I'll post a quick summary of my problems up top, and then after that I'll post the information I wanted to, but realized it's incredibly long and would be easy to lose track of what I'm asking...you can read the long part for additional details of my problem if you want to...thanks in advance.
I just bought a completely rebuilt 1988 Force 125 HP motor a month or two ago. I was told by the dealer that it's basically a brand new engine, and it definitely looks the part...everything under the hood looks like it just rolled off the assembly line, so I know that the electrical components I'm having problems with are all new.
I took out the boat for the first time, and it drove great for the 10 minutes I was driving it. I tried to trim the motor up while driving to get it to plane better, but the trim wouldn't go up. I stopped after the 10 minutes, and nothing worked-the tilt/trim was dead, and the motor wouldn't start. It was like I had no battery connected to it...the battery was brand new and freshly charged, and I hooked up my accessories to the battery and they worked fine, so I know the battery had power.
I called the dealer and was told to check the circuit breaker...turns out that was the problem...it just tripped, and I had to reset it...so the motor turned over, and the tilt/trim went up and down...
I took it out a second time, and everything worked for like 10-20 minutes...but again, as I was driving and trying to trim up the motor, nothing happened...I figured it was the same problem, but the breaker wasn't tripped this time...I turned the motor off, and it started right back up again without a problem. The trim also went down, but it wouldn't go up. I heard the relay clicking when I tried to trim up, so I switched the two relays around and the motor went up, but not down...so I know the "down" relay was bad...so I've ordered replacements, but my concern is that I've had two semi-related problems, and I'm worried there's some underlying problem...could anyone out there give any suggestions as to what would cause the breaker to trip and the relays to go out?
I read somewhere that there used to be a 3 wire harness around the relay area or something, but it was updated to a 2 wire harness...something like that...mine has the 2 wire harness going to the relays (one for up, one for down) on the trim/tilt...so I don't know if they updated the harness but had something wrong, or what else could be going on.
I just got this motor, and want to make it works and is reliable...any advice on what would be causing these problems would be appreciated...if you think they're related, or just two separate "luck of the draw" problems that probably won't continue, or if my gut feeling is right, and there's some kind of electrical problem that's causing the breaker to trip and the relays to go out...thanks in advance for the help....
Here's the "long version" of the post, with additional details:
This past April (2012), I had a 1988 Force 125HP motor put on my 1984 Starcraft 18' "bass tracker style" boat. It replaced a blown '85 Evinrude 90HP V4 motor. I was told by the dealer I bought it from that the Force motor was completely rebuilt from top to bottom over the past winter, and would be great on my boat. I had them professionally install it, and they even completely replaced my steering cables/system with a new one, as they said my old system was getting pretty bad...
I was really excited, since the boat weighs very little (it's aluminum), and rides pretty high in the water to begin with. So far, I've taken the boat out twice...and each time I had a problem...the dealer said it was already broken in, and I could go wide open right away without a problem. The first time ever taking it out, I drove for around 10 minutes...I was still cautious, and took it very slowly to wide open throttle. There were no signs of problems, and the engine ran great (although it seemed a tad slow, as I expected close to 50 mph, but only got it up to around 40...anyway). As I was driving, I tried to raise the motor (it has power tilt/trim) to get the boat to plane a little better, but noticed it wasn't going up. I decided to stop and fish for a while, and planned on raising the motor up so it wouldn't drag and affect the bow mounted trolling motor...but it wouldn't go up...
On top of that, nothing worked...the engine wouldn't start, and the tilt/trim wouldn't go up or down. It was just like I had a dead battery...no clicking sounds from the motor or anything...it was like it was completely dead...I had it connected to the old battery that I thought was still good, but being prepared, I also had a brand new, freshly charged battery with, since the boat had been sitting for a year (I forgot about it with the blown motor, and the battery froze more than a few times over the winter...I'm from MN, so even though we had a warm winter this year, it was still cold enough to freeze several times over). I hooked up the new battery, and still...nothing...
After using the trolling motor to get back to the dock, I called up the dealer I bought it from. The tech there said it was most likely a breaker that had tripped...sure enough it was. Ok, simple fix...I reset the breaker, and everything worked again beautifully...so with this new knowledge, I decided to take the boat out a second time...
The tilt/trim and motor all worked fine this next time...for about 10 minutes again...Actually, the motor worked fine, and the tilt down worked fine, however I couldn't raise the motor at all. I took off the engine cover and had my wife press the "up" button for me. I could hear a click coming from the relay switch as she pressed the button, so I knew the relay was done for. Testing my theory, I switched the two relays around, and sure enough, the motor would go up, but not down...
I've already ordered two new relays, and even added a new starter solenoid to the basket (just in case of future problems). My problem with this whole deal is that it seems strange to me that there were two related electrical issues with the tilt/trim (breaker tripped, and relay went out). The dealer had to have been right about completely rebuilding the motor, because it looks brand new...there was no grease/dirt anywhere (even in the hard to reach places where it would have been nearly impossible to clean), and all the metal parts were shiny, with no wear shown at all on any of the pieces.
So I know the problem isn't that they used old, worn out parts, and they're just going out now...these parts were brand new...when I took out the relays, they looked like they came right out of the package...no marks from plugging/unplugging, scratches, or anything...would anyone have any ideas on what could be causing these electrical problems with the tilt/trim relays and breaker? This is my first Force engine, and I know I read something about converting from a 3 wire harness to a two wire harness for the relays...mine has the updated 2 wire harness...but I don't know much more than that...
It just seems like I'm going to keep having small problem after small problem with this, and would really like to know if this is something that can be figured out easily, or if I'm going to have to do some major electrical investigation. I tried bringing back to the dealer, but I was basically told that they don't service Force engines, and my "hand shake" warranty that was supposed to be for 3 months got shortened to 1 month (go figure...I should have known better...get everything in writing...), and I got the impression they don't want anything to do with this...which worries me even more...
Any help/advice on what could be causing these electrical problems with the tilt/trim relays, circuit breakers, and other potential problems would be greatly appreciated. I'm fairly handy with doing things myself, as long as I have some type of guide to go off of, but I don't know if I can easily diagnose the problem, or if I should just give in and spend the extra money to take it in to a dealer that services Force engines in the area...again, any advice is appreciated, and I apologize for the very long post (I tend to do that)...
I just bought a completely rebuilt 1988 Force 125 HP motor a month or two ago. I was told by the dealer that it's basically a brand new engine, and it definitely looks the part...everything under the hood looks like it just rolled off the assembly line, so I know that the electrical components I'm having problems with are all new.
I took out the boat for the first time, and it drove great for the 10 minutes I was driving it. I tried to trim the motor up while driving to get it to plane better, but the trim wouldn't go up. I stopped after the 10 minutes, and nothing worked-the tilt/trim was dead, and the motor wouldn't start. It was like I had no battery connected to it...the battery was brand new and freshly charged, and I hooked up my accessories to the battery and they worked fine, so I know the battery had power.
I called the dealer and was told to check the circuit breaker...turns out that was the problem...it just tripped, and I had to reset it...so the motor turned over, and the tilt/trim went up and down...
I took it out a second time, and everything worked for like 10-20 minutes...but again, as I was driving and trying to trim up the motor, nothing happened...I figured it was the same problem, but the breaker wasn't tripped this time...I turned the motor off, and it started right back up again without a problem. The trim also went down, but it wouldn't go up. I heard the relay clicking when I tried to trim up, so I switched the two relays around and the motor went up, but not down...so I know the "down" relay was bad...so I've ordered replacements, but my concern is that I've had two semi-related problems, and I'm worried there's some underlying problem...could anyone out there give any suggestions as to what would cause the breaker to trip and the relays to go out?
I read somewhere that there used to be a 3 wire harness around the relay area or something, but it was updated to a 2 wire harness...something like that...mine has the 2 wire harness going to the relays (one for up, one for down) on the trim/tilt...so I don't know if they updated the harness but had something wrong, or what else could be going on.
I just got this motor, and want to make it works and is reliable...any advice on what would be causing these problems would be appreciated...if you think they're related, or just two separate "luck of the draw" problems that probably won't continue, or if my gut feeling is right, and there's some kind of electrical problem that's causing the breaker to trip and the relays to go out...thanks in advance for the help....
Here's the "long version" of the post, with additional details:
This past April (2012), I had a 1988 Force 125HP motor put on my 1984 Starcraft 18' "bass tracker style" boat. It replaced a blown '85 Evinrude 90HP V4 motor. I was told by the dealer I bought it from that the Force motor was completely rebuilt from top to bottom over the past winter, and would be great on my boat. I had them professionally install it, and they even completely replaced my steering cables/system with a new one, as they said my old system was getting pretty bad...
I was really excited, since the boat weighs very little (it's aluminum), and rides pretty high in the water to begin with. So far, I've taken the boat out twice...and each time I had a problem...the dealer said it was already broken in, and I could go wide open right away without a problem. The first time ever taking it out, I drove for around 10 minutes...I was still cautious, and took it very slowly to wide open throttle. There were no signs of problems, and the engine ran great (although it seemed a tad slow, as I expected close to 50 mph, but only got it up to around 40...anyway). As I was driving, I tried to raise the motor (it has power tilt/trim) to get the boat to plane a little better, but noticed it wasn't going up. I decided to stop and fish for a while, and planned on raising the motor up so it wouldn't drag and affect the bow mounted trolling motor...but it wouldn't go up...
On top of that, nothing worked...the engine wouldn't start, and the tilt/trim wouldn't go up or down. It was just like I had a dead battery...no clicking sounds from the motor or anything...it was like it was completely dead...I had it connected to the old battery that I thought was still good, but being prepared, I also had a brand new, freshly charged battery with, since the boat had been sitting for a year (I forgot about it with the blown motor, and the battery froze more than a few times over the winter...I'm from MN, so even though we had a warm winter this year, it was still cold enough to freeze several times over). I hooked up the new battery, and still...nothing...
After using the trolling motor to get back to the dock, I called up the dealer I bought it from. The tech there said it was most likely a breaker that had tripped...sure enough it was. Ok, simple fix...I reset the breaker, and everything worked again beautifully...so with this new knowledge, I decided to take the boat out a second time...
The tilt/trim and motor all worked fine this next time...for about 10 minutes again...Actually, the motor worked fine, and the tilt down worked fine, however I couldn't raise the motor at all. I took off the engine cover and had my wife press the "up" button for me. I could hear a click coming from the relay switch as she pressed the button, so I knew the relay was done for. Testing my theory, I switched the two relays around, and sure enough, the motor would go up, but not down...
I've already ordered two new relays, and even added a new starter solenoid to the basket (just in case of future problems). My problem with this whole deal is that it seems strange to me that there were two related electrical issues with the tilt/trim (breaker tripped, and relay went out). The dealer had to have been right about completely rebuilding the motor, because it looks brand new...there was no grease/dirt anywhere (even in the hard to reach places where it would have been nearly impossible to clean), and all the metal parts were shiny, with no wear shown at all on any of the pieces.
So I know the problem isn't that they used old, worn out parts, and they're just going out now...these parts were brand new...when I took out the relays, they looked like they came right out of the package...no marks from plugging/unplugging, scratches, or anything...would anyone have any ideas on what could be causing these electrical problems with the tilt/trim relays and breaker? This is my first Force engine, and I know I read something about converting from a 3 wire harness to a two wire harness for the relays...mine has the updated 2 wire harness...but I don't know much more than that...
It just seems like I'm going to keep having small problem after small problem with this, and would really like to know if this is something that can be figured out easily, or if I'm going to have to do some major electrical investigation. I tried bringing back to the dealer, but I was basically told that they don't service Force engines, and my "hand shake" warranty that was supposed to be for 3 months got shortened to 1 month (go figure...I should have known better...get everything in writing...), and I got the impression they don't want anything to do with this...which worries me even more...
Any help/advice on what could be causing these electrical problems with the tilt/trim relays, circuit breakers, and other potential problems would be greatly appreciated. I'm fairly handy with doing things myself, as long as I have some type of guide to go off of, but I don't know if I can easily diagnose the problem, or if I should just give in and spend the extra money to take it in to a dealer that services Force engines in the area...again, any advice is appreciated, and I apologize for the very long post (I tend to do that)...