1980 Starcraft Holiday 181 Mercruiser trim/tilt dash switch/lights

[80Starcraft]

I'm fairly new to boating & I recently bought this 18' Starcraft I/O, but it had no owners manual. It has both Trim Limit & Position senders, and the trim limiting & tilt work, but there's no actual tilt gauge. There is a spring loaded switch on the instrument panel, which will illuminate the two corresponding umarked lights, but doesn't seem to do anything else that I can detect. There are also 2 other lights below those that also have the lettering worn off. Does anyone have any idea what the switch does or what the lights are supposed to indicate? I'm hesitant to take it out on the water until I'm sure that everything is operating correctly, and I'm fully familiarized with it's operation.
Thanks

 

[Alumarine]

Welcome. A picture would help.

 

[80Starcraft]

Hi, I've tried to upload a jpg photo in both 640x480, & 600x800, but it keeps coming up with "ERROR". I'm waiting to hear from the moderator about it, unless you know why it won't upload. ??

 

[Alumarine]

This might help posting pictures.

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/othe...tep-by-step-with-a-free-hosting-site?t=530391

point 4 is the best approach

• 4: IMG code

 

[jbcurt00]

Heres an up to date pix help topic
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/forum-rules-and-guidelines/9938375-photo-upload-tutorial

I prefer post #3, the 3rd party hosting site. You do not have a 3 post minimum using the 3rd party hosting site. Make a 3rd post and I suspect the error will no longer occur.

But again, I prefer the 3rd party site option and there is no 3 post minimum.

 

[jbcurt00]

FYI, boat owners manuals arent like car manuals. I doubt any of your questions would be answered in an owners manual.

I/O switches, off hand, in no particular order:
Bilge pump (could be a moment switch, only on while held on, but might be on or off)
Blower (on or off, like a light switch)
Navigation lights (likely a 3position switch, 1 for bow(running) 1 for stern (anchor) and 1position for both)
Cabin/cockpit/interior lighting (on or off)

An 18ft Holiday would definitely have all of those switches except, perhaps the last, cabin lights.

Look thru some of the topics posted here:
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owners-groups-by-manufacturer/s/starcraft-boats
Lots of inspiration in those topics

 

[jbcurt00]

And heres a navigation/lighting guide
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/gene...topics/10068754-boat-handling-quick-reference

 

[80Starcraft]

Thanks for the responses. First, I must apologize. I didn't realize that I have to post 3 times before I can upload photo's. (When all else fails, read directions!)
Also, after several weeks trying to obtain useable parts & finally rebuilding both trim cylinders, I'd forgotten that it DOES have a tilt gauge, and the problem was that it is constantly fully deflected regardless of the drive position and the switch & 4 lights don't seem to function ( :facepalm: Yet another senior moment!)
Since I didn't want to join Photobucket again, , I did find a 1977 Starcraft with a very similar instrument panel, and I've included a link with this response. The main difference is that mine doesn't have the bottom tilt switch, only the upper red tilt? switch. Again, the red switch will illuminate the corresponding lower "tilt out" & upper unmarked light, but seems to have no other function. I don't know if my 1980 Holiday 181 is supposed to have the lower tilt switch or not since the up & down trim switches are on the throttle control, as is the trailer switch.
I've tried to find a wiring diagram so I can figure out when/why the switch and lights are supposed to function, but none of the ones I've found seem to show the switch & lights in question.
I would greatly appreciate any help obtaining a wiring diagram or a detailed explanation of how/when/why those switches & lights function.
Thank you again for your replies.

 

[GA_Boater]

The link ^^^ isn't to any photo, it's to the main PB page.

When you find the photo of what you meant to post . click the IMG code which copies it and paste it into your post.

You can find wiring diagrams here - http://boatinfo.no/lib/library.html# Find your Mercruiser manual and look at the table of contents.

 

[80Starcraft]

OK, Sorry. All of a sudden the camera image came up, so I tried to attach the jpg of my dashboard, but it still comes up with an upload error!! :der:
AhaaaI was finally able to get the LINK to work. (I Hope)
I also re-saved my photo's in other formats, which I'll try again to upload.
Thank you for the link you posted...Hopefully I can find a wiring diagram of my instrument panel or a detailed description of how it's all supposed to function.

 

[80Starcraft]

Well....no link, but the 77 Starcraft photo uploaded, as did my 1980 after changing it's format. The second one in PNG format is the photo of my dashboard.

 

[Alumarine]

Just to get things straight. The picture in post #10 is picture of your dash?
Also, you say the Trim Up, Trim Down and Tilt on your Throttle work. Is that correct? If so, what's the problem?

It's easier for people helping you if you use photobucket as the picture can be seen in your post without having to jump back and forth.

 

[80Starcraft]

Yes, the "Inst Panel800x600.png is a photo of my 1980 Instrument panel. The problem is that the red switch on the dash does nothing but illuminate the corresponding lights directly above & below it, so I have no idea what it is really supposed to do. I also don't know what the other 2 lights below it are supposed to indicate, or if there is supposed to be a corresponding switch like there is in the other photo of the 1977 Inst. panel. Since the trim gauge is always pegged at full scale, are they supposed illuminate when the outdrive is in the full up or down position?
I'm sorry I'm so clueless, but I've never owned an Inboard/Outboard before, and have no operators manual to explain what these switches & lights are supposed to do when operating correctly.

 

[GA_Boater]

Forget about the gauge for the time being. It's the most useless thing on a boat.

If I read your responses correctly, you have TNT switches on the dash and on the remote control. Which set of switches are controlling the TNT? I'm guessing it's one or the other, not both sets of switches which is unusual.

 

[80Starcraft]

The UP/DN trim switch is a single rocker type on the throttle control, and the trailer switch is lower down on the throttle control. Both of those work correctly as far as I know, but the trailer switch doesn't stop at full up position, nor does the tilt UP/DN switch stop the outdrive at full down position. Are they supposed to?

 

[GA_Boater]

So the TNT controls are on the remote. Do the dash switches run the trim pump at all? Most likely the dash switches only turn on lights because the PO added a different remote with the trim and tilt feature and didn't disable the dash switches completely.

The full up/down question - No. The only limit control, if the trim limit switch is not bypassed, is trim up will stop when the limit switch opens. You can tell by the sound of the trim pump if the drive is trimmed full down or if the drive is tilted full up when the cylinders are fully extended or retracted.

 

[80Starcraft]

Sorry I didn't respond right away.....We spent a couple of days at a nice B&B for our anniversary.
Anyway, It doesn't run the trim pump or anything else that I can see. There's only the one red switch on my dash that is a center off spring loaded momentary contact switch. When pushed up, it lights the light above, and when pushed down, it lights the one below it. It doesn't run the trim pump or anything else that I can see.
Yeah, I guess it makes sense that it may have originally had the trim switch on the dash, but trim was re-wired into the throttle/gear control instead.
So.....I guess the position sensor on the other side of the out-drive doesn't actually contain a switch, but is strictly a rheostat to run the tilt gauge? Kind of like a gas gauge sender?
It sounds to me like that position sensor must be shorted, since the tilt meter is constantly pegged at full scale regardless of the tilt position. Your thoughts?
I'm still confused about the other two lights. If there WAS a switch there, would it have been like the trailer switch, and therefore bypassing the tilt limit switch?
Is that what is meant by tilt "OUT" on the light? Am I right in assuming that pushing the missing switch in the other direction would be the same as pushing the tilt down switch then?
Thanks for bearing with me thru all of these questions, which I imagine must seem very elementary to most of you.

 

[GA_Boater]

Forget about this one as a PO has partially bypassed these switches and only the lights work.




On this one, can you make out any of the letters and writing at all? I don't think it has any thing to do with the TNT. Just the same panel used to hold whatever that switch is for. You can forget the missing switch on this panel because obviously it can't do any thing.




Tilt In and Tilt Out mean in and out of trailer position. Most controls use the trim down switch to move the drive down.out of trailer.

On either side of the drive there is a trim limit switch and the other side is a trim position sender. If you trim the drive up using the switch on the throttle, it should stop and not raise to the trailer position. If it doesn't stop, the limit switch is either bad or bypassed.

The sender is similar to a gas gauge sender. Most likely the sender is bad, but gauges also fail.

 

[80Starcraft]

About the only lettering I can see is up on the 2nd from the bottom, so I guess the missing switch must have been removed when they installed the newer throttle control with the tilt & trim switch. So I guess the red switch is the one that is supposed to bypass the trim limit switch for tilt in & out then.
After repairing or replacing the position sensor and/or meter, I think I might also re-wire the tilt in & out lights to work with the switch's on the throttle control.
Anyway, thank you for your help, I appreciate the clarification about the switches & lights.
Happy boating! :joyous:

 

[GA_Boater]

I don't think the missing switch was ever missing. It was probably never there, hence the plug in the hole.

The red switch with the Tilt Out light to the right is the one that bypasses the trim limit switch.

I would take the bulbs out because you don't need them. They are only a distraction. This is the first time I've seen lights for trim and tilt. But I've never seen StarTrim before.