Re: [omc-boats] OMC Sterndrive Tilt trobleshooting

Hi,

I recently experienced the exact same symptom. One week at the lake the tilt
had worked in fine in both up and down directions, the next week it would
only "click" (the relay) and I couldn't get it back down. Good News: The
click indicates the helm control switch and it's wiring is OK. Bad News:
Problem is most likely the TILT MOTOR, the UP/DOWN relays or the FUSE (if
present). But all I want to do is go boating......

Before doing anything... Please heed the following precautions:

Before doing any electrical work on your boat, I'd offer this advice: 1)
PLEASE Always disconnect the battery!! 2) Remove cable connector dirt and
oxidation by cleaning connector surfaces with an approved electrical contact
cleaner, then test with ohmmeter for lowest resistance. 3) Snap a photo of
the relay wiring as an aid to reconnecting the wires properly. 4) Have a
hard copy of the wiring diagram handy. 5) Replace one relay at a time and
test before replacing the second relay.

Let's get started:

1) In an emergency, you can always remove the three bolts that retain the
quadrant (crescent) gear that holds up the sterndrive. (This assumes that
you have clearance on your trailer to back down the ramp without dragging
the lower unit skeg.) Taking the gear off while you are in the water is a
bit more challenging! Off course, once the gear is removed you can not raise
or tilt the leg back up. Some of the early tilt motors featured an emergency
"handwheel," which permitted manually turning the motor shaft by hand, a
very slow process, indeed. Try looking for it next time you head's buried in
the port-side engine compartment.

2) Make sure you have clean and tight connectors for the high-current
positive supply (heavy 8 or 10 ga ) cables from the battery (via the starter
connection). These cables connect to the Up and Down tilt relays on the top
of the intermediate gear housing. The relays can and do typically fail on
their high-current output contacts. In other words their control coils still
"click" when the helm switch is activated, but they fail to "switch" on
their high-current output which connect or switch the battery supply feed to
the tilt motor.

It is rare that both relays fail simulantaneously. Take a voltmeter or a
test light and check that you have (+) supply voltage on the large binding
post of the relay that has the Large 8 -10 gauge GREEN or (RED on later
models) cable. Then move your test probe to the other large binding post (on
the same relay) and take a reading while holding the helm tilt switch in the
appropriate UP or Down position. If you see voltage here at the relay, then
move on to the motor connector. If the motor connector reading proves good,
I'd test the motor or its external ground.

If your tilt motor still runs/responds only to the UP switch (assuming it is
not jammed tightly against the rubber stop) then you should immediately
suspect the relay or control switch, as the motor should work in either
direction.

Also, a good way to remember OMC tilt wiring color scheme, BLUE-(Sky is UP);
GREEN -(Grass is DOWN). The Motor is Bi-directional and externally grounded.
Power on the BLUE wire rotates it up, Power on GREEN rotates it down. If it
helps, you can find wiring schematics for these circuits at:
http://www.hhscott.com/evinrude/wiring.htm

BTW, I don't know specifically about your 1970 model, but in 1971 (possibly
earlier) OMC got smart and started protecting the tilt motor high current
circuit with a 50-amp fuse, so you know that tilt motor can draw some
serious juice. I highly recommend this modification to earlier OMC/E/J
sterndrive owners for peace of mind. If the fuse is blown, all you would
hear is the relay clicking in both the down and up switch positions. The
fuse circuit is visible in this drawing:
http://www.hhscott.com/evinrude/images/wiring/73_OMC_V8_all_big.jpg

Before changing out relays, I'd offer this advice: 1) Always disconnect the
battery! 2) Remove cable connector dirt and oxidation by cleaning connector
surfaces with an approved electrical contact cleaner, then test with
ohmmeter for lowest resistance. 3) Snap a photo of the relay wiring as an
aid to reconnecting the wires properly. 4) Have a hard copy of the wiring
diagram handy. 5) Replace one relay at a time and test before replacing the
second relay.

The most typical failure is the relay or fuse, but tilt motors can also
fail. Fortunately all of these parts are still available. Current BRP
Evinrude/Johnson Relay (aka Solenoid) part number is 0586180.

Lee Shuster
Salt Lake City

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Sweeney" <mike.s.sweeney@...>
To: <omc-boats@...>
Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2005 8:41 AM
Subject: [omc-boats] Tilt... won't...

> Picked up a "new" 1970 Reveler. Can't seem to get lower unit down. I hear
> a
> solenoid click, but nothing from the tilt motor. Could it be stuck, or
> disconnected somewhere? Your thoughts appreciated
>
> Mike
> -----
> To get off this list send mail to omc-boats-unsubscribe@...
>
>

-----
To get off this list send mail to omc-boats-unsubscribe@...
Received on Saturday, 17 September 2005