Drive trim not working

petem

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Joined
16 May 2001
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19,106
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Cotswolds / Altea
www.fairlineownersclub.com
There was a pre-sea trial issue with the starboard trim ram not working. It was fixed but seems to be on the blink again. The trim indicator is indicating the trim angle however the up and down buttons do nothing. Apparently the issue was a loose connector. Any idea where the engine side connectors are so that I can check them?
 
Start with the plastic fuse block bolted to the starter motor,
Then check the panel with the relays near the trim motor.
 
Electrical connections and relays top left of trim pump motor . I guess yours could be different.
 
Managed to locate the drive trim pump yesterday so fiddled around with the connections. On the way over to Cowes this morning worked for about 5 seconds then died again. On the return journey it continued to work all the way back so all ok hopefully.

Incidentally, if I do have a bad connection then I assume a rub with a bit of emery cloth is a good idea if it looks a bit corroded. Is there a magic spray I can use to maintain the connection?
 
have a look for spray electrical contact cleaner - I think Maplins sell it. Good squirt in both ends and push the connection together and apart a few times. Go easy with the emery cloth as electrical contacts are often plated with something. if you completely remove the original plating you may end up with more contact trouble later. Maplins also do a fibreglass pen for cleaning contacts which is very good. Quite gentle but gets everything nice and bright.
 
have a look for spray electrical contact cleaner - I think Maplins sell it. Good squirt in both ends and push the connection together and apart a few times. Go easy with the emery cloth as electrical contacts are often plated with something. if you completely remove the original plating you may end up with more contact trouble later. Maplins also do a fibreglass pen for cleaning contacts which is very good. Quite gentle but gets everything nice and bright.

+1 Halfords do contact cleaner too, good stuff. http://www.halfords.com/motoring/en...oil/halfords-electrical-contact-cleaner-400ml
 
The usual suspects are the 2 relays, most often mounted near the fluid reservoir/ motor. I keep a couple on board as spares. ( genuine VP, bought as a huge bargain off Ebay compared to VP prices anywhere !)
 
I had this problem once on a previous boat ... turned out to be leaking fluid either from the tank or pipework ... just topping up the fluid made it work again - the boat was going ashore and needed the leg up for the yard trailer - got it fixed properly after that but it might be worth checking ... on that boat it was leaking into a place you couldn't see so there was nothing to give a clue till I checked the tank! Might be that simple.
 
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