trim gauge wiring

[danfrompgh]

I was noodling around in the search section and came across an unrelated subject that caught my attention. Now I don't know the exact parts names, I will try to paint a clear picture for my question.
On both sides of my outdrive near the gimbal are 2 plastic caps with indentations on them. Two wires are coming out from between the cap and inside is what looks to be sliding metal contacts. If I had a trim gauge is this where the reading comes from. I do note their locations when I removed them to clean old grease and relube yearly. Does it really matter anyway like I said if I dont have a trim gauge or,what purpose do they serve?
Cmon Spring and shoot the Groundhog that said 6 more weeks.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: trim gauge wiring

If you can't see the engine/drive from the helm, then a trim gauge serves a useful purpose. You look at the gauge to see if the drive is up or down. Once under way, it's the seat of your pants and the tach that tells you whether the trim is set correctly. The gauge merely tells you where the engine/drive is trimmed. It does not tell you where the engine/drive is SUPPOSED to be trimmed. Yes -- what you are looking at is the trim sending unit. The issue with a trim gauge is that one setting is never correct for all load situations. As you add people, the boat will likely require a different trim setting.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: trim gauge wiring

Dan, it sounds like you have a Mercruiser. One side is the trim gauge sender and the other is the trim limit switch. The sender is a variable resistor (rheostat) and the trim limit switch is adjustable to set when you want the trim to stop. Both of these devices tend to break after some years since they are in contact with the water.

After you have some experience with the boat on the water, you will be able to feel the trim change the boat's pitch. Trim until you have a light feeling in the steering wheel, the speed increases and the nose is up a bit in calm water. Trim in in rough water to cut the waves with the bow. On some boats the trim makes little difference.

 

[danfrompgh]

Re: trim gauge wiring

Thank you both. Since Iv'e never had the gauge on this boat I don't miss it and I'm fine with the seat of my pants feel/speedo/tach approach. I wasn't aware that one side is the limit side and will be sure to always return the cover to its original setting.