Power trim trouble

"I'm not too experienced w

"I'm not too experienced with the power trim systems, so I am hoping someone can help. I noticed a couple weeks ago that when trying to lift my pre-alpha out drive, I am getting a "click". the down trim always works, but the up is getting worse each time I take the boat out. Last night I had to flip the switch about 10 times before the pump kicked in. I checked all the wires to and from the pump for corrosion or loose connections but found none. even the wires going to the trim controls are good. what am I looking for?"

"Jeff:
Do you have a toggle

"Jeff:
Do you have a toggle up/down trim switch and a trailer button on the shifter? If yes, and the O/D goes up without any problem with the trailer switch, then the toggle switch is failing or the wire has come loose in the handle coupling. Pull the handle cover off and look inside the black plastic wire holder. You'll see 4 wires on each side with a coupling pin they plug into. Look for the loose wire.

The up toggle and trailer switch use the same relay, but the trailer switch bypasses the limit switch. The 8 ga. red wire to the relay is the 12 Volt power source for the pump. The opposing relay post is the wire to the pump.

There should be 12+ volts on both sides of the relay posts when the switch is toggled up or down. Note that one of the small terminals on the relay is from the toggle switch and the other is a ground wire to turn the relay on.
If the relay has 12+ volts on only one side when activated, the up relay is failing.

Note: some systems use one relay for up/down and modern types use two relays, 1 up & 1 down.

You can test circuit wiring by using a jumper wire from the 12 volt + battery terminal to the small + terminal on each relay (not the black wire). If the O/D moves up/down without any stuttering, the problem is not the relays but the control switches and or wiring between them and the relays."

"Both the trailering switch an

"Both the trailering switch and the up trim swithces are on the dash. and yes to get the o/d to move up at all I now have to activate both switches, and several times at that.
holding the trailering switch and then activating the trim switch gives me a click. I have to keep doing this until it finally moves the o/d"

"Jeff: First go to the pump an

"Jeff: First go to the pump and find the four wire trim harness from the dash at the pump and disconnect it--look at the pins for corrosion and clean them carefully with an emery board (nail file) disconnect the trim motor at the battery first. I had a loose plug once and that was all it was. Yours sounds like a relay issue or corroded wires. Then use the jumper I talked about to activate the relays, the small wires. If it works, the small wire to switches are the problem. if not jump the large wires from the battery on the RED + teminal if it works, repllace the relays. if not the only thing left is the pump motor."

"Thanks for the info guy, I wi

"Thanks for the info guy, I will try it this weekend as I won't have time till then. I will let you know what I find- I sure hope it is not the pump! But in thinking about it, if it was the pump wouldn't the trim down also give me trouble? that works every time.
thanks again"

"Jeff: It would seem that way

"Jeff: It would seem that way but gravity helps on the downward movement. I think if memory serves me right there are valves in the pump body that control fluid flow. Take a good look at each of the solenoid wires for corrosion. Any sign of greenish blue to powdery white is a sure sign of it. Corrosion can wick its way upthe length of a wire past the insulation. Make sure all are clean and tight. Unsure about a connector? Cut it off and replace it. If the copper wire is black, scrape it with 400 grit sand paper by pulling it between your fingers and sand paper til it is penney bright and then replace new connector--use shrink wrap or tape or liquid elec. tape to seal them. Fluid level right?

A simple test for the switches is using a test light on the plug pins one at a time--flip each switch and check each pin for voltage (light turns on bright). Ground the test light to the block and use the probe end on the pins. Nobody to help? Use a gator clip on the probe end and watch for the light."