Erratic trim gauge

richee1

My trim gauge bounces all over the place when trimming the boat. 2015 EC260. It settles down after a while. Could I have a loose ground in the gauge circuit? Where would the ground be?

212rowboat

guessing a b3? 

first check you didn't lose a bolt holding the sensor/sender to the drive... each have two of them, they cover your hinge pins. if you lost one or they backed out enough to allow you to lose position, it's simply a matter of finding the right reading and re-securing them (use blue loctite)... 


one side of the bell housing is a sender, to your gauge, the other side is a sensor- to limit the travel for your pump.  they are a PITA to swap, unless you have unusually long and thin fingers... 

the wiring passes through the transom plate at noon, just above the joint bellow... they have a little wedge plastic grommet that matches the opposing sensor/sender, and plugs the hole... there is a bolt (can't recall, think it's 8mm, 7mm, 5/16 or 11/32) that holds the wiring outside the boat.  on the inside, they route one to the big harness, the other directly to the trim motor.  

it's hella easier to remove the drive and take care of this- which is to remove the two screws that holds the sensor/sender to either side of the bell housing hinge pins, remove them while noting which side goes to which side (that is kinda important) and then reinstaling them by running them inside from outside- pulling them taught into the hole (those little grommets) and bolting them down... then replugging the interior, using prior routing... then reinstall drive, trim either all the way up or all the way down, turn the wheel inside the sensor/sender to top or bottom (whichever way the drive is set) and shove it in the hinge pin socket... bolt it down... go along your merry way!

Handymans342

What if the screw hole threads are gone????

212rowboat

Handymans342 said:

What if the screw hole threads are gone????

then it's time to extract and re-tap... not a big deal, either... that aluminum is remarkably soft where it's at, so, easy does it... although most kits will have stainless screws in them, I'd rec using aluminum instead... like metals and all that jazz... a coating of blue loctite or gray thread sealant goes a long way in keeping from having to do this often.  

the sensor/senders are actually slotted instead of having a hole, to make adjustments easier... if a person needed to, and if the screw broke- it could be ground smooth and another hole tapped adjacent to it with no problems (so long as they were accurately located, that is)... 

richee1

Thank you, next time by the beach I will put on the mask and check the sensors.