My motor is a 2004 F225 TXRC Model Code 69J. When I bought this boat, I noticed that sometimes the tilt/ trim would not react when the "down" button on the shifter was pushed. If you let up on it and push again it works. On the test ride I just figured it was a bad rocker switch contact or worst case the solenoid is taking a shit. Not a deal breaker so I went on with the purchase and have owned it for several months. There was a lot of things I wanted to freshen up and change and now that I have most of that behind me, I can put attention toward this. Having used the boat now, I find that the tilt/trim acts the same way I described when using the engine mounted rocker. The down side of the switch sometimes needs to be clicked twice to get action. Same as the binnacle switch. The chances that both switches would develop a failed contact on the same side at the same time is pretty remote in my mind. My next thought was that maybe the up and down circuit each have their own ground and the down side ground wire is loose. but looking at the wiring diagram, that doesn't appear to be so. I am going to verify that those switches are working correctly but for now let's assume they are good. The motor only has 400+ hrs on it, but I figured I would just order a relay for it and eliminate that as the possible cause. So, in all my silly ignorance, I figured a simple relay can't cost more than 30 or 40 bucks. Well, when I checked it out that Yamaha guy wants $340 for it. What the.... So anyway I haven't really dug into it or gone through the testing procedure for that gold plated relay yet but before I do, I thought I would run it by you fellas for your thoughts about the possibilities that I might consider checking while I'm messing about in there before I have to bite that bullet and order a relay. Thanks for reading and giving this a moment of your consideration.
Tilt/Trim quandary
- Thread starter Halfhitch
- Start date
have you pulled the relay and looked at it, or got any #s off of it? I wouldn't think it would be a "special" relay and more than likely just a standard relay you could get at any parts store.
Also to add to that, could it possibly be the motor with a intermittent issue? Ive personally not done any work on a trim motor, but seems you could direct wire it and basically eliminate if its the motor or something else.
Also to add to that, could it possibly be the motor with a intermittent issue? Ive personally not done any work on a trim motor, but seems you could direct wire it and basically eliminate if its the motor or something else.
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Like I said, I haven't dug into it yet. Just looked it up in the repair manual and Sims Yamaha. It's not a simple relay like on your headlights on your truck. The thought of a motor failure is there but in the back ground for now.
The trim motor can easily be checked by unbolting the connections on the trim relay and connecting the motor leads to a ground and 12v source. The trim should operate in one direction. Then reverse the motor wires and connect to ground and 12v. The trim should run in the opposite direction. If all that works, reconnect the wires and try the switch on the cowling. When it has the problem, while holding the cowl rocker switch down, give a decent whack to the relay. If the tilt motor starts working, the relay is bad. You can probably find a relay on eBay, used probably but that may be worth the risk.
I forgot to say that first you should make sure all the rel
The trim motor can easily be checked by unbolting the connections on the trim relay and connecting the motor leads to a ground and 12v source. The trim should operate in one direction. Then reverse the motor wires and connect to ground and 12v. The trim should run in the opposite direction. If all that works, reconnect the wires and try the switch on the cowling. When it has the problem, while holding the cowl rocker switch down, give a decent whack to the relay. If the tilt motor starts working, the relay is bad. You can probably find a relay on eBay, used probably but that may be worth the risk.
I forgot to say that first you should make sure all the relar terminals are tight
Attach files
at terminals are tight
I forgot to say that first you should make sure all the rel
The trim motor can easily be checked by unbolting the connections on the trim relay and connecting the motor leads to a ground and 12v source. The trim should operate in one direction. Then reverse the motor wires and connect to ground and 12v. The trim should run in the opposite direction. If all that works, reconnect the wires and try the switch on the cowling. When it has the problem, while holding the cowl rocker switch down, give a decent whack to the relay. If the tilt motor starts working, the relay is bad. You can probably find a relay on eBay, used probably but that may be worth the risk.
I forgot to say that first you should make sure all the relar terminals are tight
Attach files
at terminals are tight
cosmic and seasick, thanks for those thoughts. I haven't got in to it yet but I will be using your thoughts when I start looking for the culprit. Thanks
One of my 2003 F200’s started behaving that way - and shortly thereafter it just failed, requiring a replacement of the motor (which turns out to be a major assembly). Good luck!
Did yours act intermittent in both directions or only one direction? Mine only hesitates in the down direction so far.
I forgot to ask; when it doesn't work, do you hear the motor running when you press the switch either at the helm or on the cowling?
If you hear the motor but the motor doesn't tilt, you most likely have a hydraulic issue as opposed to a motor issue.
If you hear the motor but the motor doesn't tilt, you most likely have a hydraulic issue as opposed to a motor issue.
When it doesn't move, there is no sound. it's just as if there are no wires connected to the switch. Dead silence. Both locations.
Start with the "free" things... which are a good idea to do, anyways.
-- This first one I never dove very far into, but last year I had a bad engine mounted tilt switch and that somehow also prevented the helm switch from working, as well. I didn't think to disconnect the connector (like mine, yours should be laying inside the lower cowling - a 3-wire connector) to see if that fixed the issue. But it wouldn't hurt for you try that. Honestly, I'm still not sure why that caused my issue - but a new switch cured it.
Next,
-- Disconnect the negative leads of the battery (ies).
-- Locate the trim/tilt wires on the side on the engine - you're looking for larger blue and green wires. Blue = up, Green = down (sky and grass). Remove, inspect (repair if needed), clean, replace and spray something like Boeshield on the connections. Look in the same area for a red wire. Do the same thing. Check all your grounds, too. Do the same for any smaller blue or green wires you find - such as the trigger wires on the solenoid.
-- Reconnect everything and see if the problem goes away.
-- If not, try jumping the larger blue & green wires. If you can't replicate the problem, the wiring to the pump and the pump are fine.
-- Next, jump the trigger wires. If all is good, the solenoid is fine and we're back to a switch (or in between wiring) being the issue.
-- This first one I never dove very far into, but last year I had a bad engine mounted tilt switch and that somehow also prevented the helm switch from working, as well. I didn't think to disconnect the connector (like mine, yours should be laying inside the lower cowling - a 3-wire connector) to see if that fixed the issue. But it wouldn't hurt for you try that. Honestly, I'm still not sure why that caused my issue - but a new switch cured it.
Next,
-- Disconnect the negative leads of the battery (ies).
-- Locate the trim/tilt wires on the side on the engine - you're looking for larger blue and green wires. Blue = up, Green = down (sky and grass). Remove, inspect (repair if needed), clean, replace and spray something like Boeshield on the connections. Look in the same area for a red wire. Do the same thing. Check all your grounds, too. Do the same for any smaller blue or green wires you find - such as the trigger wires on the solenoid.
-- Reconnect everything and see if the problem goes away.
-- If not, try jumping the larger blue & green wires. If you can't replicate the problem, the wiring to the pump and the pump are fine.
-- Next, jump the trigger wires. If all is good, the solenoid is fine and we're back to a switch (or in between wiring) being the issue.
Thanks guys. You have given me lots of things to check and I am eager to get out there and mess with it........however, I have run into a bit of a snag. I was headed out to get after it and the Admiral caught me and said , "no playing with the boat till you finish the tile in the bathroom"....well,crap. add that on to this Valentine thing and our troubleshooting is on hold for a bit.
Well, I got a chance to mess with this problem this morning. What I said earlier about there being no clicking sound when I push the down button was a lie. It was my bad hearing. When I got the cowl off, the air box/silencer off and the cover off of the relay then it was quite obvious that every time I pushed the rocker switch, in either direction there is a definite click. Sounds just as strong of a click in either direction. When pushing the switch in the down direction with a volt meter on the green(down) wire and the tilt/trim fails to move, the meter shows 12+ volts. I tried continuing to hold the switch down for several seconds to see if it would wake up but no dice. If I let up and click again it would go. Sometimes I had to click two or three times. I'm wondering about the design of the hydraulic part of the unit. Has anyone had the motor off? Is it sealed in such a way that the motor can be removed without draining the reservoir? I would like to see how the wires are connected to the brushes inside. If someone has broken one down, is there a contactor inside that reverses direction or are the wires crimped directly on to the brush wire. Maybe there are spade connectors inside that are loose. Your thoughts??
Relays/solenoids can partially fail. Meaning, the contacts inside can "make" (the sound you hear), but the contacts are worn to the extent that while they can pass 12V, they can't pass enough amperage to power a particular item. Jump 12V directly to the larger blue and green wires (not at the same time!). If that works well... we now know you have power coming in via the trigger wires, but not enough power leaving via the wires that go to the motor. In other words.... you've got a flaky relay that sometimes makes enough contact and other times it doesn't.
Ok Dennis, just to make sure I'm doing this right. I leave the green and blue wires connected to the relay. I push the button for down and when it clicks but does not move, I continue holding the down rocker and touch the green wire with the positive of my good separate battery that is grounded to the engine. If it wakes up the tilt motor by doing this several times, I can suspect the relay and not the tilt motor??
Let me ask something else. My multimeter will measure up to 10 amps of load. If I remove the blue (up) wire and connect my meter in the circuit, then push the up rocker, I should see how many amps the trim draws lifting the motor. If I do the same in the down circuit when it clicks but does not move, it would show if there was insufficient amperage to operate correct? Is 10 amps enough to run the trim motor up do you think?
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Gmack76
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I really can’t speak to the specifics of how it all works but, having replaced a trim/tilt unit and ultimately opening up the electric motor housing on a 1996 Yamaha 200 my only advice to to be deliberate about what you’re doing. When I loosened the last of the three machine bolts holding the cover in place the cover blew off as it was under pressure from the two or three springs and the springs flew out into the air. It was also a huge pain in the ass to get it all back together properly, again because of the springs. No big deal but just be ready when you loosen that last bolt. (Assuming yours is a similar setup).
Thanks for the heads up. I will be sure to exercise caution and do my homework first.
All you need to do to test the motor is to undo the red and green wires at the relay and connect them to a good ground and a good 12v Both can be found on the engine, or run some wires to the battery. The motor should run. If it does and the tilt works, reverse the two wires and now the motor should run in the opposite direction. If it runs with the wires both ways, the motor is good and the relay is bad.
I mentioned earlier that if when you prees the switch and the trim doesn't work, rak the relat pretty hard with something taking care not to hit the terminals with a metal hammer face. If the motor now runs, the realy is bad.
I mentioned earlier that if when you prees the switch and the trim doesn't work, rak the relat pretty hard with something taking care not to hit the terminals with a metal hammer face. If the motor now runs, the realy is bad.
Thanks for this clarification. I did what I thought you intended this morning. I removed both the blue and green from the relay, connected the ground of my test battery (12.6v) to the lug where the boat battery was connected till I removed it to get the air box off. When I touched the positive to the green or the blue nothing happened. I thought maybe the boat battery needed to be connected also to get the relay to operate. I thought I had better get more clarification before I goof up and let the smoke out.
So that said, instead of grounding the test battery to the block and touching the positive to the blue or green, you are saying I should connect the ground of the test battery to either the blue or the green and touch the positive from the test battery to the other color. I was assuming the tilt motor was making ground through the block but that is evidently incorrect.