Lift motor problems???

[Fireman7777]

Hi All,
I have an 88 sunrunner 175b with a volvo penta AQ131D / 275. During the summer, I started having problems with the inline fuse blowing for the tilt motor. This is frustrating, and could be disastrous depending on where I am and how fast I'm coming in when I start trying to raise the outdrive. I ended up putting a jumper over the fuse temporarily (and ran the motor sparingly) towards the end of the summer so that I wouldn't be surprised by a failure to lift. I suspect that the motor is just getting worn out and is drawing more power than the fuse can handle. I haven't been able to find any short in the wiring...it all looks good to me. What do you all think? Tired motor in need of replacement, or should I check something else first?

Thanks!

 

[intrepidvoyager]

Re: Lift motor problems???

The fuse is probably blowing due to too much resistance somewhere ...either in the electrics or fluid part/pistons

TRY THESE

1 ..... try a diff fuse ..DO NOT RUN WITH A JUMPER ...you could burn out a perfectly good motor !!!

2 ...... check ALL wiring for any sign of corossion ...pin plugs etc.... that means right to the switch/relay ...if you can, change the relay, some boats they are cheap.

3 ....... detach the pistons from the leg and make sure the leg moves up and down without excessive force ...the bearings may be compromised.

4 ....... change the trim pump fluid.

 

[captmello]

Re: Lift motor problems???

The tilt on those drives is for taking the boat out of the water without damaging the lower unit or for maneuvering in shallow water at idle speed only. It is in no way for trimming the outdrive at speed. My policy with my tilt, since I've already had to rebuild it once, is never tilt unless you're in neutral first, and only half way up at the most while the engine is running, and never operate the boat above idle speed once the outdrive is up half way. If you need to reverse, the lift must be all the way down. No exceptions to these rules.

Now, under what conditions does the fuse blow? Only when your moving and try to tilt the outdrive?

 

[ButchC]

What size fuse do you have?

What size fuse do you have?

What size fuse do you have? For a 280 the fuse size for the lift motor is 20 amp. Could someone have put in a smaller fuse?

Butch

 

[Don S]

Re: Lift motor problems???

There are 2 fuses in the system, which one is blowing?

 

[Fireman7777]

Re: Lift motor problems???

Well, first off...I agree. I never attempt to use the tilt to trim the boat out. It's just not designed for that. I always have it all the way down in reverse so I don't have the out drive flopping around, and I never drive with it more than half way up because I don't want to beat that joint up at an extreme angle. Also, I believe this is a mechanical setup, not hydraulic. I just jumped the fuse as an emergency fix so that I wouldn't get myself into a sticky situation and ruin my prop/outdrive or suck a bunch of junk in through my water system.

The only time that I run the tilt is if I'm coasting in to shore, or if I'm slowly maneuvering in shallow water (usually fishing) or if I'm removing seaweed. So far, I have only had the fuse blow when I am trying to raise it. It has a 20 amp fuse in it now. I think it had a 15 amp fuse the first time it blew. It is a large 5AG fuse. As far as I can tell, all my wiring is good. Everything stays nice and dry, and I haven't run into any corroded wiring. I have looked at the wiring all the way up to the switch on the throttle handle, and everything looks good.

As you can see in this picture, there is a fuse and a 40 amp circuit breaker. So far, the circuit breaker has never popped. It has just been the fuse.

Tired motor drawing too much?

 

[intrepidvoyager]

Re: Lift motor problems???

Ya ...you've got a mechanical lift .....anyway you're wiring looks spiffy .... I no nada about this set up ...however.......

To diagnose whats drawing too many amps in general ................. if you can borrow an in line clip on amp meter you can see what the trim/tilt motor is drawing versus what its rated for. If its drawing too many amps at least you have isolated to the motor. Another way is to figure out the voltage drop (when you operate the motor) for example drawing 5 amps ...that would be tilt going down say .....loaded is about 11.96 volts against a benchmark of 12 volts .....at 30 amps loaded voltage about 11.8 at 40 amps about 11.7 ........ so if you have higher than say a .25 volts drop well you can see that somethings wrong ...... try both voltage drop test just as is then try with jumpers from battery direct to motor ..... if a diff then the wiring is the problem ..... if not then motor or tilt mechanism.

PS ...are you sure the actual leg worm drive is not binding due to corossion etc

 

[intrepidvoyager]

Re: Lift motor problems???

OK ..........spoke to a buddy that's got one ..as was previously said ...this set up is NOT FOR TRIM ..... only to lift leg with NO resistance ...as in neutral or on the hard ...... also if you don't use much they can get sticky so make sure the whole set up is clean and lubed.

 

[Fireman7777]

Re: Lift motor problems???

Cool, Thanks Intrepid! I'll try that. I wouldn't mind an excuse to buy a multimeter with the clamps anyway! Also, I may take that shaft out and make sure it's lubed up good. It doesn't seem to bind up at all, so I don't think that's a factor, but it's worth looking into. When it's going up and down, it goes at a nice smooth steady pace and doesn't bog down anywhere. If it does turn out to be the motor, looks like the cheapest I can get them online is about $140. I'll look into some local places to see if the motor can be remanufactured. Thanks for all the help guys! I'll post up on what the problem is after I try all this stuff. Right now the boat is still in storage, so I don't really have good access to work on it. I'll get it out in a couple weeks.

 

[intrepidvoyager]

Re: Lift motor problems???

most often a motor draws max amps at start up ...that might be a clue ...can you pull the motor apart ..... you may have a bit of corrosion in the commutator / brushes area.

 

[Fireman7777]

Re: Lift motor problems???

yeah, the fuse has always blown right when I hit the switch to raise the drive. Not in the middle of raising the drive, and never when lowering.

 

[intrepidvoyager]

Re: Lift motor problems???

OK .....so you got some resistance on start up ..... you should have some kind of gear reduction in the motor assembly ....could be planetary or some such ...so you might have crud on the gears .....or dirty brushes/commutator or maybe armature bearings are shot or need lube.

would be good if you can pull the motor apart and check .... also look for corrosion on the internal wiring or sometimes burnt brush holder due to brushes being replaced poorly.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Lift motor problems???

After 20+ years the lift mech will need to be removed,dis-assembled and lubed.Then the release mechanisim willl need to be cleaned. The pivot pins lubed.Then the motor might work.
Where the lift mech. meets the outdrive the soft aluminum might be smushed around the release pin.If so clean it out.
If that don't help then a motor will be needed.J

 

[Fireman7777]

Re: Lift motor problems???

Thanks guys! I'm going to patch the ding I have in the bottom of the boat, then get the boat positioned back on the trailer properly. Once I get it out of storage (in the next couple weeks) I'll work on taking out that tilt mechanism and going through it to make sure it's all clean and lubed. I'll also take apart the motor to look at the brushes and armature. Thanks for the tips! Once I do all that stuff, I'll post back about the results.

 

[captmello]

Re: Lift motor problems???

Have a look at this thread, May be some useful info in there.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=307304

Unless you have experience with electric motors, I doubt you'll be able to recognize anything wrong with your tilt motor. I'd suggest bringing it to a starter/alternator shop for testing. Thats what I did. I ended up buying a new one hear on Iboat. Sierra aftermarket motor.

Good Luck!!

 

[Fireman7777]

Re: Lift motor problems???

Aha! Thanks! I should've found that before I started posting in here.