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Trim stuck, solenoids click, what to troubleshoot next?

M

Mungerja

New member
New batteries
checked the 20A in-line fuse
replaced the solenoids

I hear a click when I try to trim up or down
Wires on trim limit switch are in bad shape
Cleaned the contacts on port and starboard side of trim limit and position sensor
Pump works if I jump it from up or down side to 12v per the suggestion in the Merc manual

What should I try next?

Should I bypass the limit switch wiring for the sake of troubleshooting? They are a pain to replace so I don’t want to just “try-ignostic” the problem

Merc I/O 5.7
Rinker Fiesta Vee 270
 
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Forgot to mention…”Trailer up” doesn’t work either, but I believe the drive is already all the way up so this might bit actually be an issue or helpful for the troubleshooting
 
Pump works if I jump it from up or down side to 12v per the suggestion i

that means the motor works when jumped directly to the motor wires. Is there 12v at the main buss bar between the solenoids, that is where the power comes from to operate the solenoids.
If the motor works and the solenoids only click, you have power to operate them from the helm switch so the solenoids are defective
 
2012-08-18_180140_mercru_t-n-t_86.jpg.cf.jpg
 
Thanks for the diagram! I was hoping the wiring was correct to begin with and I just re-wired the way it was. I’ll confirm that it’s correct but based on memory, it is.

Also, I just replaced the solenoids (yesterday), so I’d hate to think they are are bad, but I will verify.

Just to confirm, if the trim limit switch is bad, will the solenoids not even click?
 
trim limit only affects the up direction ,when it stops, trailer takes over to raise it the reat of the way. down solenoid only lowers the drive all the way. With a poor connection at the buss or the negative cable you may have just enough power to activate the solenoid to click but not make a good connection to run the motor. In most cases ,if it clicks it should activate the motor unless its bad and you can run the motor jumping to the blue and green at the top of the solenoid.

Jump the 2 large lugs at the solenoid. If motor works you have a good power connection. but if you get a click and it dosent operate the motor ,solenoid is bad
 
Figured it out and got it running…spent the evening on the lake with the kids. Always worth the hard work keeping your boat running.

It ended up being a bad ground. After I replaced the solenoids and put everything back together, I missed the third ground wire.

Thanks again for the diagram. I was looking at it closer and thought “I don’t remember three ground wires”?!? Yeah dummy, that’s because you did wire that third one back up! Lol

After a long week of chasing gremlins out of the boat, I knew it had to be something simple/stupid. My mistake. Oh well, I learned more about another system on the boat. Thanks for all the input!
 
If you learned something, then it was time well spent. Making a lot of little mistakes is how you become an expert.
 
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