Re: Lifting '75 OMC 165 Inline 6 & Repairing Electric SelecTrim
Ever since we bought the boat 5 years ago, the SelectTrim gauge never registered. It was always stuck in the middle, until about a year ago when the needle suddenly disappeared. I figured it had fallen off.
Since everything trim related is removed right now, I yanked the trim position sender unit (see Ch7, Pg13, pic 15). It had some corrosion from the aforementioned water infiltration. The shaft for the potentiometer was frozen, and the attached gear was slipping.
After removing the gear, I scrubbed the pot down with some ECTRA-MOTIVE, including letting some (hopefully) run down the shaft and get into the inside.
I did this a number of times, let it dry for a while, then followed up with several drips of dielectric grease...again hoping they'd get inside. A gentle grip with a wrench, twist, and I got it unstuck. Slapped the multimeter on it, and while it's a bit jittery, it seemed to work. Hooked it up to the boat again, and imagine my shock when the trim needle MOVED.
This keeps getting better and better. I'm afraid something is bound to totally screw up somewhere along the way..
One thing as a tip to future viewers: the pot has a defined range of motion for the shaft, and it's not very much. Be careful if you are putting some muscle into what appears to be a stuck sender...it could just be at the end of its travel.
Ever since we bought the boat 5 years ago, the SelectTrim gauge never registered. It was always stuck in the middle, until about a year ago when the needle suddenly disappeared. I figured it had fallen off.
Since everything trim related is removed right now, I yanked the trim position sender unit (see Ch7, Pg13, pic 15). It had some corrosion from the aforementioned water infiltration. The shaft for the potentiometer was frozen, and the attached gear was slipping.
After removing the gear, I scrubbed the pot down with some ECTRA-MOTIVE, including letting some (hopefully) run down the shaft and get into the inside.
I did this a number of times, let it dry for a while, then followed up with several drips of dielectric grease...again hoping they'd get inside. A gentle grip with a wrench, twist, and I got it unstuck. Slapped the multimeter on it, and while it's a bit jittery, it seemed to work. Hooked it up to the boat again, and imagine my shock when the trim needle MOVED.
This keeps getting better and better. I'm afraid something is bound to totally screw up somewhere along the way..
One thing as a tip to future viewers: the pot has a defined range of motion for the shaft, and it's not very much. Be careful if you are putting some muscle into what appears to be a stuck sender...it could just be at the end of its travel.