How to remove throttle / tilt switch on Merc Throttle - The Hull Truth

dpewitt · 03-24-2009, 07:19 AM

I have a Force outboard (1994) and last Sunday went to launch and the tilt/trim would not lower. The motor goes up, but not down. When I hit the down switch on the inside of the throttle, no juice, no noise, nada. I then tried to switch the relays to see about reversing the problem but still only up and nothing when I hit the down switch.

We messed around for at least an hour trying to get the dang throttle off to test the tilt switch inside the throttle which I suspect is the issue. This is a Merc Quicksiler throttle on a pontoon boat, about a 1994 Force 50HP motor. The only screw is down on the handle so far to the mounting box on the inside of the throttle and no way to get a tool down that far due to the inside fiberglass of the boat.

If I go full forward/reverse there is a small hole in the bottom but we tried various screwdrivers, wrenches, etc and didn't find anyway to get this thing off to get to the switch. I then looked at the button for neutral on the bottom of the throttle but didn't see any logical way to get that thing out and didn't want to pry it off since I am not sure how it gets back on there. Any ideas?????? This is a vertical handle with a horizontal handle. The Throttle is on the underside of the top of the handle and the up/down switch is on the inside top (around where your thumb would go).

timebandit · 03-24-2009, 07:38 AM

2000? 3000 Series? Side mount? Panel?

3000 panel mount box has a plastic T.O. button that only comes out if the T.O. is engaged, (or the button breaks off) than the button can be fished out. It snaps into place. Behind there will be the large nut at the bottom of the hole. That switch might be a complete assembly from Merc with the harness attached. The plastic cover can be removed revealing the large head screws holding the box the wall.

dpewitt · 03-30-2009, 07:52 AM

I bought two new relays this weekend and installed them and still have the same problem, motor goes up and not down. I thought it might be the tilt/trim switch so I cut the blue and green wires and switched them. The switch is ok since when I hit down the motor now goes up but up does not go down. Any other ideas?

timebandit · 03-30-2009, 12:21 PM

Clean all the grounds going into the relays. The polarity needs to reverse to the motor. The relay has 5 terminals with an N.C. contact in the middle. If the up relay energizes, than the down relay is the path to ground, and vise versa.

Trace the blue down wire as well. Remove the motor wires from the relays and hook them to the battery. Than reverse the leads and it goes the other way. Than motor is fine.

ssp · 07-17-2011, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpewitt

I bought two new relays this weekend and installed them and still have the same problem, motor goes up and not down. I thought it might be the tilt/trim switch so I cut the blue and green wires and switched them. The switch is ok since when I hit down the motor now goes up but up does not go down. Any other ideas?

dpewitt: you ever figure out how to repair the thumb control in the throttle body?
thanks
ssp