1991 Evinrude 120hp tilt inoperable

[um0RION]

Hi, I have an older 1991 Evinrude 120hp VRO motor, and I was working on it today when the power tilt decided it had had enough.

When I hit the up button, the motor whirs and sounds like its trying to raise the engine further. When I hit the down button, nothing.

One problem is that it was at the highest point when I wanted it down, and now the transom on my bayliner is blocking the cover from coming completely off the engine. I did open it enough to find both relays that control the "up" and "down" and when I click each up/down button I can actually feel the relays clicking. Both up and down sound and feel like they're operating like they should. Like I said above however, the motor sounds like it wants to go up for me, but nothing happens when I click the down button.

Any suggestions?

At this point id even settle for how to lower the engine. Is there some manual valve to do that?

 

[ezeke]

Re: 1991 Evinrude 120hp tilt inoperable

The manual release screw is recessed in the starboard transom bracket, accessed from the starboard side. Turn it out no more than three revolutions. Be sure to release the trail locks before lowering the motor. You will need to retorque the manual release screw to specs when you are finished.

The PT&T motor is operated by reversing polarity on the two wires, so if it works in one direction it will work in the other. The click of the relay does not guarantee functionality; switch them and see if the direction changes, otherwise check your wiring, especially at the trim switches.

 

[um0RION]

Re: 1991 Evinrude 120hp tilt inoperable

The manual release screw is recessed in the starboard transom bracket, accessed from the starboard side. Turn it out no more than three revolutions. Be sure to release the trail locks before lowering the motor. You will need to retorque the manual release screw to specs when you are finished.

The PT&T motor is operated by reversing polarity on the two wires, so if it works in one direction it will work in the other. The click of the relay does not guarantee functionality; switch them and see if the direction changes, otherwise check your wiring, especially at the trim switches.

Well, the power tilt WAS working before, so im pretty sure the switches are wired up right... That was the only thing I thought of when it happened, that a relay might have gone. That or the tilt motor, which Im hoping wasnt the case.

It has been buggy before, like the engine would go up, but when I clicked the down button it didnt always go. If I raised the engine then lowered it right after it seemed to go more often than not. Could the relay really be the issue? I have this sinking feeling that its the tilt motor that has gone.

 

[daselbee]

Re: 1991 Evinrude 120hp tilt inoperable

Ezeke...dead nuts on point...perfect answer.

 

[um0RION]

Re: 1991 Evinrude 120hp tilt inoperable

Alright, long time no update, but the boat was in storage, and I got to look at it again today. Both of the relays work fine, and the way my tilt motor is, I have a connection in the powerhead that I believe is the last connection point before the tilt motor itself. When I test the voltage at this point, both the "UP" and "DOWN" power legs get 13.9v when Im using a battery charger. When I hit the down button I get no response from the tilt motor. No click in the motor, or other sound to indicate that it even wants to go down.

Is there another connection somewhere between the powerhead and the tilt motor that is hidden in a tube, inside some sheathing, or whatnot?

Right now Im thinking that its probably something in the motor, as all the switches trigger relays/power like they should, but only the up switch moves the engine. My boat saw a LOT of salt water before I got it, and the corrosion is pretty bad in some places, and im looking at taking off the top pin that connects the tilt/trim to the motor, tilting it out, and checking the motor myself. What would you guys suggest for doing that?

I put on some penetrating oil, but the snap rings are probably going to need to be broken off. After that, it should be safe to beat/pound that pin out. What about heating the pin with a torch? Is that safe to do for that top pin? Ill try other stuff first, but it might come down to that.

 

[jonesg]

Re: 1991 Evinrude 120hp tilt inoperable

BE careful you don't mushroom the head of the pivot pin when knocking it out. Seriously , get the factory service manual , theres 45+ pages devoted just to the PT&T and it covers just your engine and year. Best $50 you can spend at this point.
www.outboardbooks.com

Logically though , if it runs in one direction it must run in the other.
Try tapping it lightly whilst trying to run it down.

 

[um0RION]

Re: 1991 Evinrude 120hp tilt inoperable

BE careful you don't mushroom the head of the pivot pin when knocking it out. Seriously , get the factory service manual , theres 45+ pages devoted just to the PT&T and it covers just your engine and year. Best $50 you can spend at this point.
www.outboardbooks.com

Logically though , if it runs in one direction it must run in the other.
Try tapping it lightly whilst trying to run it down.

Yeah I have it, I paid $10 on ebay. The book just says remove the snap rings, and then hit the pin out with a hammer and a punch.

I havent tried tapping the tilt motor itself when trying to let it down, Ill give that a shot...

When I first got the boat, the tilt/trim worked, but the letting the engine down was always a bit buggy. It would go down most times, but sometimes you'd have to lift the engine then quickly alternate to the down button to drop it. It got worse and worse, then one day just stopped going down altogether.

 

[ezeke]

Re: 1991 Evinrude 120hp tilt inoperable

Once again, if the two wire PT&T motor works in one direction it will work in the other if properly wired. That's because the only thing different between up and down for the PT&T motor is the direction of current flow.

My bet is that your switches are not sending power in one direction, so switch the relays to check if one of them is not working properly, then test the switches.

 

[um0RION]

Re: 1991 Evinrude 120hp tilt inoperable

Once again, if the two wire PT&T motor works in one direction it will work in the other if properly wired. That's because the only thing different between up and down for the PT&T motor is the direction of current flow.

My bet is that your switches are not sending power in one direction, so switch the relays to check if one of them is not working properly, then test the switches.

Both of the relays send power, Ive not only switched them, but a plug further down the line than the relays shows proper power on it. When I switch the relays, the motor will behave exactly the same, no matter which relay is on the up/down circuit. The engine will NOT go downward, just up. The blue wire got 13.9v (on the charger) when one switch was thrown, and 13.9v was shown on the green wire when the other switch is thrown. When one switch is activated, one side will have voltage, the other side shows none.

 

[ezeke]

Re: 1991 Evinrude 120hp tilt inoperable

Both of the relays send power, Ive not only switched them, but a plug further down the line than the relays shows proper power on it. When I switch the relays, the motor will behave exactly the same, no matter which relay is on the up/down circuit. The engine will NOT go downward, just up. The blue wire got 13.9v (on the charger) when one switch was thrown, and 13.9v was shown on the green wire when the other switch is thrown. When one switch is activated, one side will have voltage, the other side shows none.

When the switch is in the down position, negative is blue and positive is green. When the switch is up, negative is green and positive is blue. It's the same wires in the PT&T motor, you just reverse polarity with the relays.

Maybe reading it here with the diagrams will make it easier for you [see page 2 Permanent Magnet Field Motors]: http://www.arcomarine.com/xhtml/tech tilt trim motor tips.pdf

 

[um0RION]

Re: 1991 Evinrude 120hp tilt inoperable

When the switch is in the down position, negative is blue and positive is green. When the switch is up, negative is green and positive is blue. It's the same wires in the PT&T motor, you just reverse polarity with the relays.

Maybe reading it here with the diagrams will make it easier for you [see page 2 Permanent Magnet Field Motors]: http://www.arcomarine.com/xhtml/tech tilt trim motor tips.pdf

Ohh ok I think I see what you're saying. For some reason I thought my tilt/trim motor had a ground wire. Now that I look at that, mine only has the blue/green wires. So to make this motor move, when I hit up or down, either the green or blue will go positive, and the other leg will become ground, right? And if it doesnt switch one leg to ground, then the motor wont move.

Ill have to investigate the and get back to you. Now that I know how this thing works, I should be able to hook the battery directly onto the leads in the powerhead, and simulate the +/- I get from the battery right? That should make it go up/down and ignore all the switches and relays involved.

 

[um0RION]

Re: 1991 Evinrude 120hp tilt inoperable

Well. Iv egot a major case of foot-in-mouth going on. First off, you guys were right from the start- it was an electrical issue. Today I disconnected the wire in the powerhead to put power directly to the tilt motor. I grounded the blue wire, and put +12v on the green wire. Engine went down. Smooth as silk. I flipped the points, so +12v on the blue, and ground on the green. Again, engine went up smooth. This was great enough, as I knew I had an electrical problem and not a part that needed to be replaced. So then just for grins, I switched the relays. Clicked the down button, and BOOM... Engine went down just like it was meant to. Up button, nothing happens. So there it is, it was a relay. This is super obnoxious for me, as I did try to swap them when I first had the problem. Unfortunately, when I did this, I must have set them beside one another, and when I went to plug them back in, I put them back in the same spots they came out of, so I didnt actually swap them, just thought I did.

So after all that muss and fuss about the tilt, it turned out to be a simple fix. Buy a new relay. I feel stupid for not finding that out sooner, as it would have made working on the motor a lot easier than what ive been dealing with. On the other hand though, Im REALLY happy I dont have to take the tilt/trim unit off the motor, spend $100 on a new tolt/trim motor, and then find out it didnt fix anything. So the Happy feeling outweighs the "man im dumb" feeling.

Thanks for the help guys, you were spot on.