Trim gauge does not seem to be working.

[bjennings79]

I'll start off by saying that I am now to boats, so maybe that will help with any responses that I may get to this question. While out in the boat for the first time today, I noticed that my trim gauge stays in the top 1/4 of the gauge, no matter where I have the motor. I am assuming that the gauge should be all the way in the "Down" position when the motor is fully down, and all the way in th "Up" position when the motor us fully up. Any ideas on where I might begin with repairing this? The motoris a Yamaha 115 4-stroke on a 2006 Hurricane.

 

[GatorMike]

Re: Trim gauge does not seem to be working.

Just my opinion but to me a trim gauge on an outboard is next to worthless.

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: Trim gauge does not seem to be working.

Mine is like a broken clock, It reads all the way up and all the down. nothing in between.

Dont worry about it, Its all in the feel anyway. I think they were designed as a selling point more than a useful tool anyway.

Im thinking of replacing mine with an oil pressure gauge...

To answer the question, some where there is a trim sender, this tells the gauge what to say. If the gauge is not moving the sender is probably bad or the wire is broken, or the gauge is shot.
Read your engine manual and it should have a troubleshooting guide for the repair.
If not, Check the wires, then replace the sender if they are good. The gauge may also be bad but id go with the sender first.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Trim gauge does not seem to be working.

First, I agree - the gauges can't tell you nearly as well what the seat of your pants can and so adjusting trim by feel is the best way to go.

Start in full down position, then once on plane, bump it up bit by bit til you hit the sweet spot right where you've lifted the bow free of the drag of the water a bit, but haven't gone so far that your prop is starting to lose bite, decreasing your speed and possibly steering authority as well.

You just have to play til you figure out your boat's sweet spot. Watch the hull angle and look at the centre of your wake. You will see the prop starting create more loose spray directly behind you as it comes closer to the surface. Engine note will change as well. Realize also that the spot will change depending on load, wind, and water conditions.

As for your motor specifically, one Yammy dealer told me the trim components are notoriously fragile on these motors and break all the time. I've had mine fixed once, and it busted again in one summer. So my gauge is useless once again too. Not a big dollar fix but there's some plastic tab somewhere that is prone to snapping. Not going to bother fixing it again.

Happy boating!

 

[seabob4]

Re: Trim gauge does not seem to be working.

The trim sender on a Yamaha is directly underneath the forward end of the lower pan. It has a spring-loaded "arm" the the motor moves when it travels up and down. Move this arm and observe your trim gauge. Chances are the sender is shot. They are around $80. I wouldn't bother...

 

[bjennings79]

Re: Trim gauge does not seem to be working.

Just my opinion but to me a trim gauge on an outboard is next to worthless.

Well that's kinda how I felt about it, even with my limited experience. But, I just can't stand it when something doesn't work and it's going to bug the crap out of me until I figure it out. It'll probably wait until next season, though, because I have a number of other things that I still need to get for the boat.

 

[LauraJ2010]

Re: Trim gauge does not seem to be working.

I met the same problem. Now everything is ok.