Trim gauge not working
 

I recently pulled my 7.4 mpi 454 and installed a 500 efi.

Everything is working but the trim gauge.

The trim works both up and down but the gauge remains pegged in the up position.

Is there a different setup going from one engine to the other.

Thanks for your help.:party-smiley-004:

Redneck Daredevil is an expert in that.. consult daredevil racing (NOOOT).

... you lost your trim gauge sensor/or broke the cables. New ones cost a few bucks with nex cables. Check your cables first from gauge to trim sensor unit.

where would the trim gauge sensor be located?
I am sure we did not break the cables

two wires from the back of the gimble housing go to the box were the starter clyner is thats on my boat they just plug in

I believe that we have those wire connected as the trime works properly.... just no gauge

thats on the side of the drive .they have two srews on them thats how you set them by truning it

trim
 

Well on a 496 they are at the back of the engine at the top. Pretty sure 500 is the same . I know a 454 mpi is the same. I swappd out my 454mpi for a 496. There are several wires back there with bullet connectors. You are looking for an orange wire and a black wire coming out of the bundle. Both are female connectors. The trim sending units are on the gimble ring on the out drive. One on each side. Port side is the trim limit and starboard is the sending unit. Thats the one you are concerned with at this time. They are round discs with a set of wires each. Both wires are black. The wires run through the the gimble area and through the transom just above the bellows. Comes out in the boat just below the tiller arm the power steering is hooked to. Like I said there are 2 sets of wires. The trim limit switch wires go over to the trim pump area and have 1 male and one female connector. The trim sending unit wires you are concerned with go to to the back top of the motor and both have male connectors. If these wires are broken out on the out drive or if hooked up like I stated and the gauge still does not work then PM me for the fix.. Its a long one and more than one way to do it. Some will tell you the drive and gimble have to be removed but that is not the case. I replaced a set YESTERDAY. These have to be replaced in pairs.. Only way they are sold . You would be an idiot to not replace both anyway even if only one is bad.

Chris

thanks for the great help, will try this on my next day off.
I forgot to mention that this is a bravo drive without trim tabs

Same as mine redeye.

Chris

Could you please message me the testing instructions also. I'm having the same issues with my trim gauge. Thanks very much!

Me too if possible, ive been out there for an hour trying to figure my trim gauge out and it just wont work. Ive got 3 wires off the motor
brown/white w/ female
blue/brown w/ female

black w/male connector

and 2 pairs of black wores on the boat, one with 2 male connectors and one with a male and a female.

no orange wire....maybe thats my problem......may be buried somewhere

a wiring diagram i found somewher online says brown/white is trim sender and blue/brown is trailer switch

am i missing an orange wire somewhere?

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Those wires are for the trim gauge sender to connect to the main harness.

UPDATE I stand corrected on the bullet connectors. The Trim sending unit wires that go up to the back of the motor have 1 male and 1 female connector. The trim limit wires that go over by the trim both have male bullet connectors. I do stand by the color for the trim sending connection color.1 wire went to an orange connector and the other was black. Thats on a 496 ho 2005. Hope that helps.

Chris

Dag I did see that wiring diagram you are talking about online. It did say brown/white stripe and black were the ones for the sender. Not the case on my 496 but it is prob worth a try. STAY AWAY FROM ANY PURPLE WIRES. Some purple wires have to do with the ignition. Best bet is go down to the shop and see if they will let you look at the manual for your specific motor and look at the schematic. Some larger west marines have manuals you can look at.

Chris

Purple is power on/hot when the ignition is on.

http://www.sterndrives.com/replacing_trim_senders2.html

This says brown with white stripe and black for sending unit.

Chris

Thanks for the update, mine does have the brown/white wire and it connects to the male/female set of black wires. After some messing around tonight I found its a bad sender, I took it apart and cleaned it and it kinda works now just inconsistent, think its time to change it....:eek:

Sender replacement
 

Dag.. I can PM you my # if you like and explain how to change it to over the phone in more detail. I would not mess with it if you are going out this wknd. It can be done with the drive and gimbal in place its just TRICKY .

Chris

If the sender wires are intact all you need to do is replace the potentiometer inside the sender.
It is a little known part Merc #805134A4
It costs between 15 and $20 and takes about 15 min to install.
Just follow the instructions closely to get it adjusted properly.

Here's one for $18.
http://www.crowleymarine.com/parts/14809.cfm

Blueabyss,

Thanks for the offer, I may take you up on the offer if you can send me your #.

Was out today and it worked a couple times now its in the up position again. I was wondering if just replacing that piece on the inside of the sender would fix it? My wires all look good...not sure why it would work for a while and then stop, I cleaned all the contacts in there, seems like it would either work or not work....
I do want to get it working because its a new boat this year for me and im having trouble getting bow lift so I really cant "feel" when the trim is maxed out, have to look at the rooster tail and obviously dont want to damage the ujoints....or lose a pair of sunglasses turning my head around all the time.....:lolhit:

Mine did the exact same thing a couple of years ago. (2006 Bravo 3) Sometimes it would work sometimes not. Just replace the part I mentioned in the previous post and it will work as long as the wires are OK. Next time you open the sender you can check the wires by doing a continuity test at the contacts. The potentiometer (the disc inside the sender) is the only other thing besides the wiring that can be wrong with the sender. It's a fairly simple part.

Or spend hours replacing the whole sender for no reason. It's your call.