weird thing happen with trim while running

[wkwong11]

the motor is a 99 mercury 200hp efi on a 99 ranger 488vs.

i was out on the delta last week and i was trimming up while i was on plane like usual. once i neared full trim, the trim gets stuck on "up" position and keeps going up with my motor running and i totally lose all control of the boat. luckily i didn't hit anything. anyways, the same thing happen the week after, twice.

i noticed the thing that seems to trigger it is if i try to give it throttle and trim it pass about 1/3 of the way on my trim gauge (usually i can trim to 1/2 for full trim on plane)

once this happens, my trim motor continues to try to trim up even without my hand on the switch. when i try to trim down, it doesn't, but stops the motor from continuing to try to try up. when i just keep pressing up on the switch, it eventually turns off and everything is back to normal.

right now to avoid it i trim up only about 1/4 on the trim gauge

just wondering if anything had this problem before or have any suggestions on what i should check first? any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

[Jason C.]

Im not sure what can be causing you this problem. It could just be corrosion in the cable some where? But again Im not 100% sure. I would sugest you take it to your local boat shop. I would suggest Inland Marine in Antioch. They do great work and should be able to help you out with it. I hope this helps!

[ash]

I would check the trim switch, however I agree with Jason get this thing into the shop before something REALLY bad happens. Once that engine comes out of the water you have 0 control and bad things happen in a hurry. This is serious and not something I would tool around with until I knew it was 100%

[Brian]

WK,
I had the Same thing happen to me in the Delta. Almost ended up in the Rip Rap. It was a Relay switch. You should have two of them and they should be under the cowling somewhere. I carry an extra in the boat now.

[revrat]

Check the trim switch on the side of the motor. The older onse have a rubber boot around the switch body, and it can rupture over time and allow water into the switch making up the contacts. I had the same thing happen, and it took forever to pin it down, and it eventually happened in the middle of the night, and the trim drove my prop through the sheetrock in my garage, and kept trying to trim up, which burned out my "up" trim relay. Luckily I got to it before the motor had time to burn up. If the switch is in good shape, try swapping your trim relays and see if the problem reverses. That would isolate your problem to one relay or the other. The relays run about $12 if I remember correctly, and the switch is like $60 to replace. Both are easy 10 minute fixes in your garage.

[DanO]

Brian's right, it's a relay at the motor, otherwise called a trim solenoid, have your local dealer replace, and show you how to do it, so that you can change out on the water should you need to in the future.

Always carry two extras in the boat, they seem to go out in relation to each other.

DanO

[michael]

I had the same thing happen to me at Clear Lake. It was the Relay switch.

[wkwong11]

thanks for all the info. i'll see if i can locate the relays.

[MIKE VAN WAGNER]

MAKE SURE YOUR TROLLING MOTOR CABLE IS NOT HITTING YOUR TRIM SWITCH ON THE BOW. ALSO CHECK ALL YOUR TRIM SWITCHES BY DISCONNECTING ONE AT A TIME TO SEE IF IT MAY BE ONE OF THE SWITCHES AS NORMALLY THE RELAY WILL NOT CAUSE IT TO GO UP ON IT'S OWN. IF YOU NEED FURTHUR HELP GIVE US A CALL.

MIKE VAN WAGNER
CAPITOL CITY MARINE
7812 AUBURN BLVD
CITRUS HEIGHTS CA. 95610
916-729-0590

[cleb19]

Hey Mike its Chad LeBlanc I had a few questions. On my boat I have noticed I have messed up compartment lids there all cracking and broke I mean if i were to step on them on accident I could go through and I would hate one of my AM's to go through one of those things. My boat is a 02 so I am wondering if there is any warranty stuff that ranger can give me. If so the work is yours I had you guys put my e-tec on earlier this year couldnt be happier. thanks in advance mike let me know

Chad

[MIKE VAN WAGNER]

Chad

Give me a call and give me your serial # for your boat and we will see what we can do.

Mike Van Wagner
Capitol City Marine
916-729-0590

[skeeterbug]

Chad,
Sorry I'm late on weighing in on your motor trim issue, but it sounds just like what happened to me on my 96 MERCURY 200 EFI during a night club tournament last August. I would just get up on plane or be on plane for a short while and my motor would trim up all the way on its own. Trying to override it with the trim control at the shift handle did not work. I would have to shut the motor off and run back to the motor and trim it down with the switch on the motor. I suspected that the waterproof housing on the trim switch on the motor had failed and the switch was getting wet, causing it to short and raise the motor on its own. I changed out the trim switch ( I think it was less than $50) and the problem has been solved ever since. Hope this helps. Good luck!

[skeeterbug]

Sorry, the message above was for the original poster, not Chad and it looks like someone previously in this thread had the same experience that I did.