BF30 Tiller Power TrimTilt

"Problem: Trim automatically l

"Problem: Trim automatically lowers motor to down position when accelerating.

Background: In low water conditions, I often raise the motor to avoid burying it...when i accelerate and run - the motor lowers on its own. Both trim switch buttons (tiller handle and motor) are clear and unobstructed.

Any thoughts?"

how many trim switches do you

how many trim switches do you have any up front?

"Can you tell if it is lowerin

"Can you tell if it is lowering under power of the trim motor or if it is sinking on its own?

If it is under power of the trim motor, it is probably one of your trim switches are faulty.

If it just draws in on its own, then the hydraulics are not holding it in position and are giving way to the forward thrust of the engine.

Trim the engine up and while standing behind it, put the weight of your body on the lower unit by the prop. If it goes down, then it is the hydraulics.

Is your motor still under warranty?"

"Cliff - I have 2 trim switche

"Cliff - I have 2 trim switches: 1 on the tiller handle & 1 on the outside of the motor housing, which is just south of the oil filter (if i were to guess - this one is the problem...oil filter is in a tight spot & i wrestle with getting it off every oil change; maybe i ran into the something related to the switch)."

"Mike - it is definitely lower

"Mike - it is definitely lowering under power of the trim motor. I can't hear if the trim motor continues to run when the engine is completely lowered since the problem only happens when I am accelerating/running (not idling) & stops when I lay off the gas. It is weird that this only occurs when moving fwd and how are they tied together -could this be due to vibration?-
Nonetheless, i worry about burning out the trim motor.

Motor came off warranty last June."

"Bad news about the warranty.

"Bad news about the warranty. The good news is the electrical issue should be a cheaper fix.

Both trim switches have three leads going to them. A 12 volt lead (a white lead or a white lead with black tracer), a light blue lead for down and a light green lead for up. We will concentrate on the 12v lead and the light blue lead.

When the 12v lead connects to the light blue lead through the switch, the down relay operates which supplies voltage to the trim motor and the engine goes down.

Why does it happen when going forward? There could be several reasons. First, more vibration in forward (you can go faster in forward than reverse) and the 12v lead and the light blue leads are pinched or bare and nearly touching...then come in contact due to the vibration of the motor. Second, the wires could be coming in contact by one of the linkages (throttle or shift) moving the wires and making them come in contact. The vibration could also be causing the switch to make contact inside itself due to corrosion/rust or, although extremely rare, the relay could be operating by harness issues or internal short.

.

Let us start at the switch on the side of the motor. Trace the white and light blue leads from the switch all the way to the connection block on the port side of the motor (under the black plastic cover). Make sure they are not pinched along the way and the insulation is intact. Disconnect the light blue lead from the switch. Be sure to only disconnect that lead. There are several leads that color in that area.

You can test what you did...operate the switch on the side of the motor and it should only make the engine go up and not down. Then check the switch on the tiller arm, it should still work both ways.

Now take your boat out and see what happens. If the problem is resolved, the switch is faulty. Replace the switch. If not...reconnect the trim switch so both switches work again.

Now check the switch in the tiller arm. You can get to it by removing the plasic cover on the bottom of the arm. I think there are six screws.

Again, go to the switch and check the white with black tracer lead and the light blue lead. If you find no bare spots or potential contacts of the two wires, disconnect the light blue wire inside the tiller arm.

Run another test and see if the problem is resolved.

If it is still not resolved, there may be an issue inside the harness going from the tiller arm to the engine or even something going on with the wiring to the relays. Relays very seldom, if ever, just operate by themselves and the trim motor will not run without one of the relays operating. We will hold off tracing any of that through at this time...with wishing thinking that you will have found the problem.

If you are knowledgable of wiring diagrams...you can find one for you motor at the back few pages of your owner's manual. that may at least give you a picture of what I was expaining above.

Hope I did not lose you along the way."

"Mike - you're a champion.

"Mike - you're a champion. And it was easy to follow. The only problem is testing...most of the water is frozen up around here & my garden hose is buried under feet of snow (also frozen). As soon as i get in a test run, i'll report back.

Thanks again for the advice."

Re: "Mike - you're a champion.

so much for the electrical fix. I checked all of the connections (twice)...no luck. Testing last week revealed that the motor still sinks, but now it's lowering immediately after being raised. Looks like I'm into a hydraulics problem afterall.

Any thoughts re next steps?

Your symptoms are hydraulic in nature. The reason the motor lowers only in forward is that a TREMENDOUS amount of force is exerted by the prop to propel the boat forward and that tends to force the motor toward the bow of the boat. If you put the outboard into reverse and "goose" the throttle (careful now!) does the motor tend to "bounce" up out of the water? If so, you are losing a majority of your hydraulic holding power against the trim piston. If not, that is a good sign...sort of.

First thing to do is make sure your manual tilt valve is closed tight. If you're on the trailer, try opening it and tilt the motor up all the way and then close the valve tightly. Hook the trailer to the tow vehicle for stability and then lean hard on the motor and see if it will hold it's position or drift downward. If it won't stay up, you need to pull the oil filler plug and see if it is full of hydraulic fluid. If it is full, then you may have a stuck relief valve in the hydraulic pump. Sad to say, these units are fairly simple but finding someone competent to repair them is a crap shoot at best. Note that I stated earlier that a tremendous force is exerted by the prop so you need to be aware that, even if the motor can't be tilted down by human force, the final test will be on the water.

If the unit is low on oil, that indicates that it has been leaking and that means that it will soon (if it hasn't already) start ingesting water which is usually devastating.

These trims are neat and wonderful when they work but they are nasty expensive to replace and the repair parts are outrageous in price. Add to that an incompetent mechanic and WHOOSH, there goes a lot of dough. If you decide to take it to a repair facility, ask lots of questions about how many they have repaired and see if you can activate your BS meter when they respond. If you end up tearing it down for repair, be sure to specify that you want the motor brushes replaced. They come with a new wiring harness and case seal and will prevent other problems down the road.