Testing trim sensors

rasbury

So, I see in the manual the way to test the trim sensors on the out drive with everything installed on the boat. I have the gimbal ring sitting on my bench. Can they be tested somehow this way?

rasbury

So, new meter and I guess these are dead - looked on eBay and see them for around 75 bucks or less so, throw that money on the pile.

Handymans342

No

rasbury

well, that is not what I wanted to hear!

rasbury

So, @alswagg , it does not matter if the leads on the sensors are hooked up to anything or not? The more I thought about it, the more I thought not as handy said...

reneechris14

It's a resister (volume knob ) the more you turn the more resistance. If the ohm meter doesn't move they emare not working. I read once 165 to 0 is the motion I think??

rasbury

@reneechris14 I get that- the question is, how can that test work when they are not hooked up to anything? I hate the thought of dealing with this when the motor is back in...

rasbury

So @Alswagg , if I'm not getting any readings with the sensors while disconnected from the boat, it wont get any better when they are installed. My trim worked fine before I started the bellows replacement, just wonder what would have happened in between?

craigswardmtb

Those trim sensors are overrated in my book.  I stopped trying to fix and adjust them and rather go by feel and sound.  One less headache i have to think about...  And replacing them is not fun unless you take the shortcut and cut and replace with water proof connectors outside the boat.  Which i wouldn't trust but apparently alot of people do.
I realize my method is unconventional and don't recommend, but i'm ok with it...  Good luck.

rasbury

  @alswagg - I am going to check with another meter as I don't have much faith or knowledge for that matter with this electrical stuff. I have not cut any wires, engine is out and the transom assy is on my bench. One of them is pretty hard to turn, not that that would make a difference. I opened that one up, is not wet or damaged and I see you can replace the "wheel". I'm going to get my hands on another meter and test.  I may be getting a direct answer to my question and I may not- Handy says you can't do this test unless they are hooked up on the boat which makes sense to me even though I'm not testing voltage- Handy has a lot of knowledge but he is not a mechanic. And besides that, he has diesels. ( JK Handy, I appreciate your input.)   If you tell me specifically that the same test will work on my bench disconnected from the boat as connected to the boat then I bow to your knowledge. I don't want to have to deal with this when the motor is back in the boat for sure but I need to know what I'm doing is correct. I don't want to spend a bunch if these will work.  If they do not work, the wheel I see I can replace for 21 bucks, is there a way to test the "housing" itself? What goes wrong with these things? While I can operate the boat for the most part, we have a lot of skinny water here in Fl and my biggest concern is getting the out drive to far up in shallow water and burning up my water pump.....

Handymans342

One is a trim sender so you know the position of the drive .The other is the trim limit which will not let the drive trim too far up. That's the important one!

rasbury

Yep- I can tell by the sound when I'm running so I'm really not to worried about that. When my river gets low in the summer, you can be pulling in with ropes its so shallow at some of the marina I go to. I need to know where the drive is at.