Power trim problems on Alpha 1 Gen 2

[JASinIL2006]

Hi all, I'm having some problems with the power tilt/trim on my Alpha 1 Gen 2 drive. In addition to the controls at the helm (rocker switch for up/down, with a separate trailer button on the shaft of the throttle control), I installed a remote (genuine Mercruiser) switch on the transom. The intermittent problems predated the installation of the remote transom switch.

It started with intermittent problems with the trim in/down; I'd press the button, the solenoid would click, and the drive sometimes would trim in, sometimes not. The trim up/out switch also had some problems, but much less frequently. The trailer switch (to raise the drive) has worked fairly reliably. Recently the trim in/down switch has become very unreliable. It generally doesn't work without multiple pushes on the toggle switch; sometimes, hitting the up/out button before the down/in button helps, but not always. The solenoid clicks, but the trim pump generally won't run to trim in/down the drive.

In an attempt to figure out what was wrong, I followed the troubleshooting steps in the Mercuiser manual at the top of p. 1C-14 "Power Trim Pump Motor Runs in the OUT/UP Direction, But Not in the IN/DOWN Direction" when the IN/DOWN solenoid clicks.

I first checked for loose/dirty connections (#4 and 5 in the diagram on p. 1C-16). I checked them (all looked good; clean and no corrosion), and I pulled apart the harness plugs, checked for corrosion and reseated them. I then powered up the pump and tried again. I also checked for a bad trim in/down solenoid by checking voltage at terminal 5 (on the 1C-16 diagram) while pressing the trim in/down button. I checked this by attaching one probe of my mulitmeter to terminal 5 and the other to the negative terminal of the battery. When pressing the trim in/down switch, the meter showed 12.6 volts; when the switch was not depressed, I got 0 volts.

After running the tests, I removed the leads from the multimeter and tried the switches again. This time, not only did the trim in/down not work (except for the solenoid clicking), the trim out/up didn't work at all; it didn't even click! The trailer button, however, DOES work and raises the drive.

So here is where things stand now:
- when I hit the trim in/down button on the throttle control or the transom-mounted control, the solenoid clicks but the pump doesn't run (19 out of 20 times); when the pump does run, it seems to run normally
- when I hit the trim out/up button on the throttle control, nothing happens; no click, nothing
- when I hit the trailer button, from either the throttle-mounted or transom-mounted control, the pump runs normally and the drive raises as it should.

I'm stumped. I'm not sure what I should be doing to systematically troubleshoot this problem and I'm really trying to wrap my head around how the trailer switch works but the trim out/up switch does not.

Any ideas how I should be approaching this?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[stonyloam]

My guess: you have a bad in/down solenoid, and you have open in the trim limit switch circuit. Try this, find the two black wires coming through the transom that plug into two connectors, one with a purple/white wire and one with two blue/white wires. Unplug the black wires and jumper between the two connectors with a short piece of wire. Try the trim switch. If it works your problem is in the trim limit circuit.

 

[JASinIL2006]

My guess: you have a bad in/down solenoid, and you have open in the trim limit switch circuit. Try this, find the two black wires coming through the transom that plug into two connectors, one with a purple/white wire and one with two blue/white wires. Unplug the black wires and jumper between the two connectors with a short piece of wire. Try the trim switch. If it works your problem is in the trim limit circuit.

Thanks! I'll try that tonight after work and let you know.

 

[JASinIL2006]

A really bad case of strep has had me on my back for the last four days, but hopefully I'll be able to look at the trim this week.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Ok, so I jumpered the connectors with the purple/white wire and the two blue/white wires, and the out/up switch worked. This means a problem in the trim limit circuit, yes? How exactly do I go about tracking that down?

Also, to check for a faulty in/down solenoid, I jumpered between terminal 5 (the lowest terminal on the front of the solenoid) and the negative terminal on the battery. It showed 14.7-15 volts when the in/down switch was pressed, and zero volts when no switch was pressed. Does that mean the solenoid is OK or is the solenoid still suspect? The connections on the in/down solenoid all look solid and clean. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[dingdongs]

The solenoids furr up inside which makes the contacts of the 2 large lugs open circuit therefore no response..either switch the solenoids around to prove or replace as there not all that dear.same goes for the trim limit switch replace

 

[JASinIL2006]

Got a new solenoid on order.

Been reading about replacing the trim limit switch. Does not sound like fun. If that switch is indeed the problem, I might just jumper the connection and leave it for whenever the bellows need replacing.

 

[JASinIL2006]

My guess: you have a bad in/down solenoid, and you have open in the trim limit switch circuit. Try this, find the two black wires coming through the transom that plug into two connectors, one with a purple/white wire and one with two blue/white wires. Unplug the black wires and jumper between the two connectors with a short piece of wire. Try the trim switch. If it works your problem is in the trim limit circuit.

Terry, you were exactly right in your diagnosis! I replaced the in/down solenoid, and that fixed that problem. I jumpered the connection between the purple/white wire and the two blue/white wires, and the out/up switch works. Even if I can't get the trim limit problem fixed, my boat is at least usable for the time being!

Other than replacing the trim limit switch (at some later date), is there any sort of additional troubleshooting I can do to make sure the trim limit switch (not some associated wiring) is bad? I tried to test resistance across the trim limit switch wires inside the boat (the bullet connector ends) as the drive was raised and lowered, but my meter read 0.L the entire time, so I'm not sure I was doing it correctly... any thoughts?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[achris]

Meter reading OL indicates very high resistance, open circuit. That proves the switch needs replacing, or leaving jumpered out, as 90% of boats on the water have it....

 

[JASinIL2006]

Well, I had the boat out yesterday, and the tilt & trim worked flawlessly. I think I can live without the trim limit. I just need to make sure my kids, who are just learning to operate the boat, learn to pay attention to the position of the outdrive. Thanks to all for your help! Jim