Solved - Trim Motor Dead - tried all the regular things to make it work and failed

echandler1971

VP 5.7 GI-E with DP-SM. Trim just plain stopped. There's no click or anything trimming in either direction. First-off, I have no idea the manufacturer nor can I even see a model number from this 2004 era trim assembly.

I checked the 10amp automotive-style fuse on the left side of that plate - it's good. I even went as far as to replace it just in case. I swapped relays with the other pump to no avail. I hooked a 12vdc power supply to the motor and it made noise so I assume it's good. I popped open the boot connector up top and reseated a couple times.
I know that the green wire makes it go down and blue up, but for the life of me, I have no idea what to check next. It seems like it's an issue between the helm and the unit - likely somewhere at the unit. I doubt the thumb switch would have failed in both directions at the same time; hence my doubts its the switch or for that matter, the 2 relays failing at the same exact time.
I don't see a single breaker button popped at either the battery switch or at the bottom of the helm console.
I'm officially out of ideas.

YYZRC

Looks like an OEM Volvo pump part 3586765

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154740270587

Did you check for power at the relays? Swap relays between the pumps to test?

echandler1971

YYZRC said:

Looks like an OEM Volvo pump part 3586765

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154740270587

Did you check for power at the relays? Swap relays between the pumps to test?

Yes I had swapped the relays. I’m going back today with a better tester to ring things out better. Tester on boat has super short leads that I don’t think go deep enough into connectors. 

Grahamu

Bad ground ?

echandler1971

Grahamu said:

Bad ground ?

I’m leaning towards that right now. I rung out the switch loop to the helm switch and it’s good. I have gnd in the power-in boot connector. I’m not sure how to test for it at the relay sockets but i was able to get 12v on some pins, making me think gnd. 

rasbury

Any recent work where something else got unplugged? Your on the right track, I had issue with mine and found the helm handle switch was bad and ended up replacing the selonoids on the pump also. That does not look like merc so assume volvo...what do you have for a limit switch? Can you jump that and see if it is bad? 

Grahamu

Try connecting a wire directly from battery negative to the pump assembly. You could be reading surface voltage with your meter.

echandler1971

Grahamu said:

Try connecting a wire directly from battery negative to the pump assembly. You could be reading surface voltage with your meter.

I tried clamping the frame of the unit to the negative bus to no avail. I'm thinking there's something below the pump inside the metal support structure that's popped out, frayed, corroded, that has broken the ground.

I'm bringing my daughter to the boat to sit at the helm and listen to me yap at her to trim up and down as I check stuff based on this site:
https://www.instructables.com/Troubleshooting-Testing-and-Bypassing-SPDT-Power-/

It's the diagram there that by-far that best explains the system to me. For example, I know I can leave 1 relay in and bridge pins 87 and 30 on the other and I should see it actuate the motor in that direction.

echandler1971

As a refresher, I've
1. swapped relays from port engine trim unit
2. Changed 10amp fuse
3. Tested switch loop to the helm and switch is good in both directions up to the connector boot
4. Tested power in and got power and ground at that point
5. Got 12v to ground bus voltage on various relay pins

Hence thinking ground at the moment. I didn't have the link above till now, so now I can test some more.

YYZRC

Are the connections long enough that you could connect the port wiring to the starboard pump? That would completely rule out the pump as the problem and allow you to focus on the binnacle. 

echandler1971

YYZRC said:

Are the connections long enough that you could connect the port wiring to the starboard pump? That would completely rule out the pump as the problem and allow you to focus on the binnacle. 

I may have to go that route, but tonight, I'm using that link I posted to bypass the relays (and switches) and force the pump to run in both directions. That will rule-in and rule-out a ton of things and give me clues I need to narrow things down to the problem. My biggest problem is family stuff gets in the way, so I have limited times to get to the boat and short times even then, so I do some things, get the data, and go home and research. It's not optimal I know.

rasbury

It is hard to find the time for sure. I've been out of work for about 4 months and don't know how I ever had time for a job...

echandler1971

it’s odd. Ground is missing on some pins but live on others. I’ve decided to get a new one and keep the old for parts. Is there a trick to replacing these? I’m more wondering about bleeding the system and whatnot. 

YYZRC

I replaced mine and just cycled the trim a few times to clear the air bubbles. 

echandler1971

It’s fixed. New unit in place and it had the same issue. I’m still keeping the new one and saving the old for parts. Issue was one of 2 male pins in the power in connector was pushed down into the boot. Needle nose pliers to pull it up and gently connect and magic. 

rasbury

Had the same electrical issue on something else- could not trace where I was losing power- found a connector buried in the harness I had no idea was there..corroded....got a new bilge pump out of it too! I'm a novice but the way these boats are built it's hard to tell what we have to work with...

echandler1971

rasbury said:

Had the same electrical issue on something else- could not trace where I was losing power- found a connector buried in the harness I had no idea was there..corroded....got a new bilge pump out of it too! I'm a novice but the way these boats are built it's hard to tell what we have to work with...

Yeah, the old unit is likely not defective, but I'll keep it for parts, since I'm sure the old one on the port side will eventually have issues. I also found a 50amp push button breaker on the back of the engine where the trim pump gets its power, so I have that in my memory banks now too. Even buying a new pump likely unnecessarily, I probably still saved money over hiring a boat mechanic in this case and I've reset the clock on another part of the boat.

rasbury

Thats the way I look at it...plus half the time your mechanic knows less about the boat than you do!