Evinrude XP-150 Trim has no power

[MASTER Brian]

My 86 Ranger 373v with E XP-150 worked fine last time out, which I hate to say was last year. It now has no power to the trim. I lowered it before winter and tarping the boat. I'm finally trying to get her out, so I can hit the lake this summer while time still left, but the trim won't raise or lower. Just has zero power. I checked for fuse in the hull, but find nothing. I get power to other things, like horn, bilge(s), etc....they're all fine. My battery is a bit low and I've had it on charger for an hour now.....charger showing 25%. Is it likely still too low to operate or should I look elsewhere?

 

[MASTER Brian]

Doing some digging and I'd think it'd have to be a fuse, which I can't find....unless there are some under the console, which I haven't looked under yet. There are two relays in the relay box for the tilt/trim and my understanding is one is for up, the other for down. I have neither, so for now I'll discount those, but I did flip flop them just to see if it might wake something up. I will also rule out switches, as I have one up front at the bow, the one on the control unit and there is one at the engine. None of them work and they are wired independently of each other I believe as years ago I wired the one onto the engine cowl and it just wires in on the contacts.

I guess maybe I need to check for power at the relay's, but I have to figure out what to check for and where.

 

[racerone]

Find a 20 amp fuse near the starter motor solenoid.-----Black rubber plug.

 

[MASTER Brian]

Find a 20 amp fuse near the starter motor solenoid.-----Black rubber plug.

Think I found the one you mention. Kind of shaped like a bullet and really short fuse. It tests good and I get 12v to each red lead going to each relay. ****I ohm'd the fuse and I also placed it in the hot side of holder and took a reading through the fuse and got 12v.

 

[dingbat]

I ohm'd the fuse and I also placed it in the hot side of holder and took a reading through the fuse and got 12v.

What was the actual voltage you got?

A 12V battery is 12.7V fully charged. By the time its reaches 12 volts you effectively have a dead battery

 

[MASTER Brian]

What was the actual voltage you got?

A 12V battery is 12.7V fully charged. By the time its reaches 12 volts you effectively have a dead battery

Well it was just under 12v i think. I'll go back and check in while. Battery is showing 60% charged on the charger. It was low. I wondered if too low, but everything else was working and my basically dead batteries, in the past that i soon replaced, would almost always activate the trim/ tilt system. Hmmm..... this battery isn't that old, but i can try one of the others i suppose. I'll give this a few more hours to finish charging.

 

[MASTER Brian]

I checked it again, battery showing about 70-75% charge and I am getting 12.04vdc at the red wire(s) at each solenoid. I still get nothing. The switch at the motor I thought had a click feel in the past, it doesn't now, but I did unhook with no change. As I said, I added that switch a dozen years ago, so it's not needed for the system to work. I guess I need to figure out which pin to check when I flip the switch to see if power going through relay. ie, which wire should be hot going to the trim motor and see if it's getting power.

 

[MASTER Brian]

If for some reason the motor is out on the trim, is that fixable or not?

 

[dingbat]

Well it was just under 12v i think. I'll go back and check in while. Battery is showing 60% charged on the charger.

60% charged means absolutely nothing......
A bad battery with a 60% charge is still a bad battery. You need to load test a battery to determine it's actual condition.

Yes, trim motor are replaceable. Had to swap mine out this Spring.

 

[MASTER Brian]

60% charged means absolutely nothing......
A bad battery with a 60% charge is still a bad battery. You need to load test a battery to determine it's actual condition.

Yes, trim motor are replaceable. Had to swap mine out this Spring.

Ok, well without the charger on the battery it tests out at 13.3v or somewhere close to that. I checked at the battery terminals, at the solenoid and then at the red wires in solenoid box for the trim. Everything else seems to work, have not tried firing boat as I don't want to mess with water right now, but I see no other issues with battery. I might try one of the trollers later, but not quick/easy task.

I'm thinking either both(seems odd) relay's went out or there is a fuse or the trim motor went out on me. I know which harness comes up from trim motor and there are 2 larger wires on one set and two smaller wires on the other. I just need to track which should be getting voltage and which shouldn't to see if motor getting voltage. I'm not sure it is.

It's hot as heck out and trying to check in between work without getting drenched in sweat and I have no help on site right now.

 

[MASTER Brian]

Found this.....

Troubleshooting, Testing and Bypassing SPDT Power Trim Tilt Relays for Boats

Troubleshooting, Testing and Bypassing SPDT Power Trim Tilt Relays for Boats: Troubleshooting, Testing and Bypassing SPDT Power Trim Tilt Relays Does the electric trim and tilt pump motor not move at all? Does the electric trim and tilt pump motor only run in one direction, only up or only...

www.instructables.com

To test the motor itself, bypassing the relays and relay wiring, find the two heavy gauge wires that lead to the trim/tilt pump motor. One should be green and the other blue. You will probably be able to find a quick disconnect plug near where the wires exit the outboard engine cover that you can disconnect. Ground one wire to any metal surface and provide +12 volts from the battery to the other. The motor should run in one direction or the other. Now reverse the wires and the motor should run in the other direction. This will at least tell you if the motor is operating, so that you will have a better idea of what the actual problem might be. You can also pull out a relay (one at a time) and place a temporary wire jumper inside the relay socket across terminal 87 (the +12DC input voltage source) and terminal 30 (the outgoing wire to the trim/tilt pump motor) to make the motor run. It is worth repeating here: The voltage and current flows through BOTH relays, therefore when testing be sure you have a complete circuit.

 

[dingbat]

Ok, well without the charger on the battery it tests out at 13.3v or somewhere close to that.

Meaningless..... its a surface charge.
Easy test.....measure battery voltage while trying to use the trim function.

If the voltage drops you have a bad battery or trim motor.

If the voltage doesn't change, there is something open (fuse, switch, relay, wire) in the circuit.

 

[greggilo]

Think I found the one you mention. Kind of shaped like a bullet and really short fuse. It tests good and I get 12v to each red lead going to each relay. ****I ohm'd the fuse and I also placed it in the hot side of holder and took a reading through the fuse and got 12v.

For test purposes find the wires coming from the tilt/trim. Use a jumper wire and from the 12V source touch the green wire and then blue wire momentarily. If the tilt works down and up respectively then it is a solenoid or wiring problem- maybe the tilt switch?