Outboard only trims up 1/4 of the way

[2qwk]

Hey all, I'm hoping you can help me. I have a 1996 mariner 115 with a single cylinder trim. Engine trims up about 1/4 of the way then stops, pump continues to run but it doesn't go up, from this point I can manually lift it all the way up. When I let it down it falls to the point that it stops going up. It will from that point trim all the way down and back up 1/4 of the way no problem. I swapped relays and it's the same but seems to me like it's mechanical. Not sure if this has a limiter or separate tilt trim. Boat is new to me and came with this issue.

 

[hemi rt]

Are you using the trim to lift the motor all the way up, if so it will not.

 

[2qwk]

Thank you for the quick reply. It has one button on the side of the engine and one at the top of the throttle , can't see any other separate tilt buttons. Does the same thing from both switches.

 

[2qwk]

Upon further inspection I found 2 sky blue wires with bullet connectors running on the starboard side inside the engine where the main power plug is. They run behind the oil resevoir. One of these was unplugged so I plugged it in. It did not fix the trim but now I have a non stop warning alarm coming from the controls. After thinking about it I had one of these motors before in a 60hp and it had newer style controls. I'm wondering if someone installed this outboard and used the old merc controls. The motor is not original to the boat. I did test drive the boat and it runs and drives great.

 

[flyingscott]

Thank you for the quick reply. It has one button on the side of the engine and one at the top of the throttle , can't see any other separate tilt buttons. Does the same thing from both switches.

Don't worry about the switches. Your system uses one ram for T/N/T check the fluid sounds like it could be low.

 

[flyingscott]

Upon further inspection I found 2 sky blue wires with bullet connectors running on the starboard side inside the engine where the main power plug is. They run behind the oil resevoir. One of these was unplugged so I plugged it in. It did not fix the trim but now I have a non stop warning alarm coming from the controls. After thinking about it I had one of these motors before in a 60hp and it had newer style controls. I'm wondering if someone installed this outboard and used the old merc controls. The motor is not original to the boat. I did test drive the boat and it runs and drives great.

That wire may not have been used so unplug it you have no idea what it is for. If the T/N/T motor is running it is not an electrical issue. Check the fluid

 

[2qwk]

Yes the trim pump is running when it's not going up, checked fluid and topped it off with no change. Should I be able to lift this the rest of the way by hand like I can ?

 

[flyingscott]

Did you fill it with the motor tilted all the way up

 

[2qwk]

Yes sir

 

[2qwk]

Does this fill from the main plug in the back or from the lower plug further down on the starboard side that if you loosen allows the motor to fall? Because I filled from that main back plug, not from the bottom up like as if I was doing the lower unit.

 

[flyingscott]

Check on the side of the tilt and trim and see if the manual release is tight.

 

[2qwk]

It's tight . And thank you for the help I really appreciate it.

 

[2qwk]

Only thing I can think of is a bad seel or an air pocket. But I have very little experience repairing power trims.

 

[flyingscott]

Only thing I can think of is a bad seel or an air pocket. But I have very little experience repairing power trims.

Now is the time to get the factory manual.