help–

grandson has a 80hp mercury –1980–tilt just quit working going up– down ok–any ideas –thanks

does it make any noise ? do anything ?

If its not making any noise when you are pushing the button its probably the that button/switch.

it does make noise

since my last post…this motivated me to go out and fix mine that just started doing the same thing. It was only the switch on the motor that wasn’t working and only in the down direction. I took the switch out, cleaned it, bent the contactors back to make a better connection and put dielectric grease on each contact point. 5 minutes later…works like new again

If it doesnt make noise start with the switch If it does make noise then check the hydraulic fluid

Yep, check fluid level. Also, if it was low, when trying to raise “help” it along if you can by hand, this should draw the fluid you added into the cylinder. Raise and lower it a few times this way and it should be good to go then. If this does not work, then I would guess that you have a plugged/obstructed orifice or line somehwere.

I want to thank all you guys for the help will see what happens thanks again–gene

I have a 1990 60hp Merc. The switch turns on a relay. It’s easy to find, trace the wires. That relay sits in a socket so those contacts can get dirty too. Or the relay can fail. I had a problem the trim/tilt on my motor. To troubleshoot the switches and relay, I disconnected the two leads from the motor and ran them directly to a battery. One polarity turns the motor one way, reversing the leads makes it turn the other way (up and down, right?). If the motor turn OK then the problem was with the switches or wiring. In my case, the problem turned out to be gunk clogging up the hydraulics. A good cleaning and rebuild had it working properly again.

Rootski