HELP! Short in Motor Trim.

[Dances with Walleye]

So I was on a trip 2 weeks ago, and my Trim and starter kept blinking off...

Well actually the trim was acting weak... I could hit the trim switch and it would just make a weak noise and do nothing... Then suddenly it would start getting a little stronger... And the trim would come back on line and trim up the motor.

*Also noticed the bilge pump was dead.

All fuses were still good.

Managed to survive the trip... Got home... Had a lot on my plate.

Went to get back to it.... (After a 3 hour tow.)

Hooked up the power...

Everything acted normal... Trimmed the motor Up (Slipping the transom saver bar loose.)

Went to go turn the key just to see if it would POP for a second.

I heard a "Click" in the back, and everthing went dead.

The only response I could get, was if I hit the trim switch, the gas guage needle would rise from the Half tank that it's at, to a full tank... When I let off the switch, it would go back down!

Everything else was dead... All Fuses are still good.

Once again I had a lot on my plate... My Buddy said "Hey I can come help you next Saturday." So I left it.

Motor was stuck trimmed up, so I couldn't get the Transom saver bar back on.

Pulled the power on the battery and went about my other concerns.

Got up the next morning, and I noticed that the motor was trimmed down!

In fact it was almost on the concrete!

I quick slipped an old cooler lid under the skeg, and cranked the nose down... It slowly descended over the next couple of hours until it was pressed against the cooler lid.

Now I'm stuck with the nose down and the skeg at full down trim.

I'm in the process of removing the rear deck... But of course to remove it, I have to remove the gunnel... And to remove the gunnel I have to remove the console... And I haven't quite engineered a method for removing the console with out lugging all 265 pound of me into the boat. (Afraid I'll bounce it and bang the skeg.)

Anyone have any insights?

I was told by a guy that "The trim Piston is fine, it just didn't have enough power to close the valve again."

But I'll be danged if I know anything about the trim piston.

*My current running theory is that I have a short in the main power... Which is then jumping the ground into the Gas Guage's Ground.

Any insights?

Thanks

[Jim Almquist]

It almost sounds like your battery is weak and a way to find out would be to connect only your motor to the battery and then you could hook that battery up to a battery charger and see if it makes any difference when you trim your motor while it is charging and if it has a charging meter see if it drops the charging amps when you trim the motor.

[marine_man]

A couple of things here...

There is a manual bypass valve for you trim & tilt - on the RH side (of most, could be LH side) of the mounting bracket for the motor (that's outside the boat), there's a slot in the lower portion of the lh mounting bracket - through that slot there's a large flat head screw.

Loosen that screw and lift your motor up (manually - the old fashioned way), prop it up on something or get some help, and re-tighten the screw, and the motor should be tilted up.

I'd say it's definitely an electrical problem, I'd start with making sure the battery cables are clean and tight to the starting battery and where they run into the motor.

marine_man

[Gordie]

my bro had this same problem last year and we found out on Mille Lacs it was a long trip back to shore needless to say but found out it was the TNT motor pump itself he replaced it and hasnt had any problems since, his was a Johnson 60 hp

[Dances with Walleye]

my bro had this same problem last year and we found out on Mille Lacs it was a long trip back to shore needless to say but found out it was the TNT motor pump itself he replaced it and hasnt had any problems since, his was a Johnson 60 hp

Should it turn out to be the TNT motor pump, any recommendations on where would I go to find the replacement parts, for a 50 HP Merc?

[Gordie]

He got his online thru that buy it now thing on HSO-Classifieds and it was shipped to his door for free alot of the stores on that site are shipping for free and there is a guy in hackensack that will ship stuff to you as I just recieved a tiller handle for my 20hp merc yesterday if you need his number email at [email protected]

[Phred52]

If you're looking for a used pump motor, give Tim's O/B Service in Hackensack a call. He's got lotsa parts. Although with the way your trouble is all spread out, before you order anything, have your battery checked, clean all the connections (real well), and eliminate the 'easily overlooked stuff'. Follow the flow of current and chances are you'll find the source of the problem. It really does sound like bad connections and /or a battery on it's last leg. Phred52

[Dances with Walleye]

If you're looking for a used pump motor, give Tim's O/B Service in Hackensack a call. He's got lotsa parts. Although with the way your trouble is all spread out, before you order anything, have your battery checked, clean all the connections (real well), and eliminate the 'easily overlooked stuff'. Follow the flow of current and chances are you'll find the source of the problem. It really does sound like bad connections and /or a battery on it's last leg. Phred52

Yeah I intend to go through it every last inch of the way.

I figure it's good to know this stuff on your boat through and through. And when it comes to info, it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it!

Any tips/insightful links for replacing it, IF it turns out to actually be the T&T pump?

Thanks Guys!

[Gordie]

Tims thats the guy just didnt know if I could post the phone # so if you need it shoot me an email

[Flakehead]

It is hard to give solid advise over the net but you can test your trim motor by hooking it up directly to a 12V battery. You have either a 2 wire or a 3 wire motor with one wire being Positive and the others being up and down on the 3 wire, I do not have hands on experienc with the 3 wire. The 2 wire will do its reversing through the relays. I had to wire a 2 wire from scratch last fall and I could touch one wire hot and one wire negative and run the drive motor, reversing them would run the trim the opisite direction. The relays will fail sometimes and to me this sounds like it may be related to relays providing week or low voltage. I did my research on the internet to figure it out. Find out how many wires you have and google a related search.

James

[Dances with Walleye]

It is hard to give solid advise over the net but you can test your trim motor by hooking it up directly to a 12V battery. You have either a 2 wire or a 3 wire motor with one wire being Positive and the others being up and down on the 3 wire, I do not have hands on experienc with the 3 wire. The 2 wire will do its reversing through the relays. I had to wire a 2 wire from scratch last fall and I could touch one wire hot and one wire negative and run the drive motor, reversing them would run the trim the opisite direction. The relays will fail sometimes and to me this sounds like it may be related to relays providing week or low voltage. I did my research on the internet to figure it out. Find out how many wires you have and google a related search.

James

That's a little over my head there...

I have 2 gray wires coming out of the boat, and going into the motor to two little arms on screws... But unless it's under this last piece of subfloor I'll need to rip out... I don't see anywhere to direct connect them, without cutting them.

I'll know more on Saturday.

Thanks Guys

[Gordie]

email sent DwW