Trim Issue

[mrwalleye5]

Over the past 3 or 4 years my trim/ tilt, down only, will give me intermittent trouble. Being a tiller I have a foot control as well as the switch on the bottom of cowl. When I say intermittent no more than a couple times a year. I thought it was the foot control so I generally just unscrewed it from floor and gave it a shot of WD-40 on the back of buttons and it would work after some fiddling around…or just leave it and it suddenly starts working again. Last week it did this twice so I’m thinking it is getting more frequent. Last week I tried something different by depressing the down button on the cowl switch quickly multiple times and behold it would suddenly start working. Button feels tight. Question.. would the trim relay cause this problem over this time period or is it likely the switch. I’m seriously considering switching out both relays and the trim switch. This is on a 2007 Mercury Optimax 150.
Thanks for any insight.

[REW]

Replace the relays and the switch. See if you can locate a water proof switch as a replacement, in case the current one is not water proof.


Also, double check every inch of wire, connection and crimps for good connections everywhere to eliminate a wiring or connection fault as the issue.

Good luck

[last chance]

Originally Posted by REW

Replace the relays and the switch. See if you can locate a water proof switch as a replacement, in case the current one is not water proof.


Also, double check every inch of wire, connection and crimps for good connections everywhere to eliminate a wiring or connection fault as the issue.

Good luck

the down solenoid or relay might be the problem. but first I would check all connections for corrosion. look for a green, white powder that could be interrupting current flow. you might even want to go as far as removing and cleaning each connection. at least tighten each connection to make sure they're nice and tight.

[REW]

In addition, check for Black Wire Corrosion.

Black wire corrosion is a condition where ground wires, or black wires on DC power systems when used in a wet and corrosive atmosphere - severe corrosion. The wire - inside the insulation corrodes and essentially turns to mush and doesn't conduct electricity very well.

The only way to know if you have black wire corrosion is to strip the insulation back on suspect wires to check for such signs.

To eliminate the issue, use ONLY tinned wire of the appropriate gauge and insulation coloring for the particular job.

For example:

https://www.amazon.com/16-AWG-Marine.../dp/B07KCNN858

The tinning of the copper wire almost completely eliminates black wire corrosion and is typically used by outboard motor and boat manufacturers to eliminate such issues in boats and motors.

Best wishes

[mrwalleye5]

I reached out to a member on this board and he said to change out the relays. I did and that fixed the trim problem. So if anyone is wondering, a relay can act up for 4 years creating intermittent trim stoppage.The old relays were perfectly clean with no corrosion.