Tilt Switches

[Seevee]

All,

On Mercruiser A1, sires II drives (2003), with 4.3 MPI engines......

My indicator on the starboard side quit and showing the drive tilt all the way up. I'd assume that these switches and the way they mount are the same on all of the Merc outdrives, correct?

Looking at the maint manual and videos looks like on has to take the drive off to get these replaces, and it's recommended to change both at a time (limit and indicator switches).

Are there things that can be done to possible fix this without pulling a drive? I saw one video where a guy did get the bracket that holds the wires in place with a swivel socket and a wrench he bent... doesn't look too hard.

Could this switch possibly be just cleaned? Seems like a simple device.

Thoughts?

 

[BillK2632]

I would say it is impossible to replace these on an Alpha without removing the drive, just not enough room do it. Bravo is different and I have heard of people replacing with the drive on. The replacement is to replace both the trim sensor and limit along with the wiring all the way through to the connections inside the boat. Honestly with the proper tools removing the drive and loosening the bellhousing from the gimbal is not that big of a deal, but most people try to do this along with other work like replacing bellows and shift cable when possible. At this point you have nothing to loose by taking the sensor apart and trying to clean it up, could just be water and corrosion, it's just a rheostat. Also check the wiring connections at the transom and the back of the gauge, a bad ground will cause the gauge to peg up.

 

[Seevee]

BillK,

Good points, will report back after I attempt something....

 

[CliffA]

I think there are kits you can buy to allow you to replace the sensors without removing the outdrive and run new wires through the transom then connect them to the original wires inside the ER......the old wires are left in place and just cut off......the downside is you need to drill a new hole in the transom or if you already have a hole for something else like a depth transducer you might could run the new wires through that same hole....

cliff

 

[Seevee]

Cliff,

That's good to know, but coming up on annual maintenance where I'll pull the drives anyway, so if I can't get it sooner somehow, I do it at annual time, and also check other things.

But if you have a link on that kit, would be interested in putting it in the file.

 

[CliffA]

Cliff,

That's good to know, but coming up on annual maintenance where I'll pull the drives anyway, so if I can't get it sooner somehow, I do it at annual time, and also check other things.

But if you have a link on that kit, would be interested in putting it in the file.

from what I can tell the kits are no longer being sold but here is a video link on installing the kit....some people think this is a 'hack job' but I personally would not have any problem using this method to replace the senders....as often as the senders go bad it sure would be nice to be able to replace them in about 10 mins in the future after this modification....Mercruiser must have thought this is an acceptable alternate way to replace the senders since they are the ones who sold the kits......

cliff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q70Fc2gWgZQ