Trim Sender

aero3113

My port trim gauge works but only at certain degrees of trim, mostly the upper half of trave and is bouncey. It’s not the gauge, it did it on my old gauge and also with my new one. Has anyone removed the 4 cover screws and cleaned the contacts? I see they sell rotor kit to replace the internals if needed.

https://nuwavemarine.com/oem-quicksilver-mercury-power-trim-rotor-kit-sender-805134a-4/

YYZRC

Subscribed - marina wanted 2 hours of labor per side to replace the trim senders on top of all the other outdrive work (transom assembly rebuild); I had to pass.  I know mine worked in "analog" mode but not sure if they still work after switching over to the VesselView.

PickleRick

I removed the ones from my alpha 1 to clean, i needed new wires too as mine were brittle.  They are easy to remove clean/regrease.  

The adjustments are easy to reset with a helper at the helm.

I ended up buying new ones for about 40 bucks that come with new wiring.  Would be a pita to replace with the motor in place.  

rasbury

I replaced mine when the motor was out...the rubber costing on the wires was falling off...have never worked since...

PickleRick

@rasbury we need an electronics 101 class for you😉

The wiring on the schematic on paper looks different than the way it is run in the boat


So long as no wires were pinched/broken/damaged during install its probably a bad connection at the bullet ends or its so out of adjustment it maxes out the reading

rasbury

Well why would they do that?🤪 I can pretty much go by the sound and feel of the boat and know where the drive is but would like to get back to it and have it work...I did go to the expense of putting new ones on...

PickleRick

On mine one set of wires run to my trim pump and the other runs to the front of my engine were the wiring hardness connects, how are yours ran?

aero3113

I decided to attack this project today, success! I removed the 4 screws and the cover. Then removed and cleaned the contacts and contacts on the rotor. I also bent out the tabs slightly to make better contact. I reassembled the rotor, put some lube on the cover o-ring and screwed the cover back on. The gauge moved so much smoother but still didn’t move the needle to the bottom of the gauge, I then loosened the two screws on the sender puck and adjusted it clockwise slightly, tightened the screws and tested. Now the gauge moves to the full down position! And is equal on both drives throughout the gauges.

aero3113

You can see from the first and last pic how much it needed to be adjusted to get to full down.

PickleRick

I hope your gauge repair went better than mine. My fuel gauge worked before i swapped tanks. P.O. said it was new.  I added fuel for the first time and said empty.  I filled with fuel then removed sending unit twice  before i realized the key had to be in the on position to turn on the gauge, not the accessory position.  Chances are i had it right all along.


I removed it a 3rd time trying to figure our why it pegged full.  On a trailer on a hill, 4 gallons is less than 2 inches from then top of the tank where the sending unit is located.

Aqua_Aura

@aero3113 When I had my bellows done last year my trim gauge no longer shows full down even though I verified the outdrive is down. Would what you replaced possibly be the issue that it's just out of adjustment? I do have Volvo so maybe it's more than slightly different. I probably need to special order something from Europe that is made from meteorites and cost more than the boat. 

aero3113

@Aqua_Aura , I didn’t replace anything. I just cleaned and reinstalled. If I were you, I would put the drive all the way down then only loosen the 2 screws on the puck and rotate it clockwise slightly and relighted. See if that moves the gauge to the full down position. You might have to do it a couple of times to fine tune it. On a Mercruiser the trim sender is on the starboard side, not sure how Volvo does it.

aero3113

I just looked up Volvo drives and it looks like they have the same type of sender on the starboard side.

YYZRC

Volvo are sealed and can’t be taken apart, but adjustment process is the same. Just loosen the 2 screws and rotate the sending unit. 

aero3113

My drives always looked low at the up limit and the starboard drive was slightly higher than port. I checked the measurements and both were way off from the correct measurement of 21 3/4” (center to center of trim cylinder bolt). They were both just a little over 21 with the starboard a little more. I made the adjustments today by turning the port puck counter clockwise slightly and they are now at the correct measurements!

YYZRC

When you rebuilt the pucks, did you fill them with dielectric grease or similar?  Or just left them clean?

aero3113

I left them clean, but made sure I lubed up the o-ring.

Liberty44140

If Anyone does replace them do not paint them, they should not be painted 

Spyderweb

@aero3113 when I had bellows and gimbal bearings replaced last Fall, they also had on the bill "2 trim sender kits".  I asked the mechanic about that and he said, thats basically maintenance considering the age of the boat.  Is the "trim sender kit" basically replacing that whole puck that you took apart?

YYZRC

Spyderweb said:

@aero3113 when I had bellows and gimbal bearings replaced last Fall, they also had on the bill "2 trim sender kits".  I asked the mechanic about that and he said, thats basically maintenance considering the age of the boat.  Is the "trim sender kit" basically replacing that whole puck that you took apart?

The sender kit is the puck and the wiring through the transom. My marina also recommended replacing the senders as part of the bellows replacement.

aero3113

Yes, it’s both the trim sender and limit pucks.

Spyderweb

Thanks guys.  If they’re not adjusted quite right to the gauge, at least I have the confidence to adjust myself now.

aero3113

Yes, @Spyderweb . Nothing to worry about simple for you to do.