2003 5.0GL-C / SX-M, Glastron 205 GX: Temperamental Trim System

iBoaters,

I'm having some trouble with my trim system. Having got all of the pieces back together after 10mons of tear down and rebuild, my initial excursion with the boat was delayed by a trim motor that didn't work. I kind of expected it as the boat had sat untouched for roughly four years (previous owner). With a fresh battery hooked up, I could hear both of the relays clicking when depressing the trim switch, but no motor functioning. I cleaned all the ground connections and was able to get it to work reliably (in the drivewaywithout any troubling symptoms.

I took the boat out for a shakedown run on Sunday and, after about 10minutes underway the trim up stopped working. Momentarily pressing trim down would activate the motor. Pressing up (requiring much more energy) resulted in nothing. Got it back to the dock, and the same pre-functioning symptom existed - pressing the trim up switch resulted in a "click" at the relay, so I'm assuming all fuses are intact. In an effort to troubleshoot and get the drive up, I flip-flopped the lines (pressing the switch down to trim the motor up). It worked for the two seconds I kept the switch depressed. I stopped to check if the motor was indeed trimming up, which I believe it did. Trying again to continue and I got the same "click". I ended up having to disconnect the lines and ratchet the drive up with a come along (phew!).

I haven't yet gone through a full diagnostic process per the instructions on the sticky thread. Primarily because the relays are such a PITA to unplug (any tips?). I suspect that since I could get the motor to work in one direction, I might be current limited. My first plan is to try and clean/replace the admittedly shoddy looking connections on the power side.Do you think this could be bad relays? I hate to admit, but I ran the boat without the seat and lay-out platform, i.e. the motor and battery were subject to sea-spray. This was primarily to allow for ease of access and viewing (this has all been my first go-round); I realize now that this is not the way to go.

Any suggestions/comments as to likely culprits and fixes would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Joe

Re: 2003 5.0GL-C / SX-M, Glastron 205 GX: Temperamental Trim System

Have you checked the relay pins and sockets for corrosion? Could also be the motor is corroded inside. How does the pump look from the outside? any rust? Does the trim pump motor ever get wet?

Re: 2003 5.0GL-C / SX-M, Glastron 205 GX: Temperamental Trim System

Don, for your sake I wish you had a nickel for every time you suggested that corrosion might be the source of an electrical issue and it turned out that was correct. I cleaned up the relays and the battery terminals and the motor operates without a hitch...in the driveway.

Under load - i.e. when the boat is on plane and going anything above the minimum speed required to stay on plane, the sterndrive is practically unresponsive in the "up" direction. I believe the motor is running, but the trim does not move up significantly - with the limit being about the lowest eighth to quarter of travel. Also discouraging is that it will lose position over time on plane, i.e. the drive migrates down. Trims down fine. Slowing to get off plane and the motor trims up fine. I suspected a potential leak - so I devised a complicated test procedure of having a friend and I stand on the outermost edge of the cavitation plate (?) - and the drive trimmed up without any sort of difficulty - and no discernible leaks, though I suppose that 350 cantilevered pounds is significantly less than the hydrodynamic force it sees on plane. Then I thought I may not have properly bled the system, so I removed the cap to the reservoir and cycled the drive about 5x's (each time produced a bubble at the mouth of the reservoir). Maybe I'm still current limited?

Thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Re: 2003 5.0GL-C / SX-M, Glastron 205 GX: Temperamental Trim System

Iboaters,

Turns out my symptoms are symptomatic of a common problem:
http://forums.iboats.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=106449&d=1312641139

Unfortunately, after taking apart my (mostly functioning - but leaking-down) trim pump and reassembling it, I reverted back to square one - relays would click and the drive wouldn't move. I made another attempt at cleaning the battery terminals and relay blades; frustrated with the inability to clean the relay jacks (due to the small blade plug), I tried putting in a few drops of Coke, letting it sit for a minute or two and blowing out with compressed air. It seemed to fix everything, so I towed the boat over to the launch and lo and behold, on trying to lower the trim into the water to start the engine, it didn't work. Jiggling the relay did get it to work (albeit inconsistently) - the drive still exhibited the tendency to leak down when running on plane (yes, I took it out).

Long story short. I still have the leak down symptom, but I really think it's a current limitation issue triggered by crummy electrical connections or a bad relay. Any thoughts or recommended tools/chemcials on how to clean the deep, small dia electrical connections would be greatly appreciated. Are relays known work intermittently, i.e. should I replace them, or are they a go/no-go type of component?

Thanks,

Joe