatly appreciated and I will post my results on here Sunday.

Thanks again
Joe Joe

 

[RRitt]

Re: Tilt Trim Motor on 1987 Force 125 not operating

polish armature with #800 wet-dry sandpaper and a drop of wd40. don't sand brushes. toothbrush brush cap with coleman camp stove gas or extra gently laq. thinner. mineral spirits and other slow evap oil solvents seem to soak into brush card and weaken motor.

 

[joejoe77]

Re: Tilt Trim Motor on 1987 Force 125 not operating

Thanks for your help. I know its been a while, but for financial reasons I haven't been able to fix the boat until now. I did what you guys said and took apart the tilt trim motor. I removed the cap and saw the magnetic surrounding the coil was busted into pieces. I took it into the garage, I left the frame and the cap on the boat to keep moisture out of the pump and realized it is just too beat up to repair. So I went on eBay like a few people on here have done and I have a replacement for a decent price.

Tilt Trim Motor Force 85HP 90HP 120HP 125HP 150HP New | eBay

First is this a correct replacement for a 1987 Force 125 HP outboard? My next question is how difficult is it to go from the 3 wire motor to the after market 2 wire? Does anyone have directions on how to do this job or am I better off ordering and taking it to a boat mechanic? It looks like I just remove the four bolts that attach the housing to the pump and undo the bolt connecting it to the frame. I really want to have the boat running by April 7th weekend. Id appreciate any tips, advice or directions. I can take pics if need be.
As always thanks for your time,

Joe

 

[RRitt]

Re: Tilt Trim Motor on 1987 Force 125 not operating

1987 did not have magnets. can not answer your question without identifying which system and wiring is already on your boat.

 

[joejoe77]

Re: Tilt Trim Motor on 1987 Force 125 not operating

1987 did not have magnets. can not answer your question without identifying which system and wiring is already on your boat.

Well I know it is a 1987 Bayliner Capri, with a Force 125 HP outboard. When I went out there I removed the three bolts off of the top of the electric tilt motor to see if I could just clean it. I pulled the shaft out to inspect the coil and there was a magnet around the outside of the copper coil. and although it was still magnetically attached it was broken into four pieces. On top of that, there was corrosion on the contacts inside the cap and it was a mess inside the black plastic housing. I really don't want to take the time to try to repair it when the replacement is like 140 bucks. I mainly just want to know if the replacement I posted will work ( the eBay page claims it will) and how hard is it to wire from the old 3 wire setup to the aftermarket 2 W?

Joe Joe

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Tilt Trim Motor on 1987 Force 125 not operating

That will work. Just need to rewire.
The magnet WAS glued to the housing.
The glue evidently failed.
I'll see if I can get the wiring diagram from my manual?
You have the relays on the motor or under the hood?
It's simple.You have the switch in the dash or the handle?

 

[RRitt]

Re: Tilt Trim Motor on 1987 Force 125 not operating

i would guess a very late 1987 with 1988 trim system. If that is case then wiring would be original 2w style and not a user mod. There hasn't been enough time for a boat to have rusted out & replaced both a factory 3w and a factory 2w trim motor. The logical assumption is that it shipped with 2w and this is the original motor rusting out. If so, then all you need is a new motor and make sure no water got into your oil. If not, then you need to post some pics.

 

[lugnuts]

Re: Tilt Trim Motor on 1987 Force 125 not operating

the same thing happened on my `88 force 125. it was a relay switch. there are 2 of them. one for up,one for down. they`re easy to locate. they`re on the left side looking from the back. easy to replace.

 

[Highlander70]

Re: Tilt Trim Motor on 1987 Force 125 not operating

I also have an 88 125hp and my relays are also in the motor housing.
if you take the housing cap off and look toward the front left side of inside housing you will see the relays, they are easy to find.
i also removed the top 2 screws on mine and the 2 little springs and magnets came off.
i got them back on but was a little bit of a PIA, i was trying to remove the wires and assumed i would be able to just unscrew them from inside the motor but then realized it dont work that way lol!
so for those that are just looking to remove the valve body just drain the fluid, remove the 4 lines and take the 4 bottom scews out and the valve body will come off pretty easily.

 

[joejoe77]

Re: Tilt Trim Motor on 1987 Force 125 not operating

i would guess a very late 1987 with 1988 trim system. If that is case then wiring would be original 2w style and not a user mod. There hasn't been enough time for a boat to have rusted out & replaced both a factory 3w and a factory 2w trim motor. The logical assumption is that it shipped with 2w and this is the original motor rusting out. If so, then all you need is a new motor and make sure no water got into your oil. If not, then you need to post some pics.

Thanks again guys,
Pretty sure it isnt the relay switches because if you banged on the electrical motor with a mallet it would work for a little while. Also you can here the relay switches engage when you toggle the switch up and down. I ordered a new motor from DB electrical this morning. Great website, free shipping and they had the 2 wire trim motor for my year/model. It will be here in 3-4 business days. Im hoping you're right RRITT, and I don't have to replace the solenoids with relays. I will post pics, hopefully I wont have questions. And again thanks alot for the help fellas.

Joe Joe