Tilt and trim problem.

Yesterday I found a problem with my boat. I went to change props and when I hit the up tilt/trim button on motor it hesitated then raised a few inches. The tilt/trim pump motor sounded fine when it ran. After raising a few inches it quit. I can hear the relays on the powerhead click when I push the up button, but that is it. Lowering the motor works fine. I have 3 tilt/trim switches. One on bow, one on control box throttle lever, and another on the side motor. Same story at all 3 switches. I assume a short somewhere. Anyone have any ideas? It worked fine a few weeks ago. Motor is a 96 Mariner 150.

Could be a battery out of juice. Has it been charged over the winter? I’d throw it on the charger and see how it goes from there.

Did you check the oil level? Sounds as if it might be pumping air.

Battery is good. I will check the pump fluid. Thanks guys.

The most likely issue is a bad relay. Or, some motors have a trim limiter that can also cause issues. What motor?

Agree on the relay. Try disconnecting the battery and let it sit for 10-15 minutes, then connect and re-try. Not a perm fix, but might get it going in the short term. Worked for me on a motor I used to have.

-J.

Will try those ideas too. Thank you.

I had the same thing happen a while back on an older Evinrude. Would go one direction and not the other. It was a relay/fuse type item that went bad. The one on my motor was a small box that just plugged in similar to like a fuse would plug in.

Just because a relay is clicking does not mean it is fully functioning. The click is the movement of contacts, it does not mean that they are actually making contact and allowing current to flow.
Many times up and down will be separate identical relays and you can swap relays to check and see if one is faulty. Change the up relay with the down relay and see if your problems/symptoms are then opposite.

If you suspect the motor is the issue you can trace the 2 wires that go into the pump motor and run 12v direct into the motor to see if it operates then reverse the connections and the motor will opposite of what it was spinning prior.

Agreed, it’s most likely the relay. You can switch the relays to find which one is the bad relay. A pretty easy fix.

Good luck

There are 2 identical looking relays attached to the powerhead. Both click. I will start there. Hope it this easy and parts are cheap. Money is tight. Thankyou all. You guys are awesome! This site is special because of you all.

Robby try swapping the relays one for the other. They should be the same and if one is bad it will reverse the problem. They only plug in one way so you can’t put them in wrong. Sometimes when you swap them both functions will start working. If that happens replace both of them. They may be available at an auto parts store. They can tell by the numbers on the relays. Watch out for the ones made in China…. garbage. Good luck.