Smartcraft Tilt/Trim Problem

[gcb]

I have a Sea Ray 260 Sundancer with the Smartcraft System. The Trim Gauge is, whilst running at sea, all over the place going up and down but the leg is not moving. The leg still runs up and down by the button ok though. This is affecting the smartcraft system it jumps from one reading to another. Has any one else had this problem?? Where do I start to look??

 

[Dave S]

First off welcome to the board. Always nice to have another 260DA owner join us.

The trim gauge really isn't what you expect it to be and that is simply a measurement of the trim angle of the outdrive. It will actually change as the bow of the boat rises and falls. So it's more of a combination of trim and bow inclination. Once you are on plane though and the boat levels off, the reading should be pretty constant until you slow down again. I have learned to adjust my outdrive trim based on the speed I am running. Once up on plane, I know exactly where to set the outdrive trim by using the gauge.

Is your experience the same as what I described?

 

[MC1600]

Where do you have yours up on plane, Dave? I'm usually at just about the 1/3 point "up" (just under the 1/2 mark and just above the 1/4 mark). That about where you're at?

 

[gcb]

Mine is always moving up and down on the gauge without touching the button, so you dont really know where the leg is at. I'm not sure whwer to start looking in the loom behind the panel or at the sensor itself. But when the gauge moves up and down constantly the way it does all the other Smartcraft finctions on the LCD display revert back to the trim angle showning on the guage (up and down contantly) so if youre looking for your depth it all of a sudden jumps into the trim angle again.

 

[floater]

Similar issue on my 07 270 AJ, smartcraft gauge basically useless, gave up trying to get the dealer to fix it, found it was no big deal to me functionally, but annoying, but sick of it being out of service while they played with it.

 

[estebanj]

You can turn off the trim display on the SmartCraft LCD. This will at least make your LCD usable until you figure out what is happening with the trim sensor/indicator. I can email the PDF if needed.

Esteban

 

[Henry Boyd]

GCB,
What Smartcraft setup to you have? Was the boat built with Smartcraft, or was it added on? Do you have the rectangular System View LCD display plus gauges, or the fancy multi function Tach and Speedo gauges?

Smartcraft is a networked data system, so if your other gauge functions are working normally, e.g. engine temp, rpm, oil pressure etc, then the smartcraft system itself would appear to be working correctly.

Some of the Smartcraft displays have an option to switch the display to trim on each change in trim setting. This may be the cause of that behavior even though the drive is not changing position, the data network thinks it is. You can switch that off through the display setup. At the same time you might try re-calibrating the trim.

If re-calibration does not work, you might check the trim harness connection to the main smartcraft wiring harness. On my 496 this is located at the back of the engine and there is an ID tag.

Next possibility is a faulty connection to the trim sender on the outdrive, or the trim sender itself. At this point you have pretty much concluded the DIY aspect of this problem and will need to consult a Mercury Tech.

Henry

 

[Dave S]

I agree with Henry. Look on page 2-15 of your Smartcraft Manual for an explanation of the function called "Trim Popup". If this is activated , it could be part of the problem. Whenever you adjust trim it causes the trim angle to pop-up on your LCD display overriding whatever is there. If it's on try turning it off and see if the problem goes away. If the LCD then holds the display of the function you selected, then you have at least identified part of the problem. At that point you may want to talk to a Mercruiser tech about what could be causing it. It may be something like a loose wire or a bad trim sensor.

 

[scrappy35]

I know exactly what you are talking about. Mine seems to do it much more at slower speeds, which of course is when I really need my depth gauge that keeps disappearing. I am going to check all my conections starting with the trim sending units. If I figure something out I will let you know. I have a 2004 220 select and I would like the manual pdf if someone could send it to me at shane.scarpino@usmc.mil

Thanks Shane

 

[geriksen]

usually the trim sender on the outdrive is the culprit

also, the smartcraft trim sender is different. I have seen shops replace it with the conventional one and then you really have problems...

make sure they put the right one on

 

[estebanj]

PDF sent via email.

Esteban

 

[Dave S]

I know exactly what you are talking about. Mine seems to do it much more at slower speeds, which of course is when I really need my depth gauge that keeps disappearing. I am going to check all my conections starting with the trim sending units. If I figure something out I will let you know. I have a 2004 220 select and I would like the manual pdf if someone could send it to me at shane.scarpino@usmc.mil

Thanks Shane

Shane............all the download information for manuals is here http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1742

 

[gcb]

Thanks everyone for their input. Just come back from a long Easter Break here in Australia and while we were away it was driving me mad especially in shallow water. I will try and disable the Trim Popup and move onto the leg sensor and wiring from there.

 

[Shane.mcdougall]

I have a Sea Ray 260 Sundancer with the Smartcraft System. The Trim Gauge is, whilst running at sea, all over the place going up and down but the leg is not moving. The leg still runs up and down by the button ok though. This is affecting the smartcraft system it jumps from one reading to another. Has any one else had this problem?? Where do I start to look??

Hi I'm having the same problems. Did you ever find a solution for this? I've replaced the sensor but maybe I've bought a dud one I'm not sure