Mercruiser Sterndrive limit switch broken?

[ex0r]

Hey there. Tonight, I bought (or rather almost got for free), an older boat that came with a Mercruiser (190hp 4cylinder) sterndrive. When testing the electrical on it, I noticed that the trim didn't work. I should say, it goes down, but will not come up at all (Doesn't even make a noise). When inspecting the sterndrive, I noticed that the outer hosing (The part that screws into the transom and holds the rest of the sterndrive on), appears to have broken on both sides, and there are some disconnected wires. I do believe these are the limit and sender switches for the stern drive. My question is, what is this mounting plate called, and what does it cost to replace it? It's not the part the sterndrive attaches to, it's the outer piece that bolts to the back of the transom.

Also, if the trim and limit switches are both in fact broken or not connected, would the tilt still go down or would the button not work at all? I attempted to use the trailer button, but that itself doesn't work either so I am wondering if its got nothing to do with the trim, and if the solenoid or switch itself is bad. Would like to troubleshoot it.

Any help would be appreciated, and I can get pictures if needed tomorrow, when it's daylight out.

 

[GA_Boater]

Do you have this type of dash switch, the left picture below? Press the center and top button at the same time to raise the driver to the trailer position. If the drives lowers from full up and you have to press the two switches to raise it again, the limit switch is probably shorted or the limit switch wires are shorted.

Is the switch on the drive something the second picture?

 

[Fun Times]

Hi there, The part on the outside called a gimbal ring and will resemble the image in the following link, http://www.mercruiserparts.com/bam/s.../30872/2203/50

^, It's part of the steering system.

We will need a year and hopefully a stern drive and/or transom assembly serial number to get you the most accurate information covering your gimbal housing assembly.....Another image example for you, http://www.mercruiserparts.com/bam/s.../30872/2203/30

 

[ex0r]

Hmm, the boat is a fourwinns, looks to be around 87? The part you showed doesnt look anything like the one I have (The inner part does, but theres an outer part or a shroud that goes around it). The second link looks more closely like the one that I have. If it's easier I can get a picture of it tomorrow to show you.

As far as the trim switch, it's on the throttle handle. There is a little up/down lever at the top of the throttle handle, and at the base of the throttle handle there is a big square 'Trailer' button. I can't tell what the original switch on the drive looks like, on either side. All that's left of what was there is the two wires on either and a tiny piece of plastic on the end of each wire.

The trim switch looks almost exactly like this one: http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/s...0_1596-1-1.jpg

 

[Fun Times]

The trim switch looks almost exactly like this one: http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/s...0_1596-1-1.jpg

Being that design throttle handle/trim/trailer buttons, It sounds like you may possibly have a bad solenoid on the trim pump assembly due to the trailer button is considered an override to the trim up switch typically mounted on the gimbal ring outside the boat..... Depending on model.

Posting photos will be best in the situation but here should be your parts catalog for you to browse through in the mean time... http://www.mercruiserparts.com/r-mr-alpha-one-transom-assembly-1983-1-1

 

[thumpar]

It looks like an early Commander control. If both trailer and trim up don't work I agree with Fun Times but it still sounds like you don't have the wires and/or switch and sensors. The only wires on the drive are for the sender and switch with a ground wire joining the units but those are bare.

 

[ex0r]

I will get pictures a little bit later on today when I get out there, but there are two sets of wires, one set on either side of the gimball housing that are not connected to anything. Going into the transom both sets of wires look like what you would see in an electrical appliance in a house, like a lamp with the two wires side by side in rubber.

Are both of the solenoids the same? Could I take one solenoid and swap it with the other one and see if it comes up? Right now the stern is down all the way, and for transport i'd like to raise it up. Also, are these the same types of solenoids as whats in a car? I have an older mercruiser that has a similar pump with one solenoid that looks exactly like the one on my car.

 

[Bt Doctur]

First you need to slow down!
If you can, run a jumper from the + battery to the blue motor wire ,the main grounbd lead from the pump must be connected to the neg battery also
you test before you just blindly replace.http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/6/6A5R3.PDF

 

[ex0r]

I didn't have any intention to 'blindly replace' I'm already aware of how to test it, I asked where the replacement was so I could save a step asking on here once I tested it.

 

[Bt Doctur]

the solenoids are marine rated and are of the "isolated base" family sie 18- 5810. solenoids are on the trim pump http://images.oreillyauto.com/parts/img/medium/sie/sie185810-1.jpg
the single relay pump is the early type for MC1 drives

 

[ex0r]

I've got a marina close by as well as a boat shop near me too. I'll see if I can order it through them. Thanks for the info!

 

[Bt Doctur]

open the link in post 8 and do the testing. could just be that the trim limit wires are not connected or jumpered over

 

[ex0r]

Great news is.. Got the motor up. Limit switches are completely gone. Another problem, we can't start it. The starter just clicks. We can see the balancer moving a little bit while the starter is engaging but it does nothing.

I was worried maybe the motor is seized up, but yesterday we were able to get the motor to turn over one revolution using the starter now it does nothing. Had the starter checked at the auto parts store, but it wasn't under load and they said it was good.

I put a socket on the balancer and tried turning the Motor by hand with the plugs out, but the bolt loosens one way and I can't move it the other way. Some advice from this great community?

 

[thumpar]

Check the battery connections and the grounds.

 

[Bt Doctur]

never use that bolt to turn a motor . I suspect you have the 470 model that is fresh water cooled with a heat exchanger. There are 3 threaded holes in the balancer, install bolts in those holed to try and turn the motor with a pry bar.
Couple of tests to do:
Remove the spark plugs and insert a clear hose like from a ice maker. carefully suck on the end to see it any liquid is in a cylinder
Shift into forward and remove the drive, check drive oil and condition. Drive could be seized.
Obtain a used input shaft and weld a T onto it to turn the motor from the coupler

 

[ex0r]

I have the 3.7l 4 cylinder. It's got a huge tubular tank connected to the side of the engine starter side. We put some mystery magic oil in the plug holes to clean it out and loosen it up. Going to let it sit overnight and try it again. As far as the bolts, do you know what size they are?

Also, I'm pretty sure all the connections are good everywhere. We went through and redid all the wires and connectors where they were broken, and as far as I can tell we got them all. I'm stuck.

As far as taking the drive off, is it just the rear housing that the prop connects to? I was considering taking that off but feared it was complicated and didn't want to ruin anything.

 

[Bt Doctur]

3/8ths I think. .thread can be course or fine and a good harmonic balancer puller will have all the needed bolts for multiple applications

So you have the plugs removed already?
To remove a drive you shift into full fwd so that the brass shoe is in a straight line.It must be straight to remove the drive.
remove the rams, 6 mounting nuts and pull straight back and off

 

[ex0r]

Wow amazing you guys are incredibly fast. We had them out to see if we can take some of the pressure off of the motor well we try turning it. While the plugs were removed we put some of that mystery oil oil in the holes but since it supposed to rain tonight we put the plug back in and covered it with a tarp for the night.

 

[thumpar]

The drive is really that easy to remove. I used to remove my Alpha and reinstall by my self.

 

[ex0r]

Hmm.. I am not even sure where I could get a spare drive spindle from, and not sure where I could go to weld a T onto it, either. This is frustrating..

We got the boat for mostly free. We bought a pontoon from a guy that threw the other boat in for $100 because he wanted to get rid of them. He had said that he got it from a repair shop who had just overhauled it, and the customer never paid on it so they sold it for what they had into it. He had it winterized (Not covered, but I guess internal engine) and it sat in his yard for about a year. When we first looked at the boat to decide if we wanted to pay the extra $100 for it, I removed the engine cover and the motor on the outside looked mostly prestine, compared to the other boat that we have that works.

I was worried maybe the motor was seized up, but I had hope once I turned it over and it turned over that one time that it wasn't seized, but it's possible maybe that one turn over bent or got something stuck.. or it's also possible I suppose that the starter is bad, even though on the tester the spindle came out and spun (It wasn't under any load so the actual test wasn't conclusive).

I am going to see if I can turn the motor over tomorrow using the bolts into the flywheel. It looked like the holes were pretty rusted through though so the bolts may not hold. Any other ideas in the meantime to try while I am doing that would be appreciated.

By the way, it's an 87, so it's not the 470 (From what i've seen referenced online), but is a 180?