Evinrude Trim Issues

2

2LazyHounds

New member
As a novice, I humbly seek the advice of all the old salts out there. I had my '89 V20 out on the water a few weekends ago and noticed that the motor was not wanting to trim up. The trim response has always been a bit sluggish so I guess whatever issue was underlying finally came to a head. Fortunately the motor wasn't all the way down so I was able to carefully get the boat back on the trailer without any scrapes. My buddy and I were able to lift the motor with the manual override and get her back home. I've done some research on what the issue could be but I'm hoping someone can offer some advice. I made sure the fluid is topped off and tried the swapping relays trick but still no luck. I can hear the motor trying to work but it just won't budge. I'm hoping that maybe both relays crapped out on me so I don't have to Break Out Another Thousand. I appreciate any advice anyone may have to offer.
 
OK. From the start I'll offer that I do not know what the problem is. However I can make a few deductions and comments.

1) You say you can hear the motor trying to work, so from that we can deduce certain things. We know (suspect) that both of your solonoids are good and are working. And we can suspect that either your motor is shorted or something is mechanically preventing it from working. That prevention could be either inside your motor or outside. (Loose/cracked magnet, part of same, rust, corrosion, bad brushes, etc) The first thing you need to do is determine if indeed the motor is working. Go here for a proceedure to test if the motor is ok electrically. http://gracomfg.blogspot.com/2013/01/tech-tip-how-do-i-check-dc-motor-for.html

2) Have you checked your system for the proper amount of hydraulic fluid? Since you didn't tell us what kind of an engine you have or the year I can't give you specific advice. Different systems have different ways of doing this so I cannot help you other than to tell you to check. Low or no fluid will result in the engine not moving.

3) As an aside. You said that you and your friend manually lifted the engine to get the boat home. Why? Lifting the engine places increased torsional stress on the transom since you are changing the engines center of mass. The further out from the stern, the more torque you apply at the point where the engine attaches to the boat. If you are using a "transom saver" type of device to support the engine to the trailer it's true that will somewhat lessen the problem, but it will increase the stress placed on the transom and the engine with every bump you hit. Your trailer should be high enough that your engine can safely be lowered to an upright position for trailering. If it is not than something is wrong. If your engine's skeg or prop is hitting the ground or is very close to it than a) you have the wrong size engine [I.E. a 25" shaft on a 20" transom] or b) your trailer, where it connects to your tow vehicle, is set to the wrong height. (Your trailer tongue should be level when it's attached to your tow vehicle). You can adjust this by either getting a trailer hitch with the proper amount of height (or drop) or getting an adjustable hitch that does the same thing. The only time I lift my engine is when I'm launching or retrieving my boat or when it's in a slip for an extended period of time. (like overnight or longer). Once I have my boat on it's trailer I lower the engine back down. I've never once broken a skeg or nicked a prop while trailering my boat.
 
So I called the local repair shop and they have the relays in stock. I'll swing by tomorrow after work and see if that doesn't solve my problem. I would have gone earlier in the week but the weather hasn't been cooperative. If not I guess I'll have to try your advice Destroyer. By the was it's a 2000 Evinrude Ocean Pro 200 hp. And yes, I did retighten the manual release screw.
 
So I finally got the trim relays I needed and the weather is cooperating. The good news is it got the motor moving. The bad news is it's only moving a few inches before stopping. I can hear what sounds like a bubbling noise when I hit the up or down button. After watching a dozen YouTube videos I'm fairly certain I bled the air properly. Are there any seals or gaskets I should be inspecting to see if they have failed? I've never owned a boat with power trim before so this is uncharted territory for me. I'm really hoping I don't need to replace the whole assembly. Also, the motor is a 1994, not 2000 as I previously stated. Not sure where that came from...
 
On my 98 I had the same issue. It turned out to be a bad wire on the limit switch. I replaced the section and it works.
 
Upon further inspection I noticed that there are two wires that go from the motor to the trim motor, a blue one and a green one. The blue one has been smashed almost flat where it enters the trim motor. I borrowed a voltmeter tonight and will check tomorrow to ensure there is enough power going to the trim motor. That'll be a $200+ fix if it's the problem.
 
Should be able to put 12vt to those wires and make motor go up and down, this will eliminate all variables upstream of motor.

Hot wire to one at a time, unit grounds through the frame, hope that makes sense. One damaged wire is going to give you loss of one function.
 
I thought about that but unless I can take the cover off the motor I don't think it's going to happen. There's just not enough slack to cut and splice.
 
wires should go to a quick disconnect plugs up under the cowling somewhere. disconnect there and jump hot wire to male end going to trim motor
 
I think I've narrowed the issue down to the frayed wire on the trim motor. Now I guess there is nothing to do but wait for pay day and replace it. At least it's cheaper than a new boat.
 
The saga continues...finally got a new trim motor. Went to a local place rather than ordering it online. The guy asked what year and horsepower the motor is then brought out a trim motor with a different part number than what I had researched. When I asked him about the difference he explained the part number he had superseded mine. Ok I thought, this place has a good reputation and he has a parts catalog thicker than a New York City phone book. Swipe of my card and home I go one happy camper. Until I go to install it and realize the connections on the wires are not the same. Not even close. And now they're closed until Monday. So my Father's Day out on the water is ruined and I'm furious. Should've just got it online.
 
Can't you just cut and splice the old connector on the new motor? If the motor physically bolts to the trim pump that's what I'd do.
 
Thought about that. But for $200+ I'm not going to start cutting stuff just to make it work. My thought is that if the wires don't match up, my luck the whole thing would be wrong. I found another shop that has the correct part number I need. Just have to get my money back first.
 
So I finally got the correct trim motor I needed. Boy was that old one a real pain to get off. After almost 6 weeks of my boat being a driveway ornament I had high hopes for finally getting on the water. I had everything hooked up and tried to get the motor to budge. Nothing. I can hear the new trim motor trying to work but the damn thing won't move an inch. I'm really starting to worry that this is going to become an expensive problem to fix. Any thoughts?
 
2LazyHounds said:
So I finally got the correct trim motor I needed. Boy was that old one a real pain to get off. After almost 6 weeks of my boat being a driveway ornament I had high hopes for finally getting on the water. I had everything hooked up and tried to get the motor to budge. Nothing. I can hear the new trim motor trying to work but the damn thing won't move an inch. I'm really starting to worry that this is going to become an expensive problem to fix. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Ok, so lets go thru this step by step. You say you can hear the trim motor trying to work. What does that mean? Is the motor actually running, or do you just hear the solenoid(s) clicking in? If the motor is running (you can hear it humming/whineing) then the next step is the pump itself. Does it have fluid? If there's a bypass valve is it closed? Can you take off one of the hoses to the hydraulic cylinder to check if fluid is actually getting to/flowing to the cylinder when the pump is running? You said you and a friend lifted the engine to get the boat home... So I'm presuming from that sentence that the cylinder itself is not bound/stuck. But as a last resort I'd disconnect the cylinder rod from the engine and see if I could manually pull it open and closed. In short you want to make sure that everything is capable of working the way that it should.
 
So update 17 or whatever we're on now. After some tinkering around and adding more fluid I finally got things working. Mostly. The motor will trim all the way down but not all the way up. My boat has two trim rods and the main cylinder that is connected to the motor. It will only go as far up as the two trim rods will lift it. After that, nothing. I can manually lift the motor all the way, which is quite heavy, so I know that cylinder is not stuck. Thoughts?
 
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