mercruiser I/O trim sensor

[freedive]

on the starboard (trim position sensor) ,there are a pair of wires ,one with a male connector and the other with a female connector . i want to hook the sensors for my 2 outdrives up to trim position gauges . i believe that one wire is a 12v feed and the other is the sensor going to the gauge . how do i know which is which ? there was never any wiring for the sensor or limit switch . is there a test for the identification of them .

 

[Chris1956]

Alpha one drives have the trim limit switch on one of the outdrives pivot, and the trim sender on the other outdrive pivot. Pull off the plastic covers over them and you should see what kind of condition they are in, and which is which. Since they are exposed to the water, they can degrade.

Each of them will have one wire and will be grounded to the outdrive.

 

[freedive]

had to buy new sensor and limit switch . i'm not hooking up the limit switch just need the trim position sensor to tell me what position my outdrives are in .

 

[Chris1956]

So, if you had them apart, use a test light or ohmmeter to trace the wire from the inside of the boat to the trim sensor.


BTW - those trim gauges when new are not real accurate. The best you they do is tell you when your outdrive is all the way down or all the way up. Both of those you can hear rom the sound of the trim motor. Trim for cruising is best done by feel, sound and handling.

 

[freedive]

don't they make a gauge that is accurate ? i have twin I/O's with diesels . thought it was trimed out , stopped to look at what the I/Os were doing . there was a 3-5 degree difference between the 2 which isn't good for optimum performance .