Trim tilt failure

Matt Winans

New Member
Sep 22, 2020
16
Boat Info
1976 Sea Ray 200
Engines
Mercruiser 888. 188 HP.
hey folks. This is my first of probably many posts asking for help.
I’m restoring a 1976 Sea Ray 200.
Mercuiser 888. 188 Hp.
My tilt trim has 3 buttons. 2-up And 1 down. The way I understand it. The top up button operates the trim. Pushing both top buttons will bypass the trim and will told for trailering. My trim button dose not operate the trim but I can tilt pushing both buttons. My down works fine. Has anyone experienced this and does anyone have a direction for me to follow ? Thank you and I’m happy to be part of this group. Matt
 
never seen that setup, maybe post a pic or 2. i am familiar with 85 - 92, trim on throttle handle controls up or slightly down. switch on dash (trailer) controls full up, no down. need pictures.
 
never seen that setup, maybe post a pic or 2. i am familiar with 85 - 92, trim on throttle handle controls up or slightly down. switch on dash (trailer) controls full up, no down. need pictures.
 
Yes. I just understand.
1976 has 3 buttons on dash. Push one to trim bow up. You get 17” of travel. Push two to raise up to raise it all the way for trailering. Bottom button is down. That works for tilt or trim.
 
Matt, your trim limit switch on the side of the outdrive has gone bad. (Or the button on the panel is bad but unlikely). I believe it is the limit switch because by pressing the 2 buttons at once bypasses the limit switch. Changing the limit switch is not hard but running the new cable through the gimbal housing is a challenge with the drive attached. Some people will cut and splice a new switch into the old wires. Don't do it as they WILL fail.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your restoration.
Shawn
 
Hi Shawn,
Thanks for the info... Even if its not what I wanted to hear LOL... I guess I'll just have to use both buttons for now and keep my eye on the gauge.

Thanks again
Matt
 
Matt,
It's not impossible to do with the drive on. It can be done but it requires modifying or making a tool to tighten the bolt that holds the clamp where the wires pass through the gimbal housing. The kit for the senders only cost about $80 and come with directions. The kit comes with a new gauge sender and limit switch. There are a fair number of videos on YouTube showing how to do it.

I recently completed a restoration/modification of a 1985 Cobalt CM23 so I kind of get what you're doing. I took my boat practically down to the bare hull and started over replacing or rebuilding nearly everything. If you're like me you want everything to work as it should. Let me know if I can help with anything else.

Shawn
 
Matt,
It's not impossible to do with the drive on. It can be done but it requires modifying or making a tool to tighten the bolt that holds the clamp where the wires pass through the gimbal housing. The kit for the senders only cost about $80 and come with directions. The kit comes with a new gauge sender and limit switch. There are a fair number of videos on YouTube showing how to do it.

I recently completed a restoration/modification of a 1985 Cobalt CM23 so I kind of get what you're doing. I took my boat practically down to the bare hull and started over replacing or rebuilding nearly everything. If you're like me you want everything to work as it should. Let me know if I can help with anything else.

Shawn
Hey Shawn.
Yeah that’s the kicker. I watched a great vid on YouTube. But it looks like having to drop the OD to get at that bolt. Lol. Crazy. I guess if I can see it I can get at it somehow. The trick is getting it back on. Lol. I wonder how much a marina would charge. I mean the vid shows the guy using a breaker bar to drop OD. I don’t have that. But maybe it could be had. I’m not too intimidated by this. I guess I should just dive in head first. Borrow what I don’t have in tools.
I mean I’m planning to tackle the interior myself. Doing the side panels this winter. Looks like I’ll have to buy new seats. I hoped to keep it original. Besides that on the maiden voyage the prop hub spun. No big deal. I’ll buy another prop and rebuild the old one.
I really appreciate your help and advise.
 
I have a 73 220 and have to push both middle and up or down to move my trim

I have the same issue. While I’m glad I can raise it that way to trailer it. It is not ideal to trim boat. I am going to investigate maybe an in line fuse ?
I’ll post if I find one. I am trying to get around having to drop the OD to get at a bolt that holds the wires for the controller. Search YouTube for video of what I’m talking about.
 
I was told it’s normal by a mechanic So have alway thought it was normal kinda got use to it lol
Lol. Pushing both bypasses the trim control Sooooo. I guess we just keep an eye on the gauge and go from there.
 
73471315-4A6D-46ED-8F4B-F136C3625F1A.jpeg
E7F3B29F-5F22-4C17-8095-B640CD4FC099.jpeg
After I redid my interior
 
Guys, pushing both buttons is not the normal way to adjust the trim on your outdrives. If you re-read my responses (posts #5 & #7) I explain what is wrong and how to correct it if you choose to. It’s not a hard repair and there are many videos on YouTube showing how to do it.

I’m happy to share more info if you need it.
Shawn
 
I have the same issue but my outdrive will only go down no trailer or up. there is power to the switch(I have the same type as you for on this 77 240 Sundancer) but only works for going down. Can raise the outdrive if putting a direct hot to the trim motor up wire. The pucks are new and I have taken them apart and cleaned them and applied elect grease to the contact points. Still not working, I have posted this before on another forum early in the year. Took the summer off as it is to hot in Vegas to work on a boat in the open.
 
This happened when the clear fluid hose blew and got fluid all over the motor I think that I may have lost a ground connection. I am going to get back to it after it cools down here in Vegas. I also have another switch assembly to try if I can't figure it out. All else fails I will rewire the the system with a two way momontery toggle switch and call it good. As long as it goes up and goes down I will be happy.
 
Matt,
I did a temporary repair of my trim sender and just re-used the existing wires. I used good crimp connectors, heat shrink, and liquid electrical tape to seal the connections from water. The key to keeping the connections from breaking by the movement of the drive is to secure the connection point to the water hose using a couple of zip ties (not too tight). This will keep the connections from wiggling. Next, extend the wires to allow free movement without binding the connection. I was planning to pull my engines/drives in a few months anyway, so I knew it was only temporary and wanted my trim gauge to work in the meantime. This procedure is probably not Merc Approved but it worked.

Next - have you changed your bellows yet? Not trying to get into your business, but you mentioned “restoration” which usually implies some type of “degradation” If so, what about bellows for the outdrive? If those need changing all that has to come apart anyway.
 
The trim sender wires disintegrate because 12 volts is always on with the key on. Can be modified using 2 diodes to only have power when operating the switch.
The newer housings use 1 bolt, older housings uses 2 bolts
click to enlarge
 
This diagram is of different system then mine I only have one solenoid and my pump has the screw type filler hole I beleave it is an older system. If can only get all the bugs out of this boat I might be able to use it. Another thing I ran into is all the brand new batteries seem to have a hard time holding a charge, this happened over the summer while it was setting I think the hot Vegas sun may have killed them. I have a marine onboard charger in the boat and keep it pluged in at times to maintain the batteries and they worked fine then started losing voltage. The only thing that changed is I turned the main battery switch to off. Each battery is hooked direct to the charger.
 

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