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Trim Tilt Issues on Mercruiser 3.0 Alpha One I/O (140 hp) on 1984 Sea Ray Seville

P

PontoonLife

New member
Hello,

Just trying to get the boat out for the first time this year and having issues with the trim/tilt. Everything was working fine last year. Left prop in trim up position, I know I probably should have left it down.

When hitting the up and down on the trim tilt the solenoids click but the trim motor makes absolutely no noise.

I took the trim tilt motor apart and without the hydraulic/oil chamber attached the motor spins just fine when the trim up/down buttons are pressed!

I tried taking a screwdriver and twisting the hydraulic/oil chamber device and I thought it was spinning just fine. Oil level in the chamber is normal.

Thinking that the motor was now working I put the motor back together and still I am getting the same results, the solenoids click but the motor does nothing. Frustrating!

Any suggestions on what I can try next?

See pictures for my equipment..
.image_317429.jpgimage_317430.jpgimage_317431.jpgimage_317432.jpg
 
Change the solenoids. You pulled the motor apart, did you actually test to output of the large posts on the solenoid?

Just because they click does not mean the are feeding power.
 
I tested voltage across them when the trim up/down buttons are pressed. There seems to be voltage going across them (meter spiked to 60-80 volts).

Is there another test to measure power output from solenoids?

The trim motor drive shaft did spin without the hydraulic/oil reservoir attached. Would it operate if the solenoids were bad?

Should I replace the solenoids either way? Are solenoids universal, can buy any?

Thanks Chris!
 
so just to confirm, the motor does NOT turn when under load (connected to pump) but turns when separated from pump under no mechanical load?

In general, elec motors consume low current under no load compared to high current under load. think about that.

problem could be several things;

1/ bad power supply, meaning a high resistance joint somewhere in pump power circuit, either positive or negative. could be solenoid.
2/ worn out brushes in motor.

bad power supply could be high resistance joint within solenoid contacts or solenoid power supply (bad crimp lug connection on main wires somewhere.

to test for loss of voltage in wiring is easy but difficult to explain.

you must use your voltmeter to measure the voltage drop from start of positive wire at battery to finish of positive wire at the motor. Ditto the negative wire. Ditto the negative wire.

so the one lead of your voltmeter goes to the +ve battery post, the other voltmeter lead goes to the positive on the pump motor, or as close to it as you can get. get a mate to operate the pump motor while you watch the voltmeter, it will display the voltage loss in the positive cable whilst the motor is running. Ditto negative cable.

If all is well the meter will display 0V. im assuming you have a digital DMM so polarity of meter not an issue. if you measure a few volts (which is bad) you can move the DMM test leads around a bit to find where the loss is occurring.

Tip; if your using a digital DMM with auto ranging, they take some time time to settle on the correct range after a voltage change, so switch it to manual range say 0 to 40 VDC, it will then display correct voltage instantly.

Mark
 
question... I have power when I bypass the solenoids, what would be next step to look at. Fuses are good. when I push buttons on throttle no noise or anything. 1 of the solenoids is new the other isn't. it worked the first time I used the boat. left it in water overnight and I some wires got wet now nothing. please help
 
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