1985 merc 115 outboard trim

lokonn

lokonn

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
443
I have a new to me 1985 merc 115 w/pt&t. The boat has a guage for trim that was not functioning. Does this motor have a trim sender? The PO said he bought the boat, 1991 Alumacraft Trophy 170, used without a motor and put this 115 merc on it. Would like to know if trim guage will ever function or do I replace with hour meter or something else. Engine wiring harness has tan w/white stripe wire not hooked to anything under engine cover. Leading me to believe not useable or PO didn't know what it was supposed to be wired to. Any info would be helpful.
 
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mercman2

Seaman
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
56
Re: 1985 merc 115 outboard trim

After you run a boat for awhile you learn where the motor trims out at. Who needs a trim gauge anyway. The best investment would be a water pressure gauge if not already equipped . A good yearly service is adequate. You could pay for several water pumps and gear lube changes for the price of an hour meter. As far as the wire goes Merc has several dead end wires under the hood for other instrumentation. ie temp,trim and such just depends on the gauge package the boat is rigged with. Now keep in mind this is just my opinion.Lol your not paying for professional advice here I'm just a weekend warrior who likes to work on boats.
 
lokonn

lokonn

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
443
Re: 1985 merc 115 outboard trim

Mercman2 thanks for the advise. Already purchased water pressure gauge to add to package. Call me crazy, but I was hoping to have everything on dash actually function if possible. So are you saying that the gauge is not going to be functional because mercury did not allow for this at that time, 1985, or that wire was dead ended at motor because original boat the motor was installed on didn't have a trim gauge? I agree with you regarding running the boat and learning where the boat trims out at, this is first boat with this gauge for me and I guess I am a little OCD about wanting to have things functional if they are installed on boat.
 
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mercman2

Seaman
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
56
Re: 1985 merc 115 outboard trim

I may be wrong but I don't think Merc offered a trim sender in 85. If the motor is equipped the sender would be located inside the trim bracket mounted on the left hand side up near the tilt tube. The tube that houses your steering cable.You might be able to install a later Merc trim sender but it might take a little fabrication. As far as the harness goes I don't know if your controls are the original that came with the motor in 85 or if it is a newer control box. They are interchangeable. They use these harnesses on a variety of engine models.
 
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Mi duckdown

Commander
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Apr 14, 2007
Messages
2,575
Re: 1985 merc 115 outboard trim

Trim guage means nothing. If you trim up or down and have a nice ride That is what you want.
 
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wired247

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 8, 2011
Messages
1,557
Re: 1985 merc 115 outboard trim

Trim gauges are handy. If I'm going 70 miles an hour I really don't like having to turn around and see if my rooster tail is where I want it which in my case is about 3 foot off the surface. Much simpler to set the trim sender so that where I want the motor trimmed at is straight up on the gauge.

If its got the integral pump your 115 should have 2 holes on the left side where the sender mounts at the top of the ram where the pivot yoke is. If it has the external pump and hoses, you are hosed. The early inlines only had an on/off limit switch to prevent overtravel and to allow a single push button movement.
 
lokonn

lokonn

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
443
Re: 1985 merc 115 outboard trim

Thanks for the info, will check for sender at locations mentioned, later today.
 
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