First problem with the new boat.

[Chris Havoc]

Well I knew it was coming since everything has been smooth sailing since I bought my boat in may. Walked out to the boat thursday just to silicone some things...tried to trim moto up and got nothing. checked voltage first and everything was fine. Checked the fluid level for the pump and it was a little low...topped it up and still having problems. 2 hours later I finally figure out that its not the hydraulics themselves, its the power unit(trim motor). Ordered new brushes, springs, breaker and o rings for the pump, so hopefully this fixes my problem. Anyone else have a late 90's suzuki dt115? Also does anyone know if I can remove the trim motor without taking the entire hydraulic assembly off? All help and advice appreciated!!

[Ray]

Jfranovich just changed out their motor too.

[Chris Havoc]

did he replace the entire motor, or refurbish it? what kind of outboard does he have?

[Ray]

Johnson 200. I thinkk they changed the whole thing..

[Chris Havoc]

Well they want 600 bucks for a new motor from what I've been able to find, and I've found a used hydraulic assembly for 300. Figured I'd try fixing the motor I have before I go to shelling out real money(to me anyway). Anyone have any suggestions as to where I might find used parts in eastern Louisiana/Mississippi?

[Gerald]

Chris.......are you sure you problem is not a bad relay switch. I think there should be 2 switches-----one for up and another for down.

On my small Merc engine.....they are about 1" square and located in the back right side of the engine housing when standing at the back of the engine. My up switch sometimes does not work at first......but usually will work after pushing the button a few times.

[Chris Havoc]

well I checked both cylinoids with a test light.....getting power to both when hitting the button up and down. I took a rubber mallet and tapped the motor lightly while pressing the button and the motor would come alive and work great. Let it sit for minutes and the motor would not budge again without opening the manual release and tapping again. Pretty sure I have the problem pegged......but i'm no expert. Parts will be here sometime this week so I guess that will tell me for sure.

[Gerald]

Suggestion.......when you take the motor apart to change the brushes......look very carefully at the "flexable" wire that attatches to the brush. Look for any slight color change. A color [white ?] change is an indication of a "bad" wire.

I had a guy at a motor shop show me this and I did not think that could be the problem, the wires looked good to me.....but new brushes got it working again.

[Jordan]

yeah, they had to change out the trim motor on my boat ($500) plus labor = $700+ plus the 3 weeks it took to get it off (salt water corrosion). Works like a dream now, well should i say... i've recently had trouble with the electrical part of the trim motor (electrical being the wires where the relay's are... were melted together). Be careful on what relay's u get and where u get them. A cheep-o relay (auto-parts store) turns into big bucks in the long run.

[Chris Havoc]

no corrossion that I can see on the outside.....we'll see when I tear it open. The plan is to try to take just the motor off without removing the entire hydraulic assembly, and I dont see anything obstructing me from doing this. I double checked my relays a few minutes ago and are functioning normally as far as I can tell. Thanks for the comments guys, I'll report back when parts are here and I go to tearing stuff apart.

[Chris Havoc]

Well, my trim works once again, but I dunno how long its going to last. There was tons of grease and grit inside the motor and of course the seal thats believed to be leaking didnt get shipped. Cleaned everything up real good, got the new brushes and springs in it and got it back together. got everything bled out I think, and everything works good so long as you dont trim the motor all the way up. If you do, it will not trim back down......dunno why....but its going to get figured out soon.