trim pump only clicks when going up, but goes down

[115mirrocraft]

1982 merc 115 HP. Really not sure what part is junk. I have a Quicksilver shifter. One button for trim up and down. And a trailer button. Trailer button and up all I here is a clicking noise. But pump runs if I trim down. Has fluid, full new battery, I can make it trim up by jumping the red battery wire to the blue wire on solenoid on pump, while someone pushes the trim button up. I cleaned all terminals and still does the same thing. Is it the solenoid? And where can I find one with this pump. Can't submit photo this pump was originally installed with my 1973 mercy 115. It appears to only have one solenoid. The plug comming out of the trim pump is three wires. White blue and green. 2 wires run back to the motor and goes to a cover plate held on by 4 5/16 stainleess screws took that apart to find out whatever that spring control thingy is. Is working just fine. Then after the2 wire split its four wires running back to the control box. There is 4 hydraulic hoses running to the pump. One blue wire on the front stub for up. 2 black wires on the other front stub one being - black coming from battery. A thicker blue wire on the stub oppisite side of power stub. And a light green wire held by s screw under that. Hydraulic lines on bottom side of pump. Has reverse lock. Red sticker on side of pump says high pressure pump use on merc 1400 and merc 1500. Phone wouldn't let me submit pic. Just trying to describe pump best i can. Please help and if its a part whrre can I get it.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: trim pump only clicks when going up, but goes down

If only one solenoid, those 4 wires are to completely reverse power to the motor which will reverse it's direction. Let's say you have terminal 1234 on the solenoid and the motor with 2 wires for power (blue and green) and a ground somewhere....white?

To power up you would have say 12v on term 1 and return on say 3. To power down you would have to reverse the power putting return on 2 and power on 4. The solenoid would be a double pole double throw device...DPDT. The center terminals and on relays-solenoids, they are sometimes made differently to distinguish them from the selected terminals, are the outputs to the pump motor. So calling them X1 and X2, in the UP position for example, the relay would be in the relaxed position and 12v would be applied to terminal 1 (from your trim switch) with 3 tied to battery -....return.

For Down position, the control would supply 12v on 2 wires (to two places, probably the large and small blue wires you mentioned...small one to energize the solenoid) which would be on pin 4 to run the motor and pin X1 to energize the solenoid....X2 being return....batt -.

So the clicking you hear in one direction is merely the fact that the solenoid is energized for that trim position and since it is deenergized in the other position you hear no clicking.

This is entirely by ear but possibly you will get the gist of what I am saying.

On finding one, there are a lot of online parts houses including iboats. Otherwise, if you have an old line Merc dealer handy that has been in business through the period, he may have one on the shelf that he will have to dust off to sell to you. Or you might take your chances on the scrap yard.

With what you told me you described what I said in that in one direction you need 2 wires and one is to energize the solenoid. Seems that your smaller second blue (control) wire is getting power to the solenoid, but the larger blue second wire isn't.

For you to have power on that blue wire you have to get power from the remote control switch. You are telling me that the relay energizes, but is not putting power on the blue wire. If you are not getting power to one of your terminals on your solenoid, it cannot go through the energized contacts and out the blue wire. Get your voltmeter out and look for it on the solenoid terminals....but not the small blue wire, look at the large wires. The problem may be a bad switch in the control. I don't know what control you have nor what kind of switch it uses. If it is a 2 pole double throw (DPDT) then that is probably your smoking gun.

So I think you have one of two problems: Bad blue (up) power contact within the solenoid...aka bad solenoid, or bad connection between the solenoid power input for the up drive and the switch power on the remote. I'm pretty confident now, after working through this that my synopsis is correct.
HTH,
Mark

 

[115mirrocraft]

Re: trim pump only clicks when going up, but goes down

Well it got a little weird today. Last night before posting. I took off all terminals and cleaned everything up. Put it all back together and it still would not go up without jumping out the red and blue wire. Stopped at All seasons power sports, my go to guy for old outboard parts. Great guy showed him a picture and he had the part. Come home, rode bikes with the boy eat supper, finally look at changing solenoid, right before I unhook the battery I try it one more time. Low and behold it works up,down up, down up down. Well whatever I tapped on that solenoid 100 times the last 2 days without un sticking it. Go to work, letting it sit all day and it fixes itself. Well atleast I have an extra part think Ill try it to make sure it works as it is used. Then ill put it in a ziplock and keep it in the glove box. And after screwing with it for a day I learned alot. Might come in handy if something like this happens on the water. Thanks to the guys that have gotten back to me the last couple days.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: trim pump only clicks when going up, but goes down

What you have is pitted contacts sticking, aka welding themselves shut. Apparently they are welded to the down side and when you try to energize the solenoid the magnetic part of it sucks on the contacts, but the center contacts won't let go from the down contacts. Your banging just TEMPORARILY broke them loose. Common to all contact controlled devices, like thermostats in appliances and all as they age.

Do yourself a favor and take your new part and install it. The current one will "crap out" on you at the worst possible time.....called Murphy's law and it goes like this.....a verse.....If anything can go wrong it will, and it will happen at the worst possible time.

Mark