Power Trim Issues - 2001 200 EFI MERC

[74mph]

So the power trim on my 200 EFI started acting up on a recent fishing trip. When in the water the trim up works great but the trim down is tempermental. It hasnt stopped working yet but the power seems to come and go, it gives a very random noise sounding like its going to die but then starts moving again. This seems to happen throughout the down cycle.

Interestingly enough it doesnt seem to have this issue when It is on the trailer. Could it be a short due to the water? The motor works consistently when it is on the trailer and instantly once I put it in the water I get the intermintent down trim issue.

Whats the deal?? I plan to trouble shoot saturday of course Im going to check the fluid level and battery connection, although I dont believe this is going to fix it.

Any Ideas? Ive read some posts but still cant seem to find a straight solution path.

Thanks,

DK

[marine_man]

I would try swapping the relays - look on the starboard side of the motor, behind the plastic cover for two relays... they'll look like this:

Swap the two around, and see if your intermitent problem changes to be up instead of down.

marine_man

[74mph]

Hey guys! Its been a while since I have attacked this issue but Im back at work. My power trim still has issues. I have replaced the relays marineman was describing. The system seemed to work better on the trailer and no change in the water.

So to recap the issue. My trim works repeatedly when the boat is on the trailer. When I put it in the water the trim instantly gets very week, runs slow, and sounds awful (probably because it is so slow). I did run water over all of the trim components when the boat was on the trailer and could not get it to act up.

I always works just works slower in the water. Sometimes it will come back and work fine in the water.

Any ideas guys? Has anyone had this issue?

[boatfixer]

Does it act up both running and not running while its in the water?

[MuskieJunkie]

Maybe water in the motor for the pump. That's what happened on a 2001 Merc 90 HP I had.

There's an O-ring on the top and bottom of the housing, mine was missing 1 of them.

2 screws on the top of the assembly and it will all come apart. As soon I loosed the screws dirty water came out on mine.

[74mph]

I believe it doesnt matter if the motor is running or not. I can recheck on this one.

So if it was getting water in the motor did you need to replace the whole pump or did the 0rings help?

[MuskieJunkie]

So if it was getting water in the motor did you need to replace the whole pump or did the 0rings help?

I did not replace the whole pump. I looked into it and it was very expensive, about $700 if I'm remembering right.

I had to replace the piece that has all the electrical conections becuase it was corroded. Mercury didn't offer just that piece but I found it used at Boat Motor Recyclers in Burnsville.

I replaced the one missing O-Ring. I don't have the boat anymore so I can't say for sure but I'm assuming that solved the problem.

[74mph]

Nice. Well I know it will be very expensive to replace the pump, this is why Im asking. I may attempt to open it up myself and look for issues like the 0-rings.

Any other ideas guys?

[marine_man]

Is it isolated to key switch on vs key switch off?

marine_man

[B@ssDoctor]

Wait until the motor is in a bad position, then check continuity from the switch to the 2 (or however many wires) on the motor when the trim is engaged. You will have to use a sharp probe to get through the wire insulation. I went through alot to pin mine down to a half broken wire going to the motor. Same issue, if it was in the up position, no problems until I would get it was down and the wire would start to pull apart. The break in the wire was in between the relays to the motor itself. Due to the flexing, I believe, is why it broke.

Let us know what you find.

[74mph]

Problem Identified!!

After many different attempts at making it act up /not act up by altering the wiring I finelly decided that it must be the o-Ring seal issue.

I decided to try it myself and take the trim motor off of the transom bracket. This wasnt too difficult as there were only two hex head bolts holding it on and everything was accessible. I took the cap off of the electric motor and found about an ounce of water inside the trim motor. There was also a decent amount of debris. I took the assembly apart, cleaned out all of the debris and dried the internal components.

This was a supprisingly easy process. Overall it is a very simple design inside. There were two 0Ring seals. One that seals the cap to the motor base and one the seals the whole motor to the trim pump components. These looked okay.

There is a third seal that seals the motor shaft from the outside world. This seal actually looked okay but if you look at the shaft its self it shows signs of pitting, likley due to corrosion. I got on the mercury parts express page for trim and they sell a seal kit with a new internal shaft and coil assembly for about 165. I am assuming that this is a common problem since they actually sell a parts package to fix it.

I hope this helps someone else! It was a long time coming. I have the parts package on order and Ill let you guys know once everything is back in order.

Thanks for all of your advice! It was a process of elimination. In the end it makes alot of sence, when the motor was in the water it would instantly get water to leak up inside and partialy short the motors coil. When the boat was on the trailer the water would have time to drain back out. I even remember having the problem as the boat was just fresh out of water but not once it was home in the garage.

Im happy! Get my boat back with no worries that Im going to be stuck with the trim in the full up position!

you guys rock!

THANKS!

[MuskieJunkie]

Glad to hear you figured out the problem.

[marine_man]

Nice work!

marine_man