Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

[fishingdan]

1991 4.3LX with Alpha 1 outdrive.

Everything was fine in November. Today, I checked everything out, topped the charge on the batteries and put the hose on the drive. I found that the outdrive tilts down fine, but won't go up. I hear clicking from the solenoid when I hit the up switches. The motor just doesn't turn. I'm guessing that motor or a switch just needs a little cleanup.

Any quick suggestions? I found a topic that seemed similar except the person could go up, but not down. The solution for him was to remove the motor, clean the armature and put it back together.

Thoughts?

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

Howdy,

That's a simple brush-type DC motor. Usually, if it'll go one way, it'll go the other way.

There's a couple of solenoids that are used to reverse direction on the motor. That motor draws several AMPs and the relays (solenoid) spark every time they open.

My money's on a bad solenoid.


Cheers,


Rick

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

Excellent points Rick. Thanks.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

Now you can of course, test this theory by using a test light on the solenoids. The wiring diagrams are in the ("Adults Only" sticky above in the main thread list.)

Just check each solenoid while you have someone activate the control and see where you don't have power.

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

Thanks again Rick. Bingo! It is the solenoid.

I need to figure out what to use to reference a part number.

On iboats, they only have one type of solenoid listed for mercruiser 4.3LX v6 engines. It is:

http://www.iboats.com/mall/partfind...gd_poid=111837&gd_row=99&**********=701895455

I'll try to pull up a manual for a picture/diagram. The one in the picture at the link above looks right from a distance, but I'll look around.

iboats' forums rock!

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

You might be able to get that solenoid at NAPA. Solenoids are usually sealed. (it MUST be a sealed one for fire protection btw)

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

That is good to know. I will give that a try tomorrow. The nearest mercruiser dealer has the parts, but their part shop isn't open on weekends for some stupid reason.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

but their part shop isn't open on weekends for some stupid reason.

Yeah....that makes a LOT of sense huh?

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

Especially in New England in May! Duh.... This isthe month of boat repairs.

 

[Lucky Penny]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

Same exact problem, quickly fixed. Before pulling everything apart, check the connector. I don't mean give it a wiggle, pull it off and clean it, put a volt meter on it and check that you have a solid connection.

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

I will do that tomorrow. Thanks Lucky

 

[picklenjim]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

You can also jump a screw driver across the 2 positive terminals on that solenoid and the motor should run up.If it does the solenoids bad.

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

I'm back......

First, the problem is not in the pump itself. The pump motor works fine in both directions and the drive goes up/down accordingly without issue when I jump the solenoid.

I technically only needed to replace the up solenoid. I thought I was thinking ahead and decided to replace both. After getting everything back together and double checking the wires (I made a diagram before I took it apart), the outdrive does the opposite. It goes up, but not down.

So....I figured maybe one of the new solenoids doesn't work. I plan to switch them and test it. Because the are a pain in the butt to get to, is there anything else that could be wrong before rip it apart again?

Is there a way to test a solenoid independently out of the boat?

I'm assuming the switches at the throttle lever are all fine since at different times, they have been fine in addition to working well through November.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

I haven't resolved my problem.

When I jump the terminals, the drive went up fine. I decided to order two new solenoids and I replaced them. I double checked the wiring.

Test time, the drive goes up. Great. However, now it doesn't go down. I rechecked the wires. All is good. I jumped the down solenoid and the drive goes down. I'm thinking I have a bad "new" solenoid. Because these are a pain to get to, is there any testing of the solenoid that I can do when they are out of the boat?

Also, the switches all appear to be fine.

Is there anything else I should be doing?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

hmmm...after reading the troubleshooting guide from merc, I plan to double check the harness connection. The inconsistancy of my problem is suspicious.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

page 5A-9
http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/6/6A5R3.PDF

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

Thank you, but I'm asking if there is a way to test a un-installed solenoid? I would prefer to confirm that they are ok before I go through the work of installing them. My installation is in a tight space and it isn't easy to get to.

Thanks

 

[liquidlew]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

If you go to the Adults Only sticky you can access the manual for your drive, which should be #14 since you have a 1991 Alpha 1, so it's gen.2. I just had a similar problem, and my Merc manual (#6 for gen.1) explains how to test solenoids and pump motor out of the boat. I can't imagine your pump setup is much different than mine? Had to hook them up to a battery and test for voltage. Also had to remove the pump/solenoid assembly from the boat to do all this. Found one solenoid to be bad so I replaced both solenoids and also had to replace the motor also since it was acting strangely. Super cleaned all connections, even the harness as best I could, coated connections with dialectric grease, and system now works perfectly. Hope you figure it out!

Oh, and I got all my parts from Doug Russell on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0376875930&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT&viewitem=

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Alpha 1 outdrive won't trim up

Fixed. In my hast to put everything back together, I didn't take a look at the wire connectors. They were corroded just enough to cause intermittant problems.

Thanks for everyone's help.