Every now and again I have to replace the trim tilt relay switch on my 1996 Johnson 112VR. The motor wouldn’t trim up today and I opened the cover plate to replace the relay.
Some of the wires had a black, sticky coating on them and I’m wondering if this is normal. I can fix the trim problem with a new relay, but is the wire deterioration another problem that I need to fix?
It doesn’t loook like a tough job to change it out. Any thoughts from anyone?
I had similar problems with a 96’ Johnson. I was told they had issues with the trim switch in the throttle going bad that year. I think the rubber on it wasn’t waterproof and was causing shorts or the contacts were sticking. After replacing the trim switch twice, no more problems with the relays.
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14’ Duracraft w/twin 25 Johnsons
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Just unplug old. Plug in new. The black sticky stuff may just be old adhesive from long removed electrical tape. My '95 88spl had/has a good bit of that stuff. Much of the wiring was wrapped with electrical tape, apparently. Over the years, repairs required the wrapping to be removed. Periodic misting with WD-40 or similar would break down the adhesive leaving a sticky mess when the tape was removed. IF that is what you’re seeing, I just wipe it off with a shop towel when I run into it. No harm done.
17’ Henry O Hornet
26’ Palmer Scott
I have had personal experience with this one on my father’s boat. The reason the relays were going bad is because there was an increased mechanical load when tilting the motor upward. This increase in mechanical load translated to an increase in amperage; therefore amplified arcing at the relay contacts. The mecnanical load increase was due to improper greasing at the “hinge point”. The correct grease should be used and I found it necessary to work the motor up and downwhile pumping the grease until signs of new grease surrounded all bushings. This significantly decreased the starting amps on the tilt motor. His tilt relays were replaced several times before greasing with this method; none have had to be changed since.
2013 Ranger Z21 Intracoastal 250 hp Yamaha VMAX SHO