1991 mercury tilt problems

1975oday22

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Sep 2, 2022
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598
mercury 115hp 2 stroke, my tilt will not work unless my engine is running. will not work without it. battery is fully charged, button presses make solinoids click thats it. any ideas?
 

brodmann

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Jun 17, 2008
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Sounds like your tilt/trim is wired to only work with the key in the "ON" position. Have you tried using it with the key on, but motor not running? That's annoying when getting ready to trailer or launch the boat. Is this a new problem, or has it always been that way?
 

1975oday22

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Sounds like your tilt/trim is wired to only work with the key in the "ON" position. Have you tried using it with the key on, but motor not running? That's annoying when getting ready to trailer or launch the boat. Is this a new problem, or has it always been that way?
i didnt notice this untill after i had the motor running with tilt working. i tried with the key on but nothing except clicks. i will get a video of it tommorow . to show you what i mean.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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Clicking is sign of bad connection
 

1975oday22

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my wires to battery are clean as well as the posts. i will open the cowl and check the connections to solinoids tomorrow
 

1975oday22

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just checked the solinoids. they look ok but im seeing a jumled mess of posative wires and looks to me like a frayed brown wire, any thoughts on whats going on here in the pics?
 

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1975oday22

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ok heres some more pics of the wiring im at my wits end . anyone have a pic of their wiring that has a mercury 115hp 2 stroke. around the 90s? all connections are clean. and still no go with the engine not running. tilt still just clicks. i have checked the solinoids and they all read fine with my meter.
 

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1975oday22

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that frayed wire is actually black ground. wich goes into motor harness. thinking shrink wrap might repair this? other wise id have to pull the pin. as for all connections. they are all clean.
 

1975oday22

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anyone have any ideas? all those reds connected to the down solenoid? should they be connected to the starter solenoid?
 

Faztbullet

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That ground is bad from high resistance for reason...replace all the black grounds. The round solenoid is engine starter
 

1975oday22

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can you elaborate more on this please? this is how i got the boat motor combo. the motor runs as is, how do i remove the melted black from the harness? and when you say all grounds? you mean the ones that shouldnt really be there in the first place? as the solenoids are grounded already to the motor itself? if you need a full shot of the wiring side i can do that tommorow so maybe you can point out all the grounds that should not be there...?
 

1975oday22

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That ground is bad from high resistance for reason...replace all the black grounds. The round solenoid is engine starter
yes i know the round is starter solenoid. the white ones are trim. and for some reason i do not think those ground wires are supposed to be on live contacts? meaning the opposite pole from green and blue wires.? as i believe the same goes for starter solenoid? as the solenoids are grounded by bolts into the mounting plates ? am i correct in this thinking?
 

1975oday22

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here is what i am thinking. these grounds should not be there? as those would also be live feeds ? would they not? also the thick red wire going from the battery connection on solenoid to the trim solenoid, should that not be paired up with the yellow going to starter?
 

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Last edited:

airshot

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Some connectuons in your pics look a little corroded...what is battery voltage...needs 12.7 volts to be full !!! Below 12 volts is considered dead
 

1975oday22

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Some connectuons in your pics look a little corroded...what is battery voltage...needs 12.7 volts to be full !!! Below 12 volts is considered dead
12.6 is what my voltage monitor says.
as for corroded i took all wires off one at a time and saw they were clean . just some black crap rubber was on the outside of the connectors. i even sanded a few wires just to be sure. that still doesnt answer my question as to my thinking. am i right in thinking what i am?
 

1975oday22

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as for the wires you are referring to can you edit them with markings so i can see what you see?
 

1975oday22

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heres a thought. : i noticed that my negative battery cable is running to the starter. not the solenoid ground. is this a cause of something? maybe the smaller black wire that melted? just watched a video of a guy hooking up his solenoid to his outboard and his negative is to the starter solenoid.
 

1975oday22

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in my repair manual it shows that the black wire that is melted is supposed to be on the bolt not the small pole on the starter solenoid. nothing goes on second small pole according to the manual. i will be taking all solenoids off one at a time and cleaning them on bench grinder (wire wheel) then using my drill with wire brush to clean all wires today.
 

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1975oday22

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got everything cleaned up and put back together. removed the ground pin replaced the wire.(female plug) now having a hard time putting it back in place. any thoughts? the pic is just one solenoid . but all of them are done and wires are clean as well. also done the plate where they all go.
 

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