98 Johnson 200 Ocean Runner won't trim up
 

I have a 98 Johnson 200. Earlier this spring the tilt/trim was working fine. I had to pull the engine off to remove a bolt that was sheared off on the upper part of the engine on the steering arm. When I reconnected all of the wires and controls yesterday the engine will only go down. I only hear the one relay clicking to make the engine go down. I swapped the relays and I got the same result. I checked all the connections and everything is connected. I was able to raise the motor to go up by putting voltage directly to the motor. I'm just wondering if anyone has any recommendations where to start my diagnosis?

You have 3 wires blue/green/red. The red is 12v+ and then supplying voltage to the green wire will make the engine trim down and to the blue will make the engine trim up. I would crack out a test light and just start checking for voltage while someone holds the trim button going up. It sounds like the down relay just isn't getting 12volts to it.

Both the switch on the engine and the switch at the helm are both operating the same way too.

Never even broke out the test light. I sprayed all the connections with contact cleaner, even though they looked fine, and it worked perfectly again.

That was easy Some times you might have some corrosion on the connections and you just made them connect That was good news

I believe the 98' had cylinder correction that made these even more dependable.

That and the 150 looper, good motors.

So now I'm fighting with this problem again. One of the deutsh(?) connectors on the main harness doesn't seem to be connecting properly. I Cleaned them all with contact cleaner multiple times and added dielectric grease, but I keep getting the intermittent problem. It's definitely in the main harness connectors but I haven't narrowed down which exact one is the culprit. Any tips besides new connectors?

I found that when I pulled on one of the wires to the trim gauge the engine went up. I stripped it back and the copper was really corroded and turned to dust when I touched it. I changed out a long section for now and it seems to be working. I need to get a connector that has a barb on it,so it will lock into the plastic housing, and I should be in business.

Sounds like a trim limit switch. Most people bypassed them because they fail quite often.

I just realized that the trim gauge was linked to the tilt/ trim unit.