Trim stopped working

JAXAM1

Cadet
Joined
Jul 13, 2022
Messages
7
We were out last weekend, and everything was working fine. We were hit by some sideways rain and after that I noticed the trim wasn't working. No sound, no movement up or down and trailer switch doesn't work. I have an Alpha one out drive. I thought it might be the switch. So, I shaved a little insulation off the green wire that I was hoping was down and ran a wire right from the battery to it, nothing. I confirmed the line from the battery has juice. Ideas?
 

airshot

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Messages
5,177
Check the pump itself to see if it works. Check fluid and connections.
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
27,953
Some of those PTT systems have circuit breakers. Some of the PTT motors themselves have circuit breakers inside them.

I would recommend you jumper the PTT motor directly. Do you have a 3 wire (green, black, blue) or a 2 wire (green, blue) PTT motor?
 

JAXAM1

Cadet
Joined
Jul 13, 2022
Messages
7
Some of those PTT systems have circuit breakers. Some of the PTT motors themselves have circuit breakers inside them.

I would recommend you jumper the PTT motor directly. Do you have a 3 wire (green, black, blue) or a 2 wire (green, blue) PTT motor?
3 wire, black, green, blue.
 

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JAXAM1

Cadet
Joined
Jul 13, 2022
Messages
7
Check the pump itself to see if it works. Check fluid and connections.
How should I check the pump? The fluid seems to be fine and as well as the connections. See the pictures I just posted. Thx for the help.
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
27,953
I do not remember if the Alpha 1 PTT units had circuit breakers. You need to look it over. They might have had a large fuse. It would look sorta like the old fashioned main breaker in your parent's house's fuse box. Two copper flat connectors and a square heavy fuse between them.

use some jumper cables and connect battery negative to the black wire as close to the motor as possible. Now connect the battery positive to the blue wire nearest the PTT motor. The PTT motor should turn and the outdrive should trim up.

Connect the battery positive to the green PTT motor wire, and the outdrive should trim down.

if it does, the motor is fine and the solenoids or their wiring or switches are bad.

PTT motors do not last forever, although they do last a long time when sheltered in your bilge.
 

JAXAM1

Cadet
Joined
Jul 13, 2022
Messages
7
Check the pump itself to see if it works. Check fluid and connections.
Hey Guys,
It was the fluid. It was just down a little, so I figured I'd top it off just to see. Closed it back and it worked. THANKS!
 

Chris1956

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
Messages
27,953
OK, so you had an electrical problem, as the PTT motor did not spin. You fixed it by adding hydraulic fluid.

I will go out on a limb and say the electrical problem will be back.
 

tank1949

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Apr 4, 2013
Messages
1,899
We were out last weekend, and everything was working fine. We were hit by some sideways rain and after that I noticed the trim wasn't working. No sound, no movement up or down and trailer switch doesn't work. I have an Alpha one out drive. I thought it might be the switch. So, I shaved a little insulation off the green wire that I was hoping was down and ran a wire right from the battery to it, nothing. I confirmed the line from the battery has juice. Ideas?
check for corroded battery connections/contacts and then for bad solenoid. Noids are easy to test by jumping them. I had a Proline who "ate" noids. You may also have crack in one of the copper wire's insulations. use miltimeter to check voltage coming and going.
 

JAXAM1

Cadet
Joined
Jul 13, 2022
Messages
7
OK, so you had an electrical problem, as the PTT motor did not spin. You fixed it by adding hydraulic fluid.

I will go out on a limb and say the electrical problem will be back.
I thought it was electrical because of the timing. That seems to have been a coincidence. Thanks for the help everyone. It's working normally now and I used liquid electric tape to seal the wire I exposed.
 
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