Mustang 2800 Series III Remote Control Power Trim Issue

[Sthornton]

Hi, I’ve got a 2004 Mustang 2800 Sport Cruiser Series III and have encountered an issue whereby the trim switch inside the remote control is no longer working. I found one day that the stern drive was trimmed completely up and the switch did nothing. Appeared no power at all to relays and subsequently the trim drive. Thought perhaps was relays so replaced those, no luck. Then looked at fuses, trim unit 10amp fuse was fine, engine fuse was fine, then in the manual it mentions a 5amp inline fuse in the remote control unit but I’ve not been able to find it, has anyone got any ideas? This is the manual page where it’s stated https://www.manualslib.com/manual/91...C.html?page=44. I’ve also tried replacing the trim switch in the remote control too, with out resolution.

Incidentally I was able to get 12v direct to the trim drive which allowed me to lower stern drive to a neutral position so I’m at least mobile, so I know the trim drive unit is fine. Took a video in how to do this with a 20v power drill battery if anyone’s interested.

Any one got any other ideas where to look, I sense it’s a power issue to the trim switch in remote control but I can’t get an earth for my multimeter (nothing close enough to earth too) to be absolutely sure.

I am booked in to see mechanic next week but if there’s anything else I can investigate myself it would be great.

[OldGreyB]

Remove the plastic caps and then open all the screws on the instrumentation console. It folds forward once all the screws are out. You can then find a good ground in there for your multimeter, close to the trim switch.

Also there can be inline fuses tucked into this area, so that is where you may find your trim one.

Check for power at your trim switch and work forward or backwards until you find where you have lost power. You may need to use some single 3mm auto wire to extend your ground to your multimeter.

A set of test probes with alligator clips are really handy for such work, such as from Jaycar:

https://www.jaycar.com.au/multimeter...9772928ff5f05d

[Sthornton]

Thanks Oldgreyb. Yeah I used alligator clips and a 18v drill battery to get trim lowered (vid attached, not great but get the jist). I’ve run out of time to check any further myself but I like the idea of using instrument dash to get my earth.

Vid https://youtu.be/C7CYb3phr3w

When in with mechanic I’m gonna stick around and see what they do and use.

Thanks again.

[Sthornton]

To close this thread out and hopefully provide someone else a resolution should they encounter the same issue.

On the back of the Volvo Penta 5.0 GLX-i is a small red reset button which goes to the trim components, seems this had tripped and needed to be reset (push it). Anyway mechanic resolved and showed me, only question remains is why it tripped as they took for a test ride and couldn't reproduce while under load.

Anyway, highly likely user error on my part (probably kept trying to trim and eventually tripped the breaker, trim gauge is kak admittedly) and whatever mechanics bill for 1-2 hours of investigation, its worth the education.