Logo

Control for 1988 Alpha one and power trim pump

1973browning

Contributing Member
"Well here it goes, Installed

"Well here it goes, Installed control for 1988 Alpha One Sterndrive that I just bought on ebay. Every thing works on the mechanical end but I need to figure out how to wire the system. I will give you as much info. on the control and the respective wire groups and colors. The control has two toggle switches. (one is on the T-handle of shifter and one clips through gunwhale and is at the bottom of mouning bracket and plastic cover. Top switch reads only "Up and Down". Bottom switch reads: Tilt(Up and Down). Also, the beauty cover that hides the shifter handle mounting screw and wiring to top control reads: Pull Neutral and on bottom HI-Flex. There are three small wire harness's and they are as follows:
1) Top toggle switch has three wires (red,blue,green)
2)Bottom toggle on base or cover has three wires (red,yellow,gray)
3)Inside gunwhale at the rear end of actual mechanical control has two blue wires.
Like I said, I bought it on ebay and it said it was a Mercruiser control. I was hoping you guys could identify it for me. It has a red trigger on t-handle and both toggle switches are red. That is all I know.
The power trim pump has two solenoids and is a ARCO replacement,with plastic reservoir,it has a black rubber three prong plug. I cleaned pump really thouroughly last year and tested motor with 12 volts and it seemed to be working.
It looked to be in pretty good shape. I also noticed that the two solenoids were joined by a brass plate. I am guessing that this is where the unit gets power direct from the battery? There is a 3/8 or 7/16 nut that a heavier wire would attach to. The housing also has a red rubbler coating on it. I am going to start here at this point and will take one step at a time as I find out how it is wired. I have a Seloc Manual but would be as well to try and decypher King Tuts Tomb!lol I also downloaded the merc. manual on iboats but for some reason the drive download will not function anymore. The engine manual works just fine but the other won't work for me. It worked about a year ago. That is probably the last time that I attempted to open it. Bondo and Guy were the ones that helped me download and I thank you. I am thinking that the two blue wires have something to do with the shift interrupt switch.(but just guessing) Also, figure that the red wires on both switches are both hots from a fused source. And I guess the other colors on each switch are either up or down. But the problem is where do they go in relation to the two solenoids. I am sure they must go to the solenoids because that is the only logical place (but where?) thanks, Tom"
 
"Thanks Bt Doctor for the manu

"Thanks Bt Doctor for the manuals, already see what I have to do! I have the #6 Service manual but I just can't get it to work. Oh boy, I guess I have alot of wiring to do! At least I'm not trying to do it blindfolded! lol Thanks again for your help, Tom"
 
"You are right about the neutr

"You are right about the neutral safety switch. It connects to the yellow/black stripe wire coming off of the ignition switch.

The following may help. You could use trailer wiring to wire it; the colors won't match.

How the trim/tilt works

Before you tear anything apart or replace wiring and switches, test it out; first by visual inspection by pulling back and forth on the wires while operating the switches and then test with a meter. At the commander switches, the red wire will always have 12 volts. The green wire gets 12 volts when the trim toggle is held down. The blue wire gets 12 volts only when the toggle is held up or the trailer switch is pushed in. The purple wire is part of the limit switch circuit.

If the switch voltages are as they are supposed to be then go to the trim/tilt pump assy. and make sure the purple wire connector (single wire) and the blue wire connector with two blue wires on one side of the connection are not corroded or loose. These are the trim position and limit switch wires. Pull them apart and inspect; they should be clean and tight; reconnect them. If necessary, trace the wires to the front of the engine near the slave solenoid. One wire is grounded near there and the other is connected to a terminal. If you don't get a voltage reading at the terminal junction, apply 12 VDC to see if the trim gauge moves. If it does, check for voltage back at the trim pump connections. If no voltage is there, apply 12 VDC there to check gauge movement.

Next check the three wire connector (RED, BLUE & GREEN) at the pump assy. This plug can vibrate loose and cause your problem. Pull it off and see if the pins are clean and not corroded; reconnect it.

The RED wire in the plug sends 12 volts from the pump assy. to the toggle up/down and trailer up switches. The BLUE & GREEN wires bring 12 volts from the toggle trim/tilt and trailer switches to the two solenoids on the pump assy.

The GREEN wire goes to the DOWN solenoid while the BLUE wire goes to the UP solenoid.

Did you check the switches with an ohmmeter? The trim/tilt switch is a 2-way switch and will show continuity only when it is toggled in each direction between two of the wires.

Up toggle connects the RED wire to the BLUE wire. Down toggle connects the RED wire to the GREEN wire. The TRAILER UP switch also connects the RED wire to the BLUE wire.

The OD trim limit switch will only send voltage to the trim/tilt switch in the upward toggle position if the OD limit switch is below the adjusted trim limit that keeps the OD being out of the water.

To test the limit switch circuit, lower the OD to the down position and slowly raise it with the trim toggle up until it stops. Then measure the distance between the trim cylinder attaching bolts. If the distance is approx. 22 +/- 1/4 inches, then the trim limit switch is adjusted properly and the commander trim toggle switch is working in the up/down mode.

Go to the trim/tilt pump assy. and make sure the purple wire connector (single wire) and the blue wire connector two blue wires on one side of the connection are not corroded or loose. Pull them apart; they should be clean and tight; reconnect them.
Next check the three (RED, BLUE & GREEN) wire connector at the pump assy. The RED wire in the plug sends 12 volts from the pump assy. to the toggle up/down and trailer up switches. This plug can vibrate loose and cause your problem. Pull it off and see if the pins are clean and not corroded; reconnect it.

The BLUE & GREEN wires bring 12 volts from the switches to the two solenoids on the pump assy. The GREEN wire goes to the DOWN solenoid while the BLUE wire goes to the UP solenoid.

Disconnect the trim/tilt assy. wires from the battery and then check each of the nuts and studs on the solenoids for clean and tight fittings. Each solenoid has three wires and the buss bar connected to it. The bases of them have a black ground wire and a small blue wire to one and a small green wire to the other.

On top of each solenoid, the large BLUE wire from the pump motor attaches to a large copper stud with the solenoid that has the small blue wire at the base while the large GREEN wire from the pump motor attaches to a large copper stud with the solenoid that has the small green wire at the base.

The other copper solenoid studs are connected together with a copper buss bar. One of the two studs will also have a funny looking 110 amp fuse attached to the bar. The large RED wire from the battery connects to the 110 amp fuse. This large red wire is the power for this buss bar. A small RED wire attached to the bar stud sends 12 volts to the switches which in turn sends the 12 volts to the solenoids which turns on the pump motor.

Important: if the studs on the either solenoid are dark and not like a clean penny, especially the BLUE wired solenoid, this solenoid is failing due to age and/or a loose bottom copper stud nut. The dark color comes from heat generated inside of the solenoid by the contactor because it is arcing like welding similar to points wearing out. Change the solenoid.

Cleaning Trim Limit Switch & Trim Position Sender

For the trim/tilt problem you are experiencing, if the wires from the limit switch (port side) and trim position sender (starboard side) are in good condition, they (Switch or sender) can be disassembled to clean out the old hardened grease. SCRIBE the sides of each one and the OD for a reference mark before removal. Clean out the old grease and pump fresh Mercruiser 2-4-C grease thru the zerk fittings before reinstallation. Clean the small brass contact points with solvent and a pencil eraser until shiny; repack w/ 2-4-C grease and reinstall by aligning reference marks."
 
"What an awsome explanation Gu

"What an awsome explanation Guy Gaspar, almost like holding my hand through the entire operation. Your the best, all you guys, really mean that! Going out in the snow tomorrow for a couple of days! lol I'll be back in touch with you after I get a little rest and feel up to working on boat. Boat is in a shop so I have some chance at working on it. Just need to feel up to it and a little more motivated. The snow work sucks the life out of you and it takes at least a few days afterwards to start to feel half human again! lol Talk to you later Guy, Tom"
 
"Tom:

Thanks for the vote o


"Tom:

Thanks for the vote of confidence. But, there are many others that contribute expertise way above my level. I just talk alot.
snow.gif
"
 
Re: "Tom:

Thanks for the vote o


I found this to be a great thread and hope you can offer me a bit more help with wiring the trim motor to the trim switch.
I just bought a very used 1994 Hurricane with a 115HP Evinrude 2 stroke (Model# 115999R)

I found that the wires from the trim motor are not connected to anything, and the wires coming from the trim switch are not connect to anything.
I have no idea how I am suppose to wire from the up/down trim switch to the trim motor in order to get the trim to work.

I found a ton of unconnected wires and leads in battery box area. Only thing connected it seems is the power from the start key to the motor (and that works)

Please can you guys help me as this is my first boat purchase and I am pretty lost. Thanks for any kindness
 
Thanks for the post. I am not sure what I am going to do. I guess I will have to take it to a shop to see if they can get everything square asI don;t know what I am doing :(
 
I just bought a very used 1994 Hurricane with a 115HP Evinrude 2 stroke (Model# 115999R)
Do a compression test before spending any money on it...could be the engine isn't worth more than scrap.
 
Back
Top