Anyone put a trim switch on the engine or near ?

SkiDad

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i have an 1985 force 125 - my boat sits very high on the trailer so I can't reach the trim switch on the dash - thinking of wiring one by the engine.... seen an evinrude with the swich right on the engine body. anyone done it and if so what wires ?
 

jkoppe73

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Re: Anyone put a trim switch on the engine or near ?

Did it on my 1985 85 hp last yr, works fine. I beleive I used (tied into)one blue and one green, and a power wire. Will have to check this evening to verify that....if weather allows....
 

fisheymikey

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Re: Anyone put a trim switch on the engine or near ?

Did it on my 1985 85 hp last yr, works fine. I beleive I used (tied into)one blue and one green, and a power wire. Will have to check this evening to verify that....if weather allows....

I have and it looks like it come with the engine ill try to post pics later. I could confirm it is green and brown but its a little more complicated ill takes pics to show you how


mike
 

Frank Acampora

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Re: Anyone put a trim switch on the engine or near ?

104_7246.jpg104_7245.jpg104_7244.jpg104_7243.jpg

I just did it on my 150. Simply drill a hole in the cowl at any convenient location--being careful to avoid cast bosses. Run the red wire to the circuit breaker or red terminal on the engine terminal strip. Then, parallel tap the thin blue and green wires. Simple--takes all of 10 minutes--OK 20 if Mr. Monk is your hero.

Unfortunately the previous owner did a half fast job and drilled the mounting hole in the wrong place. Not wanting to drill another hole I was forced to use the existing one. In order to correctly mount the switch I needed to turn it sideways--so now, forward is up and rearward is down.
 

SkiDad

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Re: Anyone put a trim switch on the engine or near ?

thanks guys! Where can i find the proper switch ? And did you see with silicone or anything ?
 

pnwboat

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Re: Anyone put a trim switch on the engine or near ?

Here is a site that I ordered one from. You're looking for SPDT or DPDT MOM-OFF-MOM switch. Only difference between SPDT and DPDT switch is DPDT has more terminals and cost more. SPDT MOM-OFF-MOM is all you need. I used the rocker style since it has a low profile and less likely to snag on anything. Only draw back to a rocker switch is that you have to cut a rectangular hole and it has to be pretty close tolerance, otherwise the switch will not stay in place. It snaps into place so the opening has to be accurate. The toggle type switch just requires a hole drilled and uses a threaded nut to hold the switch in place. Much simpler. I didn't use any silicone or anything. It's been fine for the last 3 years or so since I installed it. I have to say that this is one of the best yet simplest modifications that I've done to my motor. Not as athletic as I once was to be jumping in and out of the boat while it's on the trailer to tilt the motor up or down.

Marine Switches | WiringProducts.com
 

SkiDad

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Re: Anyone put a trim switch on the engine or near ?

thank you !
 

SkiDad

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Hi Guys, I'm the OP on this thread - picked up the switch over the winter. do i need a particular gauge of wire ? Does it matter if it's solid wire or stranded. Copper fine ?

thank you!
 

Frank Acampora

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WOW! Can you spell procrastinate?

Seriously, my switch was an Evinrude part off a V6 engine. The wires were probably 16 gauge. Since the switch only activates a small coil in the solenoid, it carries almost no power. SO: 16 or 18 gauge wire would be good for the milliamp loads of signal current. Solid is OK BUT stranded will flex easier and resist breaking with continued engine vibration. Copper is fine but again, if you don't mind shelling out for the marine type wire, buy the tin coated wire. It resists corrosion much better.
 

Jiggz

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I did. But instead of using the rocker type switch I went with the toggle switch (the same thing, momentary ON-Off-ON, SPDT). There is a low profile toggle switch which has a shorter toggle compare to a non-low profile one. The reason being is it is easier to just drill a 7/16" inch hole than cutting a rectangular cutout for the rocker type switch. The toggle switch is fully water resistant totally wrapped in rubber including the toggle itself. Location wise, you want to put it as high as you can on the lower half cowling and just a little bit forward. This is to avoid water splash as much as possible. The switch looks like this.
 

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SkiDad

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yeah I a LITTLE late to the party :facepalm: - i was going to do it last year but got mad at myself for causing other issue with my boat from tinkering.

anyhow, i pulled the cowl and I don't see those wires. I did find them under the back seat, they never go to the engine. They appear to be about 10 gauge wires and eventually go to a snap in connector that went strait to the trim motor. My motor is a 1985 125hp - looks like if I do this I'm going to have to dill the fiberglas and mount by the swim ladder vs on the engine - am I missing something ?

this is what i have

IMG_0399.JPG IMG_2316.JPG IMG_2317.JPG
 

Frank Acampora

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Because of the age of your engine I thought it had the newer t/t wiring with relays. I don't see any relays inside the cowl leading me to believe you have a three wire motor.These motors used about 10 gauge wiring and none was inside the engine.Red wire attached to battery positive and the center of the switch at the dash. Black from the motor attached to the battery negative, Green and blue are connected with an automotive type quick-connect. If you want to wire in a switch on the engine you will need to modify the system to use relays--it is very simple-- or if your switch is capable of carrying 30 amps, run some red, green and blue 10 gauge wire out the cowl and splice into power, and the up and down wires. Red will pick up power from the battery side of the solenoid.

Again, this is not difficult BUT it does have the drawback that every time you use the trim you are moving around a LOT of current.

I have changed a three wire motor to relay system and been very successful. The only thing needed to be done out of the ordinary is to either insulate the relay power ground--not signal ground (since the motor is already grounded.) OR clip off the ground prong (I think it is the center one) of the relay..) I prefer insulating so that if you ever change to a two wire motor, the relays will still be good.

I did this a couple of years ago and there is a post showing the wiring. RRitt also added to this thread. So, you should be able to search it. ----Right now it is too much trouble for me to search out my photos from the thousands I have on my flash drives and repost them
 
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