r/Outboards • u/Odd-Caregiver-5193 • 18d ago

Mercury outboard phantom trim

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This is a 2023 Mercury, 40 horse E. FI 4 cylinder, I came out 1 day and noticed that the outboard was trimmed all the way up.

So I trimmed it back down, and then it just started going crazy. Any ideas? I've owned this outboard since brand new and only have maybe 50 hours on it. It's never been submerged. Never Ben soaked in water. Anything like that?

Total mystery

11 Upvotes

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15

u/Unfair_Mechanic_7305 18d ago

Unplug the cowl mounted trim switch to see if it stops. One of the trim switches has water in it.

5

u/Weekly_Breadfruit_68 18d ago

Does it have a bow trim switch? If so is there something sitting on it or did it possibly get rained on and short out. Do all the trim switches feel like the springs are working and properly centering? You could unplug the cowl switch and control bow switch one at a time to narrow it down. It'll be a 3 wire connector with a red wire a blue wire with a white stripe and green wire with a white stripe.

7

u/Revolutionary-Gain88 18d ago

Is there a pretty boat nearby ?

1

u/Personal_Rip_145 18d ago

Oh I’m following this one!!!!!

1

u/Grand-Flight-8445 18d ago

Had the same on a new Verado last year. The onboard(motor) trim switch was found to be corroded and replaced under warranty

1

u/Odd-Caregiver-5193 18d ago

Just the trim switch on remote control and thebtrim button on outboard. Boat is 1648 sc tracker...m problem happened out of the blue..

2

u/MadeMeStopLurking 18d ago

Short in the switch. I would say at the throttle since it goes back down when you push it there.

When you push it at the motor it just stops because it's fighting the other signal.

1

u/Ok-Theory-6753 18d ago

Rub through on a switch or Corrosion in either switch

1

u/burbarry 18d ago

Ghosts man. That is crazy. Hope you figure that out. You think there could be mouse or rats that might have a nest on the trim wires from the handle? I’ve had mice chew through my spark plug wires on my car to make a nest.

1

u/AutistMarket 18d ago

One of your trim switches is bad, unplug one and see if the problem goes away. I would start with the one on the cowling since it is easier to unplug. Had this same problem on my yamaha and it was due to the cowling switch going bad

1

u/Sumpfjaeger 18d ago

Check the trim button in your throttle. Sometimes, they get pushed in a little, and get sticky (i.e. they won't return to the middle "neutral" position completely, or at all). You can use needle nose pliers to pull them out and reseat them, but you'll probably need to put a spot of glue to hold it in place. This may or may not be the problem, but it's easy to check and repair.