1992 60 Power Trim

[Mdinz]

I have a '92 60 HP , serial od173414 with an inoperative trim/tilt. I've diagnosed it to the relays that are located on the rear of the engine cowl, behind the cylinder head on the port side. I attempted to purchase these relays from a local dealer, and they are unable to locate them in there system. They are insisting that this is an aftermarket trim/tilt system, but I am sure it is Mercury. There are two relays, mounted together, and potted in a plastic housing with black silicone rubber. After they said they could not find them, I tore into the silicone and found two standard 5 pin relays. I'm sure I can get a couple of relays and repair what I have, but I would prefer to purchase the correct part. Anyone have any idea of what I have here. I'll attach a couple of photos.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: 1992 60 Power Trim

Try an online parts store? Agree there is nothing magic about it. At least you have the right part. Blue (sky) for up, green (grass) for down. I think Crowley Marine is popular with some visitors to the site.

What I find interesting is that both are bad simultaneously. Smells of a shorted motor burning up the contacts.

Or on second thought, no power either to the red wire you see or the switch that alternately puts 12v on either the blue or green from the trim switch. Relays don't both go out simultaneously!

Mark

 

[Mdinz]

Re: 1992 60 Power Trim

Sorry, I was not clear with that. The trim would go up, but not go down. I could switch the green and blue wires going to the motor and it works the opposite way. The relay would click when operating the switch, but the motor would not run. There is no doubt in my mind that one of the relays are bad.

The way this part is made, both relays must be replaced at the same time due to being sealed in the mounting case with black silicone. I destroyed the working relay when I tore into it. I found the correct relay assembly on eBay, but I sure can't find it on any of the online parts diagrams or stores. The ebay listing had a Merc part number, but I don't have it with me at the moment. (It is part # 813939A2 Tilt & Trim Relay )

I think my solution to this problem will be to just pick up a couple of 30 amp relays and wire then in using the harness off my old part. This should make a factory looking repair that will be easy to get replacement parts for if there is ever a problem.

I find it strange that Mercury does not have a listing for this part. It's like someone forgot to put it on the diagrams. At least I found out more than my dealer did, but they may know more today if Mercury calls them back.


Mark

 

[RRitt]

Re: 1992 60 Power Trim

If the relay is squarish with four or five flat blades labeled 85, 86, 87 then it is a generic relay.

There are three variations on body - with mounting tab, without mounting tab, and with gasket.
There are two variations on wiring - N.C. (normally closed, five active pins) and N.O. (Normally Open, four active pins)
The electrical rating is usually 30/40 for 30 amps sustained and 40A inrush current. Most trim systems only need 10-15A.

Some relays have a removable mounting tab.
Use NC with 2w trim motors and N.O. with 3w trim motors. (yours should be 2w)

Most $20-$40 relays sold by outboard manufacturers are actually available from mouser electronics for about $5. The generic ones on ebay are electrically compatible but may have a cheap housing that comes apart too easily. Look for ones with a bead of glue around housing base. The glue is intended to keep housing together but has side effect of making it water resistant.

 

[Mdinz]

Re: 1992 60 Power Trim

If the relay is squarish with four or five flat blades labeled 85, 86, 87 then it is a generic relay.

There are three variations on body - with mounting tab, without mounting tab, and with gasket.
There are two variations on wiring - N.C. (normally closed, five active pins) and N.O. (Normally Open, four active pins)
The electrical rating is usually 30/40 for 30 amps sustained and 40A inrush current. Most trim systems only need 10-15A.

I tore it apart some more - they are generic 5 pin relays that were meant to be soldered onto a board. In some engineers infinite wisdom, they decided to push them into a circuit board and not complete the connection with solder. They were held in place with the rubber potting material. This was just failure waiting to happen. I picked up a couple of relays, a couple of sockets, and a pack of the correct connectors for the sockets. I'll solder them onto the wires from the old harness and install the two separate relays in the same location as the old one. Basically, this will be the same setup as most of the Mercury's have that I've seen. The wire colors will remain as the factory made the motor and anyone should be able to troubleshoot/diagnose this system.

I still don't understand why this part does not show up in the factory parts manuals. I would have preferred to buy the correct part ans leave the motor as the factory built it, but my solution will take care of the problem.


Mark

 

[achris]

Re: 1992 60 Power Trim

...I still don't understand why this part does not show up in the factory parts manuals. I would have preferred to buy the correct part and leave the motor as the factory built it, but my solution will take care of the problem.


Mark

It does... It's very cleverly hidden in the 'Cowling' section. :facepalm:

The part # for 'Relay Assembly' is -813939A2, but given it's $123, I'd be sticking with your 'standard relays' fix....
They do call out the relays individually, and they are $16 each. (part # -821509)

Chris.......

 

[Mdinz]

Re: 1992 60 Power Trim

It does... It's very cleverly hidden in the 'Cowling' section. :facepalm:


Chris.......

Thanks Chris. I found it in seconds when I looked under the cowling section. It seems as if most of the engines they are listed under the power trim section - I'll never figure out the way some people/companies think and I learned a long time ago to not try and figure out their reasoning. I'll stop by the dealer tomorrow and give 'em a lesson on where to look up parts. I'm still going with my repair method - I think it will be better than this method and it sure cost a lot less.


Mark