Johnson Tilt/Trim Problem

[JUSTIN0874]

I dropped my boat in for the first time yesterday. Motor ran great most of the time, but then the tilt/trim started going down all by itself. It got stuck on the down position somehow, and drained my battery. Playing with the button on my controls, it would temporarily stop it from going down, but started again almost immediately. I've heard everything from wiring to solenoids, anyone have any ideas?

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Johnson Tilt/Trim Problem

First thing to do is check the fluid to make sure it's all the way up to the filler hole and then with the screw slightly loose, cycle it up and down 4 or 5 times and re-check it. Add as needed to fill it up.

 

[JUSTIN0874]

Re: Johnson Tilt/Trim Problem

Thank you for the reply. I just had some electrical work done, and thought it may be related. It's a 98 60hp, and I also thought something may be going up in it.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Johnson Tilt/Trim Problem

Does the tilt motor sound like it's trying to raise it when you hit the button or is there no noise at all? If it's trying to raise it, I would check the fluid and we can go from there. If you cannot get the motor to raise up to get to the fill screw, there is a manual relief screw on the starboard side of the lower unit below the mounting bracket in a recessed hole. Loosen it up one turn or so and raise it up manually and then tighen it back up. Don't back the screw out too far....

 

[JUSTIN0874]

Re: Johnson Tilt/Trim Problem

When I try to raise it when it's stuck in the down position, it make no noise at all. The only way I could get it to go up at all was to toggle the switch on the controls repeatedly. Occasionally it would start going up. I'd get the motor all the way up, but as soon as I let go of the up button, the motor would automatically tilt back down on it's own.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Johnson Tilt/Trim Problem

Sounds like you may have 2 problems. One could be a bad switch or connection, loose or corroded relay and the other is what I mentioned above. Does your motor have a tilt button on the motor itself or just at the control?

 

[JUSTIN0874]

Re: Johnson Tilt/Trim Problem

It has tilt controls on the side of the motor. These didn't work at all. The electrical guy replaced a bunch of corroded wires, all the switches on my dash, and installed push button circuit breakers on the dash to replace to fuse type that were already on there. Could be related?

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Johnson Tilt/Trim Problem

It could be. Obviously, the tilt button on the side of the motor should work. Did it work before he did this work? If so, I would trace down the wires from the button on the motor and see where they are going. He may have disconnected them or wired them incorrectly. They could also be shorting out or not making good contact, which would cause problems on the control. Or it may be at the control itself that is causing the problem with the switch on the motor. This is going to be one of those things that you will have to narrow down by checking the wiring. One way to find out if your trim motor is good is to run 12 Volts directly to the tilt motor and see what happens. Disconnect the wires to the trim motor and apply 12 Volts to them. See which way the motor goes(Up or Down) and then reverse the wires and it should move the motor the other way. Also, you may want to try swapping the trim relays and see what happens. This is very easy and you might want to make it your first step. Did the person who did the work get into your control box and do any work? Do you have a Manual to reference the wiring code?

 

[texas_whaler]

Re: Johnson Tilt/Trim Problem

rickdb1boat <br /><br />You helped me with a problem very similar to this and it turned out to be my fluid level...All contacts were fine, the relays and switch seemed to be in good order but it wouldn't move..The average person may not think that lack of fluid would do that, but it does..My question is..Why do you suggest not turning the manual addjustment screw any more than 2 turns? What will happen if you go over that??

 

[texas_whaler]

Re: Johnson Tilt/Trim Problem

rickdb1boat,<br /><br />Why do you suggest not turning the manual addjustment screw any more than 2 turns? What will happen if you go over that??