Trim Motor or Wiring Failure

"Help...

I have a 2002 Merc

"Help...

I have a 2002 Mercruiser engine with a Volvo drive. I was out on the boat two weeks ago and the trim stopped working out on the lake. We pulled in to the marina and a mechanic happened to be there...he looked under the engine cover and played with some wiring and the trim came up. We got it on the trailer and got it home.

I went to see if the trim was working this past week...it wasn't. I played with every wire down there and couldn't get it to work.

I ended up tapping the motor with a hammer and the darn thing worked. So, my guess is that it needs a new motor...is this the right assumption if I took a hammer to it and it worked?

Thanks"

Difficult to say without doing

Difficult to say without doing some tests first. You would have to identify the wiring and measure the voltage at the motor in order to find out whether there is a motor or a wiring problem.

"By "trim", do you mea

"By "trim", do you mean to say "tilt". What kind of outdrive? With no info these questions are teeth grinding difficult. For example, the tilt on the 280 outdrive can often be made to work reliably by backing off the cover screws of the relay box by 1/4 turn."

Guys...thank you so much for r

Guys...thank you so much for responding.

I have a Volvo SX outdrive. The trim/outdrive was stuck in one place and wouldn't go up or down. When I hit the trim motor with a hammer...the outdrive then functioned properly.

I checked the wires to the best of my ability. I have two solenoid relays and thought that might be the problem. When I turned the battery switch on...I touched the relays and they got hot within 30 seconds of turning the battery on.

Does this help?

"A hot relay usually means tha

"A hot relay usually means that either the coil is burnt or there are too many amps going through it. The latter would indicate either a toasted motor or a ground (either at the wiring, motor or just the relay being full of water or internal corrosion for example). You may want to try disconnecting the wires going to the motor and turn on the battery again. If the relays are not hot, then you know the problem is either the wiring going to the motor or the motor itself."

I just checked the wires...con

I just checked the wires...connected to the motor and not connected to the motor and they are not getting hot anymore...

Can a simple hit with a hammer restore the connection? Or does that usually indicate there is something that needs to be fixed?

"You may have to take the moto

"You may have to take the motor apart to assess its internal condition. It may have been affected by corrosion, toasted bearings, worn brushes, shorted commutator, etc. But usualy a little tap with a hammer is not a permanent cure for any electromechanical problem."

Thanks for the insight...I&#39

Thanks for the insight...I'll take it apart and report back in. Thanks again for all the direction!

">>Does this help?&#60

">>Does this help?<< Maybe, a relay should not get hot simply as a result of turning on the main switch. It sounds like a short in the relay. Does a blow to the motor shake up the relay or is the relay isolated from the vibration? They both got hot? Isn't one of the relays an "up" relay and the second a "down" relay?"

Usually tapping an electrical

Usually tapping an electrical motor with positive results indicates a problem with the brushes. I just did one last night and the brushes were worn and stuck out of position. Don't know if that helps but would say your on the right track taking it apart.

Go with EL!!!No permanent help

Go with EL!!!No permanent help with a hammer. Probably the motor........You can't always fix the problem with a hammer!!!! You have a problem coming........FIX IT!!!!!