Motor tilt/trim problem

I have a 1998 Mariner 50 hp 4 stroke. My problem is that the motor will always tilt down, but sometimes it won’t go up. It doesn’t matter which switch I use, when it doesn’t work it clicks like the tilt motors trying to start, but it won’t budge. Then sometimes I can come back 10 minutes later and it will work just fine. Anybody else ever have this problem? My next step is to look into getting a new tilt motor.

Thanks
Dave

Dave i had that problem ona older merc come to find out the brushes in the electric motor were sticking. So I took out the elec motor and had it rebuilt. It’s a lot cheaper than buying a new one

Remember keep your lines in the water were all in this together

Dave,

I very recently went through kind of the same thing but with a 1994 Mercury 40 hp and I ended up having to replace pretty much the whole tilt/trim. Mercury has changed tilt motor manufacturers at least twice in the past 10 years and finding just the motor for some of these units is almost impossible. Luckily I was able to locate a rebuilt motor/pump and cylinder but it still ended up costing me almost $500.00. A new unit would have been in excess of $1,000.

When my tilt/trim motor was going bad it would do exactly what yours is doing. It gets progressively worse. I ended up having to tap on the motor housing with a screwdriver to get it to run. Finally it stopped working all together. You may be able to have the tilt motor reworked. I know of one guy who has done a few but he does not guarantee them because he tells me getting them sealed back up water tight is very difficult.

Hopefully you can find a new tilt motor for your boat without having to replace the entire unit.

Eyehunter

Dave,

I’ve had the same thing happen to my old 150 Johnson and my current 175 Evinrude. I had 2 switches (selenoids) to check, they are small black relay switch looking selenoids about 1 inch in diameter, one controls up and the other down. Pull your cowling off, hit the trim button, feel the one that is clicking when you are trimming up, pull and replace. $20 selenoid, most boat dealers carry spares. Hope this is your problem and not your tilt and trim.

Jason

Thanks guys, I’ll take the solenoid out tonight and see if I can get a new one.

I changed the up relay last night and it works like a champ! Thanks guys.