I did not double check! Help!

S

SeaSpray

Active member
I did not double check and installed a new battery reversed. I did not even turn on the power after installation. When I turned on the power to get ready to take the boat out my bilge pump was running constantly. After checking several things and pushing some switches (another smart move - NOT), I checked the battery and I had connected it reversed!!

I know I have a few problems but not sure what all I need to look for. I blue fuses in my VHF and stereo - no big deal. But my motor tilt does not work.

I have a Johnson 90 four stroke. I checked the main engine fuse and sub fuse - they are both fine and I have power at the fuses.

The manual does not show me where there might be another fuse for the tilt. With the cover off I can here a click when I push the tilt button. Sounds like power is going to maybe a relay but either it is not working or there is another fuse somewhere or something else wrong.

I did not see or smell any smoke. Can I raise the motor without the tilt motor working?

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Steve
 
A couple thoughts...

Is there voltage at the tilt pump motor when you hear the relay click? If so, maybe you fried the pump motor. If not - perhaps a bad relay.

Also, I'm gonna guess there are two relays - one each for up and down. Does it click going both directions?

You say you have power at the fuse, and the clicking relay would seem to verify there is juice there - but what is the voltage? Perhaps a battery/cell fried during the crossed hookup.
 
HI Bill,

Thanks for the suggestions. It does click both up and down but does not sound exactly the same. When I say click there is just a single click. I don't think I can get to the motor input until I raise the motor.

Too hot to work on it now. Thanks.
 
I have a Mercury 115 hp EFI Four Stroke. Several days of use after buying the boat used, I had warning horns the battery was not charging properly and some other electrical issues. Took it into the shop and they found a fused link between the altinator and main harness that was blown. Mech said its there to protect the altinator in case somebody installs the battery backwards. The previous owner had just taken the boat to Sears for a new battery.... Although it was correctly wired when I got it. So anyway that might be another fuse/link to check if your motor is setup similarly... Colby
 
Our mechanic did the same at the end of a long work day.

I was really upset as I thought he damaged the alternator or something in the engine.

I had another shop do some troubleshooting and they discovered that it was a 90 amp fuse (I think), that was inside the engine which resembled a thick metal bar (about one inch long).

I would not have know it was a fuse as it did not look like any fuse I had seen previously. After changing that fuse ($10), everything was fine.

Perhaps this might give you something to look for.
 
redbaronace":zrdzsir9 said:
I would not have know it was a fuse as it did not look like any fuse I had seen previously.
Click to expand...

Some systems use what is called a fusible link. They can be a metal bar screwed or bolted down at each end or the link can be contained within a shielded wire. The shield on this type is designed to contain any sparks from escaping. To check a shielded fusible link you can use a continuity or ohm meter but if you see a section of wire that is bumpy or blackened it is probably blown.

Regards, Rob
 
Yes it did look like a flat metal bar which was held by screws on each end. It was severed in the middle just as a blown fuse would have been.

Guess it did its job protecting the engine from the reversed battery connection.
 
Thanks for the replys. I have not tried to start the motor yet and did not turn the key on when it was reversed.

I am thinking that it may be the Tilt relay that got fried. I have been away a couple of days so have not had a chance to look at it.

The manual for the motor lists just two main fuses, a 60 A and a 30 A. Both of those are good. the Tilt just does not work. Looks like $100+ for the Tilt relay. I will try to get it off and test it next week.

I did see that there is a valve you can turn out to allow manual tilt then turn it back in to lock the tilt. Have not tried it yet.

Steve
 
I finally got around to testing the PTT relay. I do have 12 v to the relay when it is installed. I removed the relay and did the tests listed in the manual and it seemed to work fine, but with questions. For the test you apply 12v power to the relay then jump a wire to ground to actuate the relay and get 12 v out to the trim motor. The relay did actuate but the output voltage was a little less about 11.5 v, not the 12.5 input. I was using a battery on my camp trailer as the source since it was easy to get to.

When I re-installed the relay it does not work. I can verify that it has 12v on the input lines but when I press the up/down switch I only get 3v going to the trim motor.

I am assuming the relay is bad, but it bothers me that it seemed to work fine when I tested it out of the motor.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
 
I purchased a new PTT relay and installed it today. It did not solve the problem! I started re-checking all the voltages going to the relay and could not find a problem. I checked the voltage going to the up/down switch and I had none. I had checked this voltage previously and it was fine.

After spending some time with the schematic, the only this that I was not sure of was the main relay. I found the main relay pulled it out and put it back in. I re-checked the U/D switch voltage and it was there.

Everything seems to work but I really do not know what the problem was. I have no idea why removing and re-inserting the main relay would fix the problem but that seems to be what happened. Guess I have a spare PTT relay now.

Steve
 
I had a similar experience.

Last summer, when my gas line came disconnected at the filter, the boat got washed ashore while I was trying to reconnect. The sensors on the lower transom got banged a bit on the rocks, and the depthfinder quit working.

I tried resetting the computer from the monitor at the helm (as someone had suggested). I installed a new (used) sensor and cable. Still no readings from the depthfinder....

I put the boat into storage for the winter, and removed the batteries. When I reinstalled them in the spring, the depthfinder worked!

I have concluded (perhaps wrongly) that this is like performing a "hard stop" on a computer or printer.
 
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