1996 Merc 60 horse 2 stroke trim/tilt relay??

[crappace]

We have a 1996 Merc 60 horse 2 stroke that the power trim has stopped working on. It does not go up but sounds like it will go down. Its all the way down so not sure on that. Any ideas on what to check and how to fix it??

[Valv]

The trim relays are inside motor, on right side there's a big black plastic cover, take it off and you'll see 2 identical solenoids.

You can switch the wiring from one to the other to check if it's the problem.

[Keith_MN]

Crappace,

Must be something in the weather. My '95 Mariner 60hp (which I believe is almost identical to your '96 Merc) started developing the same issue over the weekend. Goes down but doesn't want to come back up (unless I tease it).

Valv,

Thanks for the response. I will have to check under the hood on mine as well.

[Valv]

The wiring of power tilt & trim is simple. there are 3 wires, red blue and green.

red is positive from battery

blue is up

green is down

If you touch the blue with red motor will go up

if you touch green with red it will go down.

This is for 99% of motors

[crappace]

Thanks guys. Sounds like an easy fix!

[delcecchi]

that is why I carry a pair of spare trim relays for my 115 merc. I have heard they use a common automotive relay but I buy mine from the dealer to get the merc packaging. They just plug in. Both have to be good for it to work right.

[crappace]

Good thinking delcecchi. I will pick an extra set up for my 60 4 stroke tiller too.

[Valv]

They actually don't go bad very quickly, but you can get just 1 as spare since they are both same and they are interchangeable.

[Big Laker]

crappace,

It could also be the brushes in the pump motor. I had to replace the brushes on my 1996 Merc 60hp after about 4 years of use. I removed the old brushes and took them to an electric motor supply company and they had brushes that fit perfectly. cost less than $5. good luck.

[delcecchi]

I find it is way easier to swap both because it is hard to tell which one is bad. It seems like it should be easy, but the last time it wasn't until I swapped both that it was fixed. If the cost is deterring you, buy the automotive ones at auto parts type place. I have even heard claims walmart has them.

[LMITOUT]

I would bet it's the relays. I had the exact same symptoms the day before the opener last year on my '99 60HP Merc. Replaced the bad one and then up/down both worked fine. They're relatively cheap so I put the other one in right away so they were both fresh and good to go.

Mine are located on the base of the engine near the spark plug area (rear).

[marine_man]

Quote:

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it is hard to tell which one is bad

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If you don't want the added expense of carrying two relays around change the first one.. if it doesn't fix the problem change the second one and replace the first one because it was good. The other way (more scientific, if you want to call it that) is to look at which wires run to which relay. If the problem is with getting the motor to go down look for which relay has a green wire running to it. If the problem is with up look for the wire that has the blue wire running to it.

An easy way to remember which wire is up or down is that the blue wire is up (the sky is blue) and the green wire is down (the grass is green).

Good Luck!

marine_man