Penta Trim Indicator & Controls

[DanWag]

Hi folks,

Great forum - learning much quickly. Thanks!
I recently purchased an '89 Regal Royal 250.
Penta AQ271C (5.7) / DP CD-TRM outdrive (see below).


Regardless of position, the digital trim indicator on dash shows it's too high (trailer mode).
The numbers change from about 30 to 60 as trim moves up & down.
Per the owner's manual it's not supposed to read above 6 for the Dual Prop model.
Thus the red light is on / blinking and the green indicator lights are off.


The "up" trim on the dash doesn't work unless the middle override button is pushed.
The "up" trim on the throttle doesn't work at all.
The "down" trim works both on the dash and throttle.
The "up" and "down" trim on the dash are reversed ("up" puts the trim down and visa versa).

It does actually trim all the way up and down - so it's functional but annoying.
It's moored on Lake Michigan and it would be a pain to pull it out - so I'm hoping for an on-water solution.
This is what I can access from topside at the transom (plus - of course - the wires under the dash).


I started to troubleshoot this but quickly found myself out of my league.
Could someone explain what all the un-labled boxes on the diagram are and what they do?


How would you start troubleshooting this?
I'm afraid it's the sensor which - per other forums - requires the outdrive to be pulled?

Thanks in advance!!

Dan

 

[jerryjerry05]

If the sensor/sender is working at all,you might not need to replace.
The sender goes through the center of the steering yoke.
There is a hold down keeping it in place.
Try to loosen the hold down and try adjusting it there.
http://volvopentastore.com/ For: DP-C1, DP-D1, SP-C1
The trim sensor and components are all the same.
You might have to get wet.
Luckily the parts are on the top and your in fresh water.
Salt gums them up bad.

Looked at the pic, what boxes?

On the pump are relays with wires sticking out.
WD-40 and unplug and plug in a couple of times.
Clean contacts.

 

[Pesimist]

No Title

Most likely, you're sensor is working properly, the range you are able to achieve (30-60) is a good indicator.

I imagine who ever reassembled your upper gearbox at the last service got lazy and neglected to set the trim gear to cog properly.

Trim your drive down and look for the gear cog (see picture). Removal of one screw will allow you to move the cog slightly so you can turn the trim sensor gear. Might have to trim up slightly to be able to pivot just the bottom of the cog.

Be carefull! The screw might be Teflon, shears easily & there is a threaded bushing under the steering helmet you should hold in place with your little finger.

 

[Scott Danforth]

30-60 is way out of range. my '88 271C reads from -8 all the way in to 43 smashed up against the rubber stop. my assumption is that your sensor is off a by 4 or 5 teeth on the toothed wheel which is easy to do if you pull the drive off, pull the helmet or replace the toothed track or drop the star wheel. The system assumes you are in tilt zone and not the trim zone hence the reason your required to use both the switches

is the plastic toothed track in good shape (on the helmet). if so, is the toothed star wheel in good shape? The manual indicates where the little arrow on the star wheel needs to engage the first tooth on the toothed track when you replace the toothed track

after that, bring the drive level (as shown in the manual). then adjust the sensor until it reads 0. then tighten up the sensor clamp.

 

[DanWag]

Thank you all. I had been thinking electrical but you're unanimous that it's likely mechanical: gear / cog.
I'm heading out today to look - probably won't jump in the drink to fix today (air temp in the 50's & water temp - well - a little cooler...)
I'll let you know what I find.

 

[Scott Danforth]

you may be able to re-adjust in the bilge by laying on the motor, unclamping and readjusting. not sure what angle your transom is at (common is 12 degrees for boats in the 80's and 90's), however if you raise up against the upper stop, and adjust the sensor to an angle reading of 43 degrees, that will get you close enough to verify that is the issue. Then all the way down should be between -7 and -8ish

 

[JT!]

also if you have single prop, make sure your binary switch in the square trim gauge is set to 0100 and not the default 0001 for DP drives. (mine were wrong)

the DP has a narrower range for trim than the SP.

 

[DanWag]

Just wanted to let you know that I finally got around to this (yhe rain stopped for a few hours...) and could adjust it from the top - I just had to take off the "Y" shaped bracket and twist the sensor back/forth. I ended up with a range of -4 to 28. I'll revisit it in the fall during annual maintenance to make sure its OK underneath.

Thank you all for your help!