www.iFourWinns.com

So... I was washing the boat two weekends ago and the stern drive started going up all on its own. I jumped in the boat and toggled the trim switch, which made it stop. Then it did it again. When we were out on the water this past weekend it did it while under power. I'm thinking either the trim switch is going bad, or there's a short. The switch itself seems a little "loose." We have the VP 5.0 GXi.

What would be the best way to troubleshoot this given that it's intermittent? Is replacing just the trim switch assembly relatively easy or do I need a whole new throttle assembly?

Thanks!

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2008 H210 - Volvo Penta 5.0 Gxi - 130 hrs on the clock
2011 Chevy Tahoe LX - 5.3L V8 w/tow package

Make sure you don't have a situation like I recently encountered........

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2005 Four Winns Funship 214 VP 5.7/Duo Prop

Some of the VP shifter levers have replacement trim switched listed, others don't. In any case the switches from VP are VERY expensive but not as expensive as a new shifter of course !

The trim switch is a simple one; a 12V supply and 2 outputs; one for up, one for down. Unless there's an internal fault in the switch, a short in the wiring is unlikely to have caused your problem unless two wires have worn through and are making contact via the central shifter hub on the lever.

The good news is that VP don't make the switches or shifters. In the ongoing sorry saga of my D4 EVC engine boat I recently ended up with a spare lever with a faulty switch. The switch is clearly labelled with the manufacturers name and part number, VP price in Europe/ the UK is around USD 45 for the switch, it's available from a number of suppliers for around USD 10 !

LOL I had a bare wire in my old OMC control that was shorting to ground, the trim worked but every time I trimmed down, while touching the both the metal part of the throttle lever and the metal steering wheel I got a shock!!
Took it apart and fixe it with liquid electric tape. Been fine at least 5 years. The next time something happens with this control I'm going to bite the bullet and install the Teleflex CH 1700 that I bought last year but didn't install because removing the side panel on my boat was such a trial. The nuts/studs in the wood backing were spinning, I could get at them but not get them out. It seemed that the only way to get it off was to slide a thin hacksaw blade in there and cut them off. Maybe this fall when I'm feeling patient.....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I had a similar issue a couple weeks ago. The boat was in the lake and I came out in the morning to start it up. Battery was dead then I noticed that the trim was all the way up and pushed into the extended swim platform. We had a hard rain the previous night so I assumed that the rain got into the switch and shorted it causing the unwanted trim operation. Luckily I just charged the battery and everything was fine. I may have to pull that switch and coat it with liquid electrical tape if there are exposed wires.
Rob

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Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Overdoing
2001 Horizon 180