outboard motor trim motor question

[davepjr71]

Last Sunday I got to my boat and when I tried to lift the motor to flip up the stop the all I got were a few clicks. I tried in the other direction and got the clicks. I looked back at the outboard and noticed that I had forgot to drop the outboard onto the stop and forgot to put the stop down.

I connected a jumper to the battery and it clicked a few times and then the outboard went down. When I took the jumper off the motor started right up.

At my slip I use 2 crossed lines. One goes from my starboard cleat to the port side pile and the other from the port side cleat to a starboard side pile. The day I got there the lines were very tight nd against the outboard. Is it possible that hte lines pressed down on the trim motor and jammed the motor a little and that's why it wouldn't work without additional current fro ma jumper? I did notice that my votlage was at 12.3 volts but with 2 marine starter batteries that shouldn't have bene a problem right?

[boats.net]

Might check to see dock lines damaged wiring to trim motor.

[davepjr71]

The lines are on top of the outboard and no where near the wires for motor. Since that day the trim has adjusted without a hitch. I'm trying to determine what was the cause of the problem so that there is not a bigger issue that may occur.

If the relay was activating is it possible that the gears got jammed a little or fluid pressure was increased and that's why the unit didn't move?

Could the trim motor relay be going bad?

[robert graham]

Probably a good idea to remove, inspect, clean, grease and tighten every electrical connection relative to the trim motor, especially those main battery cables and connections and fuses. The humid marine environment can cause corrosion on these connections. A connection can look just fine, but the contact surfaces may have oxidation. A touch of marine grease can help keep out moisture. Good Luck!

[davepjr71]

I've done everything at the battery side this past winter. The terminals were in pretty bad shape. I'll check out the connections at the motor side and make sure there is no corrosion.