Trim sender question

The trim guage on my boat started acting up last summer, and eventually stopped working. The tilt and trim still worked fine. The connections at the back of the guage seemed fine, so I'm guessing I need a sender. I removed the drive when I winterized the boat, and the sender looks pretty straight forward to replace. My question is, the drive has two senders. One on either side. I was guessing one is the sender for the guage, and the other is the lmit switch. Should I just replace them both to save the hassle of the other one failing next year? I don't mind spending a little extra in the winter to keep the boat reliable in the summer. <br /><br />1997 Harris Kayot Ultra Deck 22<br />Merc 5.7LX 350hp with Alpha 1 Gen 2 drive. <br />140 hours. Moored in salt water

Re: Trim sender question

You may be able to disassemble it and clean it. Replacing is a chore! And you can only buy them in pairs. The Trim Limiter will have TL on the cap, Trim sender = TS. Try cleaning it first. I find that at least 80% can be fixed ... unless the boat is commonly used in saltwater. Then drop that to 20%. The "moored in saltwater" is a problem. You'll probably need a new one.<br /><br />I'm betting the boat already has one, but if not, get yourself a battery switch and make sure to turn it off anytime the boat is moored. That probably wouldn't have saved the TS, but might have. It WILL prevent many other corrosion problems. But realize that aluminum in saltwater is like an Alka Seltzer tablet in a glass of water. Add electricity and it gets worse. Make certain the boat is fitted with a MerCathode. That's also a big help! That has to be connected so that the battery switch DOES NOT kill power to it, just the rest of the boat and motor. And make sure to maintain those sacrificial anodes!

Re: Trim sender question

check for a break in the wire where the cable<br />goes into outdrive. that is a stress point from up and down movement.<br />javsam

Re: Trim sender question

the only problem with those senders is the silly phillips screws that hold them on.. they sieze in the drive and just wont come out.. if this happens u have to breake the plastic senders off to get at the screws.. even then they are likley to shear off..<br /><br />its the shame they dont do the job properly and use studs with nuts on.. <br /><br />trog

Re: Trim sender question

I'll just get new ones for it. Once you have the trim guage, you miss it when it breaks. I don't want to be bothered with pulling the boat out of the water mid season next year. Should thread sealer be applied to the screw threads to keep water out? <br /><br />The boat sits in a slip from May though September. I replace all the annodes in the spring, then I replace the ones on the rams and the one above the prop in july. Corrosion on the drive really seems to be minimal. Even the paint on the drive has held up suprisingly well. It hasn't flaked off anywhere and still looks shiney. I try to clean it every month (while the boat is anchored in shallow water near a sandbar where we have cookouts). I couldn't believe how good it looked at the end of the season. It could pass for the drive on a 2 year old trailer boat. <br /><br />Electrolosys really isn't too bad at my dock. The boats around me are all mostly day boats, so most people don't run shore power lines. In fact, my dock didn't have electricity all season long due to a pinced wire in the begining of the season. <br /><br />I thought those little screws could be a hassle, but they look clean, and the metal around them is clean. I'll try to get them out with my impact driver, and if they shear or seize, I'll do as trog suggested. <br /><br />Trog: I've seen you post on SAABnet. I take it your a SAAB guy? I've got a side business working on SAABs and selling used parts. Neat old cars! I've probably had 30-40 different ones over the years.

Re: Trim sender question

Before you go breaking the screws off with an impact, use some heat from an Oxy/Ace torch to heat the area around the screws. It melts the the senders, but if you are going to replace them, it doesn't matter. Then put some new screws in. I use Mercs "Perfect Seal" on the threads and have removed the screws several years later with no problem. And that's in salt water.

Re: Trim sender question

I was thinking the torch might be a good idea, I just was concerned they might be something fragile(other than the old senders)around the senders that the torch might damage. I'll heat them up if the screws give me any lip. Thanks Don.<br /><br />Don: I've always been kind of curious, how much of a boating season do you get in Alaska? Isn't it pretty cold all year long?