Engine Trim not working?

[TonyD]

Hey there - happy spring everyone!

Question - if anyone can help me trouble shoot his - I have a 150 yamaha and my trim is not trimming my motor. The trim motor buzzes but the hydraulics are not moving. Any ideas? Do I need a new trim motor?

Here is a video of what's happening

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtube.com

 

[SkunkBoat]

your latch is down

 

[SkunkBoat]

raise it til the weight is off....

 

[TonyD]

hey Skunk - yeah that's the problem.. it's stuck - it won't raise. But also, if I go the other way (as if lowering the engine) the hydraulic rods should go down on their own without weight of the motor on them.
I tried the switch at the helm and at the motor..

 

[Halfhitch]

Open the manual bypass screw a couple turns. Lift on the skag till you can flip up the safety latch and let the motor go down all the way. When it is at the lowest point, check the fluid level as the first step of your diagnosis.

 

[PointedRose]

Agree that your first item to check is if the oil level is enough in the reservoir to operate the trim. The seals may need to be replaced but if you fill up the oil again it may work for a while.

 

[DennisG01]

No, the trim rams won't go down right away. Not until the motor gets onto them. Edit: Or, the tile ram contracts.

Since you have it on the support lever, go ahead and check the fluid level now.

Describe when it worked last and how you got to this point where it's stuck. When was the last time it worked?

Try "helping" it to go up (lift strongly on the skeg) while someone operates the switch.

After checking fluid - adding if necessary - and retrying - go ahead and do the manual bypass. That will at least tell you if anything is physically jammed up.

 

[SkunkBoat]

hehehe when I saw the motor was on the latch I thought you were having a brain fart!

 

[SkunkBoat]

So, does the TILT ram work and not the TRIM...or Both?

 

[Fishtales]

Mechanic time. Maybe a hydraulic level issue, could be the ram.

 

[seasick]

As mentioned, fill the reservoir first and then cycle a few times assuming it will pump fluid

 

[TonyD]

Hey - thanks everyone! I got this working again - I was going to the marine store for some maintenance parts anyway, (oil filter, plugs, etc) and so I showed the guy my video. He mentioned a relay inside the motor and how to troubleshoot it. Long story short, I located the relay and found that the relay was indeed faulty by bypassing the relay and when I did that, the trim worked.

Put everything back together, figured I'd wait until Monday to order the new relay but the trim worked even with what I thought was a bad relay? Fussing with it gave it a little kick maybe? So, maybe it just needed a little kick? I don't know but it's all working now..
At least now I know where to look if this happens again.

 

[Finest Kind]

Hey - thanks everyone! I got this working again - I was going to the marine store for some maintenance parts anyway, (oil filter, plugs, etc) and so I showed the guy my video. He mentioned a relay inside the motor and how to troubleshoot it. Long story short, I located the relay and found that the relay was indeed faulty by bypassing the relay and when I did that, the trim worked.

Put everything back together, figured I'd wait until Monday to order the new relay but the trim worked even with what I thought was a bad relay? Fussing with it gave it a little kick maybe? So, maybe it just needed a little kick? I don't know but it's all working now..
At least now I know where to look if this happens again.

Doesn’t make sense. Your video proves that the trim motor WAS working and the ram didnt move in either direction. (I assume you were trying both the UP and DOWN buttons)

So, a defective relay would have nothing to do with the ram moving or not, since it is an electrical component effecting whether or not the electric motor runs, having nothing to do with the hydraulics.…

 

[DennisG01]

Doesn’t make sense. Your video proves that the trim motor WAS working and the ram didnt move in either direction. (I assume you were trying both the UP and DOWN buttons)

So, a defective relay would have nothing to do with the ram moving or not, since it is an electrical component effecting whether or not the electric motor runs, having nothing to do with the hydraulics.…

Agree. When a solenoid/relay gets flaky it may still make a "clicking" sound but it's not actually contacting "enough" internally to pass enough amperage to operate the accessory. In your case, Tony, the accessory was operating - it was getting plenty of power.

Something else is going on.