Wiring Help 84 Merc Trim/Tilt

[MadKatter]

Hello all, I'm in desperate need of help. I just purchased an 87 BassCat Phelix with an 84 Mercury 60 HP motor with hydrolic tilt. There is a brown wire with a white strip that has a circle connector that is not connected to anything. This same wire runs into the controls for the trim and also seems to run to the bilge and areator. Long story short everything on the boat works except the trim, bilge, and areator. Any suggestions to what this wire is? A ground or remote?

 

[Laddies]

Re: Wiring Help 84 Merc Trim/Tilt

Mercury never used a trim wire that color so someone has added it. You might use a voltmeter between it and grd if it's not hot use a OHM between it and the box to see if it's ground for the box, if it is they probably had it on one of the small grd. terminals for the solinoid or grounded to the pump but thats not a proper grd even if it works the box should be grounded through the engine harness.

 

[MadKatter]

Re: Wiring Help 84 Merc Trim/Tilt

Thanks, I'll try that this evening. Any suggestion on the bilge and areator pump switches having that same color wire? This boat sat for at least 10 years and I'm a first time boat owner so I am very green at this. I was able to change the impeller, carb gaskets(and cleaned carbs), spark plugs, and lower unit lube. After 2 turns of the key the engine started with no problem and pee's water, was their anything else that I needed to do before starting it or am I in the clear?

 

[Laddies]

Re: Wiring Help 84 Merc Trim/Tilt

It really sounds like a ground wire, the question is what the H were they trying to ground and to where.

 

[cannonford57]

Re: Wiring Help 84 Merc Trim/Tilt

i believe what u have is the trim gauge sender wire.usually brown with a white tracer

 

[cannonford57]

Re: Wiring Help 84 Merc Trim/Tilt

u should have the same color wire at the control box just as the harness goes into the box

 

[MadKatter]

Re: Wiring Help 84 Merc Trim/Tilt

Hello all, this may be a first time boat owner error but here goes. The trim wouldn't work with just the power wires connected but when I also hooked up the ingnition wires along with the trim wires it worked:redface: Not sure what that brown wire with the white stripe does since i don't have a trim gauge on the boat but the trim works fine. However, the bilge and areator still do not work and the relays and fuses seem fine. I was thinking about wiring them directly to 12 volts to see if they work, is this a good idea? Also does anyone know the average lifespan of a bilge and areator pump?

 

[Laddies]

Re: Wiring Help 84 Merc Trim/Tilt

You won't be the first to test a pump that way and the pumps and switches are not known for their longevity

 

[MadKatter]

Re: Wiring Help 84 Merc Trim/Tilt

Thanks a lot for the help, hopefully I can figure out what the issue is. Do you think there is anything else I need to do for the engine before taking her out?

 

[Laddies]

Re: Wiring Help 84 Merc Trim/Tilt

If you cked the gearlube and greased the engine I would at lest start it on a hose and see what it sounds like.