Tilt motor issue

[PensacolaJason]

I just started having an issue with my outboard 1996 130hp Evinrude not wanting to tilt up on occasion. Sometimes it will tilt up and then if I release the switch and try pressing it again it does nothing. It always tilts down without any issues, but not up. I checked the hydraulic fluid and it’s full. I also made sure the battery was fully charged and tested both the trim switches on the console and outboard itself. I’m thinking this is a relay issue. I tried removing one relay at a time and then trying both up and down, but neither work when just one is removed, no matter which one I remove. I also swapped the relays and still just tilting down worked. My question is if I am barking up the right tree. Does this issue sound like a bad relay? If so, does this motor require both to be plugged in for up and down to work? What other things could I check when just tilting up doesn’t work consistently?

 

[Crosbyman]

guessing .... 2 relays …..hummm likely a 3 wire T&T one is ground 2 others are motor windings can you measure each (ohms) t o compare.


have you tried checking all accessible wiring for breaks ?? wiggle/bend wires while pressing up switch

experts will chime in ...

 

[Crosbyman]

WELL DIAGRAM SHOWS 2 WIRES ON THE MOTOR !!!

have you tried applying 12 & grd one way then Grd and 12v the other way on the motor leads motor should go forward and reverse

 

[Chris1956]

Sounds like an intermittent trim switch. Does the switch on the outboard itself(provided you have one) work better?

If not check the grounds on the tilt relays. On a 2 wire trim motor, the relays usually need two grounds, one heavy for the relay secondary winding and one lighter one for the primary winding. There should be a single ground wire to the relay assembly, but it needs to divide into 4 wires. Make sure all the wire connections are clean.

 

[lindy46]

I had a similar issue with my 2000 Johnson 50hp. Would not go up. I THOUGHT the oil level was full, but I had to help the motor up, and then add more fluid. I repeated this up and down procedure and added more fluid with each up cycle until she was finally full and moved up on its' own.

 

[Bad Al]

-- 1996 130hp Evinrude - PTT not wanting to tilt up on occasion.-- It always tilts down without any issues, but not up.-- The hydraulic fluid is full. -- I made sure the battery was fully charged and tested both the trim switches. -- I’m thinking this is a relay issue. -- I tried removing one relay at a time and then trying both up and down, -- I also swapped the relays and still just tilting down worked. -- Does this issue sound like a bad relay? -- If so, does this motor require both to be plugged in for up and down to work?

Both relays need to be installed for the PTT junction box unit to function.

Switching the relays and the problem remaining the same proves that both relays are okay. Both relays are supplying voltage in the down mode.

Very unlikely that both PTT switch would fail at the same time in the identical manner. Suspect they're okay.

NOTE: The PTT electrical motor is a dual polarity motor, meaning that connecting the battery wires via small jumpers to both of the motor wires will cause the motor to run in one direction... and reversing the wires will make it run in the opposite direction.

Test the electric PTT motor as follows:
********************************************
Trace the wiring of the PTT electric motor from the motor back to its connector and disconnect it.
Run small jumper wires directly from the battery to the two wires leading to the electric PTT motor...that should make it run in one direction. Now, reverse the wires... the motor should run in the opposite direction.

If the electric motor runs as above, it is okay... If not, the electric motor needs repairing or replacing.

If the electric motor runs okay via the battery jumper wires, but not with either of the PTT switches, the problem would most likely be that voltage is not being supplied to the PTT switches via the Red voltage supply wire... check it! If this is the case, it'll be up to you where the break/flaw is with the voltage supply.

Let us know what you find.

 

[PensacolaJason]

Both relays need to be installed for the PTT junction box unit to function.

Switching the relays and the problem remaining the same proves that both relays are okay. Both relays are supplying voltage in the down mode.

Very unlikely that both PTT switch would fail at the same time in the identical manner. Suspect they're okay.

NOTE: The PTT electrical motor is a dual polarity motor, meaning that connecting the battery wires via small jumpers to both of the motor wires will cause the motor to run in one direction... and reversing the wires will make it run in the opposite direction.

Test the electric PTT motor as follows:
********************************************
Trace the wiring of the PTT electric motor from the motor back to its connector and disconnect it.
Run small jumper wires directly from the battery to the two wires leading to the electric PTT motor...that should make it run in one direction. Now, reverse the wires... the motor should run in the opposite direction.

If the electric motor runs as above, it is okay... If not, the electric motor needs repairing or replacing.

If the electric motor runs okay via the battery jumper wires, but not with either of the PTT switches, the problem would most likely be that voltage is not being supplied to the PTT switches via the Red voltage supply wire... check it! If this is the case, it'll be up to you where the break/flaw is with the voltage supply.

Let us know what you find.

I hooked the battery right to the “up” wire and it goes all the way up with no problem so that tells me that the motor is fine. Both PTT switches seem to work the same no matter what so I doubt it’s a switch issue. It sounds like the wiring somewhere is the problem. I’m struggling to trace the wiring and how to troubleshoot it though. I’ve attached a picture of the relay box.

Also, if there wasn’t proper voltage making it to the PTT switches, wouldn’t I lose both tilt up and down. I am just losing up intermittently. For a while today I could tilt up but only about a third of the way up and then it would just stop at the same spot each time.

 

[PensacolaJason]

[No message]

 

[Bad Al]

Glad to hear that the electric motor ($$$) is okay.... and yes, if voltage was missing or intermittent to the PTT switches, that would of course also affect the up mode... so obviously the red wire voltage supply to the PTT switches are okay.

Look for a problem with the blue (up) wire.... corrosion at the relay plug?

That engine being a 1996 model... That's a wiring circuit I'm not familiar with pertaining to a damaged stop shutoff if it exists, but I'm sure another member will advise on that.

 

[Crosbyman]

when failing poke around the wires

PTT switch usuually don't carry much current themselves... they only trigger the relays

that is what relays are for as well as reversing polarities to the only 2 wires to the motor...


look for cracked wiring in any point whith "bending duties" like harness (flex points)


relay contacts do go flaky … try to measure conductivity across relay points ...should be flat 0 ohms on closures to feed strong 12v to the motor

while failing……….. read the voltage on the 2 motor wires going down to the motor should be 12v

but…..it could be a weak resitive12 volts due to relay contact pitting/corrosion


relays don't seem to expensive…………. if you do not find anything outside the relays causing the issue

 

[tblshur]

If you haven’t tried switch the relays

 

[w2much]

I may be wrong correct me if I am. I had a very similar issue with my 1995 150EXEOM. I tested each component according to the manual and each tested good . I still had the intermittant up issue, especially while underway on the water. Very frustrating not being able to trim up porpoising in rough conditions.My boat is a 1996 Seaswirl Striper. matched to a 1995 engine.. There was a partnership or other arrangement with OMC at the time My engine has the red round connector . My prewired binnacle control is the newer 1996 and on modular connection type. Therefore I have a harness adapter between the binnacle control and the older style red plug harness.of the engine. I found after tons of testing and frustration that my modular connection to the control box was getting wet while underway and the blue and white wired pin in the modular connector was slightly corroded. From your motor to the control box you have a modular trim tilt pin connector clean and test that connection and circuit. I hope that works for you. Also on your motor is a tilt limit switch on the tilt tube. It is there to limit the tilt of your motor so that the cowl does not touch the hull when fully tilted. If this switch is not adjusted correctly or is not functioning properly your trim and tilt will not go up. You can bypass this switch altogether if it is problematic but if you have a trim gauge it to will be disabled. My gauge never worked anyway so it did not matter. If the TT motor works with the blue and the green wires connected to a 12 volt source both up and down your problem lies within the trim tilt wiring harness and or circuit
Another thought, on another motor I worked on. There was water getting into the cowl at some past time. I could tell by the rust and corrosion around the head. On this motor there were some bullet connectors which ran across the backside of the motor to the up down switch which was located on the starboard ( from the rear) side of the lower cowl going to the relay box. Water had entered the protective sheaf and over time corroded the blue and white striped bullet connector. Cleaned and fixed it and up she went.
All that being said check your blue and white striped up circuit at all points and I am fairly certain you will find your problem. This of course only if your red 12 volt wire and black ground at the relay box are connected properly. And again let us know how you make out. Your reply is as important as any.
.. . .

 

[PensacolaJason]

I may be wrong correct me if I am. I had a very similar issue with my 1995 150EXEOM. I tested each component according to the manual and each tested good . I still had the intermittant up issue, especially while underway on the water. Very frustrating not being able to trim up porpoising in rough conditions.My boat is a 1996 Seaswirl Striper. matched to a 1995 engine.. There was a partnership or other arrangement with OMC at the time My engine has the red round connector . My prewired binnacle control is the newer 1996 and on modular connection type. Therefore I have a harness adapter between the binnacle control and the older style red plug harness.of the engine. I found after tons of testing and frustration that my modular connection to the control box was getting wet while underway and the blue and white wired pin in the modular connector was slightly corroded. From your motor to the control box you have a modular trim tilt pin connector clean and test that connection and circuit. I hope that works for you. Also on your motor is a tilt limit switch on the tilt tube. It is there to limit the tilt of your motor so that the cowl does not touch the hull when fully tilted. If this switch is not adjusted correctly or is not functioning properly your trim and tilt will not go up. You can bypass this switch altogether if it is problematic but if you have a trim gauge it to will be disabled. My gauge never worked anyway so it did not matter. If the TT motor works with the blue and the green wires connected to a 12 volt source both up and down your problem lies within the trim tilt wiring harness and or circuit
Another thought, on another motor I worked on. There was water getting into the cowl at some past time. I could tell by the rust and corrosion around the head. On this motor there were some bullet connectors which ran across the backside of the motor to the up down switch which was located on the starboard ( from the rear) side of the lower cowl going to the relay box. Water had entered the protective sheaf and over time corroded the blue and white striped bullet connector. Cleaned and fixed it and up she went.
All that being said check your blue and white striped up circuit at all points and I am fairly certain you will find your problem. This of course only if your red 12 volt wire and black ground at the relay box are connected properly. And again let us know how you make out. Your reply is as important as any.
.. . .

Sorry I never responded back. I was away for a while and didn't have time to work more on it. I am back at it again. I'm sure it's wiring connections at this point, but having trouble narrowing it down. I was able to jump power directly to the green (down) wire in the relay switch box and it goes down. If I try the same thing to the blue side it does nothing. Outside of the relay box down around the back of the motor underneath the cylinders are two bullet connectors, I disconnected the little bullet connectors on the blue wire with the white stripe and connected a wire directly from power to that wire and it did go up.

There is wiring everywhere in a tight space around that relay box and much of it goes underneath the power head, so it's difficult to track where everything is going. I broke out the manual and found a wiring diagram of the tile motor. I am stumbling my way through understanding it, but I am stumped as to what the thing is that I am pointing an arrow to on the attached diagram. Maybe my issue lies in that thing or a connection to it.

 

[PensacolaJason]

I found the issue. It was right in front of me. I was looking under the motor cover the entire time, but when I took out all of the wiring, which wasn't fun, I followed everything back to the issue. Right around front where the blue wires enter the underside of the powerhead both blue wires had been stripped and were in bad shape. I'm surprised it ever went up at all. I was able to cut and connect both wires using butt/shrink-wrapped connectors and then also put heat shrink over those as well for a little extra protection. I'm not a fan of using this method so close to the water, but for now it will do. I'll come back and solder and heatshrink them properly when I have more time.

 

[SweetD]

Good fix, thanks for reporting back!

 

[racerone]

The thing you are pointing at is the tilt limit switch.-----It is found on the tilt tube.----It is adjustable without the use of tools.

 

[Mohawkmtrs]

Had a similar issue with a Volvo-Penta outdrive.

Repaired the frayed wire similar to your fix but also filed/sandpapered the little hairs/barbs off the large braided (aluminum/ ss) cable and taped the cable as it was rubbing and causing the fraying.

 

[oldboat1]

Think I would try Lindy's fix (#5 above).

 

[Crosbyman]

protect the rub site with some split sheating as in picture attached