SmartCraft Trim Limit Switch
 

How does the SmartCraft Transom Assembly Trim Limit Switch work? Mine has a three wire plug coming from the limit switch (contacts labeled A, B, & C). As far as I can tell there is not much of a circuit resistance change between the contacts and all three have continuity while rotating the switch. My previous 96’ boats transom only had two wires coming from the limit switch and it was an open or closed circuit. I am aware of the Starboard side trim sender, not talking about that… :confused:

Thanks!

The sender you're talking about is digital. Hot, Ground, & Data. Is it throwing a code? Is there an issue or just wanted to know?

I can't use it on my drive but the ECM "wants" to see it so i leave it tucked away and turned to 180 degrees out from center so the correct voltage stays in place and not to trip the check engine notice etc..

Well, it was working fine, but then I "Fixed the boat" :D . Actually, I replaced the 496 and associated wiring with a 555ci carb engine. Which brings me to the problem. I would like to hook the limit switch back up and that is when I noticed the three wires instead of the expected two. Is there a way to use the switch with a converter or would it be best to replace the digital switch with the earlier style.

Thanks for the reply.
Jon

Naw I'd just buy an older 2 wire analog sender if you really want to have a limit sender installed. The 3 wire won't work for you without the computer and harness to plug it into.

Out of curiosity, why are you unable to use the switch on your drive? Did you bypass the switch and run without a trim limit (no trailer switch needed)?

The factory X Dimension on my boat causes the limit swith to stop the trim when it's almost down all the way. Don't need trailer trim.

Those things fail all the time in the water and they're really only to help make it idiot proof. You know to trim by feeling, ride, and sound/vibration.

Thanks for the info SD! It sound like it would be best to just bypass it and pay attention to the mechanical indicator when idleing in the shallows.

Digital Smartcraft Trim Limit Switch
 

My trim up quit working. I have the three wire 'digital' trim limit sensor. How do you test / determine if switch is good or bad? Any other areas of that system/circuit that is more likely to cause loss of up trim than others? I switched the trim up relay with the fuel pump relay and still did not work. I am getting no fault codes from ECU.

Asking you have mechanical shift or DTS ?

a bit of info beforehand.

There is a transom harness that connects to a bunch of sensors in the transom assembly. ( Transom harness to engine harness connector). - So Asking if you connected both the trim limit connectors B and F at the sametime as this will cause a failure in the trim circuit meaning possible no trim ?

Also will need to more which wire harness and pin connections you have.

lets see there is

10 pin

14 pin

DTS 1st model yellow CAN cable

DTS - 14 pin / 10 pin

DTS - 14 pin

or even better yet the harness part number would be great to make things easier for me to tall what exactly you have

Haven't been able to get mine working. Installed HP transom with digital sender. Bought the digital to analog converter kit (884359T1 converter 884359T1). The limit does not work, tried all kinds of adjustments, but no luck. The gauge has started to work but works backwards. When down shows full up in the red, as I trim up it starts coming down

Not sure how this relates to your problems, but I ran into a CF this spring with a non-working digital trim sending unit. My boat has a smartcraft engine (496 MAG built 9/'03) with analog gauges. The gimbal came with a digital trim limit switch and an analog trim sending unit for the gauge. The limit switch failed, so I looked for a kit that had my setup (digital + analog). No dice. Merc now only offers a single digital trim limit/sending unit switch for my application. The kit comes with the one digital switch that performs both functions and a plastic blockoff plate for where the old analog sending unit would have been. This would work if I had smartcraft gauges but I have analog. Merc sent a couple different AGI setups and non of them would get my gauges to work. The final solution, and this came from Merc, was to install the old style analog kit on the gimbal ring (analog units for limit and the gauges) and then plug in the new digital all in one switch to the computer and tape it to the wiring harness so that the computer would not throw a code and beep at you all day long. They are working on a solution but have not come up with one yet. This is almost a big of a clusterpuck as changing the crankshaft position sensor and making you change your timing chain and cover to utilize the new sensor.

I determined my switch is bad because when I unplugged it the trim up then worked just fine like the trailer up switch. (with engine key off). New switch ordered but would like to run boat now.

What does the PCM555 do when attempting to run with no trim limit switch connected?

My engine is actually a 2004 with analogue gages and the digital trim limit switch.

Possible fault code set 130 or 131 trim circuit High or low. The warning horn turned off for these 2 faults and no guardian should be active for this. I say should be NO but with voltage and PCM's sometimes funny things can happen to set another fault putting it into guardian.'

Fault code 131 is Trim circuit low in which means trim sensor and or circuit open.


Also you could have checked your trim for a switch problem with a made jumper wire testing back at the trim pump itself just saying.

Also asked do have DTS have no idea why you can not answer any of these questions to get problem issues answered correctly ? . Now I see that it is a 2004 so I know what wiring harness you should have but I recall your RAGE is not a stock app anyways from seeing many posts before. Good luck with it. .

Thank you for your info and suggestions. I should have mentioned that I have the mechanical shift and throttle control. Bravo 1X Transum Assy Ser# 0W137378, engine Ser# 0W035700 and trim limit sensor #863187A. I have made it a point to not do anything that would degrade the Guardian system which I want to maintain intact.

I do have the Smart Craft SC-1000 gage installed but do not know how to use it for any detailed diagnostics. It just seems to only flash a picture of an engine when ECU is complaining of a problem. I will hook up the Diacom and / or the Rinda code reader and see what faults come up with key on and trim limit sensor not connected. I took the bad limit sensor apart and found it to be fully potted with epoxy and possibly some form of a Hall Effect type device with two opposing magnets in its rotor. No way to repair that. I thought about the jumper idea but too paranoid that I might damage the ECU since wiring diagrams showed a number of trim limit circuit connections there.

Thanks again for the info! Much appreciated. Any other thoughts please post.