www.iFourWinns.com

I have a f224 with 22 hours. Originally when my trim was all the way down my gauge needle pointed below the trim down line. A few days ago when the trim was all the way down the gauge pointed to the center of the down line, now it is point to above the down line. I looked at the outdrive and it appears to be fully down. Any suggestions.

I had a similar problem this weekend...trim gauge on a 210H seemed to be working fine on Friday, started acting a bit squirly on Saturday (inaccurate readings), and by Sunday wasn't reading at all (displays as all the way up, when it fact it is all the way down). Any ideas guys?

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My trim guage has not worked since I bought my boat last Fall. Today I removed the sensor from the drive to get a replacement and when I did that I noticed that the sensor has some slots in it so you can adjust it. I bet yours is loose and has moved! drop your drive all the way down and loosen the two screws on your drive sensor and turn it until you read "down" and then tighten the bolts and you should be OK.

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Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

My sensor wasn't reading right the last time we had the boat out...I'll try doing this.

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

I just adjusted the sensor unit so that the markings on the guage acutally match the transition from trim to tilt. It kind of bugs me that this wasn't done by Four Winns or my dealer, as I was always guessing before when I was trimmed out 6 degrees. This forum is great for those of us new to boats and boating.

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2007 180 Horizon

How did you know when the transition point was, or did you just adjust it to the full up or full down position?

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

I just leveled the motor when the boat was on the trailer, trimmed the drive to 6 degrees using an angle gauge, and then adjusted the trim sending unit (with the help of someone in the boat) until the trim gauge needle was set on the dark hash mark at about the 4 o'clock position.

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2007 180 Horizon

I adjusted mine with the drive in the full up position, and it is not reading correctly. I'll readjust with the drive in the down position and see what happens.

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

It has to be adjusted in the down position; the official method calls for the drive to be fully down and the sender adjusted so it has a resistance of 11 +/- 1 Ohms. The connector that the multimeter needs to be connected to is adjacent to the port riser; the two halves are held together with a metal clip.

In practice, it's just as easy to adjust it so the trim gauge reads fully down!

Graham

Thanks! I just have to get the boat in a position where I can have the drive fully down. Do the senders just end up going bad or can I take it off and clean up behind it where it mounts? This boat was slipped last year and although there isn't much growth, there was a bit on the drive.

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

After reading a great many posts, I have the impression these senders aren't as durable as we'd like them to be (they seem to fail often).

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

And I never had one issues with the one on my Merc....

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

My 2004 boat is slipped for 6 months each year in salt water, it's still on the original trim sender, so it seems more reliable than the one on my 1999 boat, which started to be a bit "strange" in it's 3rd season, it never actually failed completely though. The design has changed; the actuator on the earlier ones could rotate through 360 deg, the current one through a much narrower range and the actuator has two pieces.

It is very likely that if you try to remove a later one, the hexagon end of the actuator will be stuck in the end of the pivot pin and will snap off. As far as I am aware, that piece is not available on it's own. You can transfer that piece from a new sender, which is a lot less awkward than changing the whole sender. I have filed the hexagon down to more of a taper and use plenty of waterproof grease on it, so now it can be removed; it still leaves the hexagon in the pivot pin when the sender is removed, but it can be withdrawn using long nosed pliers.

Graham

I'm currently waiting on a new sending unit from VP. My guage started randomly jumping to full tilt, then back to normal,then full tilt...and on and on. Finally it just pegged full tilt and stayed there. The problem ended up being the the wires had been pullled or broke off right at the sending unit. Four Winns quoted me over $120 and another dealer in AL that is a VP dealer quoted me $67...go figure.

Hopefully I'll get it this week and then I'll need to get it all adjusted too...sounds like fun.

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Nubby


Living the DREAM

Adjusting it is the easy part! Some helpful hints I hope;

The retaining clip that goes onto the harness's moulded on rubber seal inside the boats is very easy to lose and can be really awkward to get back onto the new seal, depending on the engine room layout.

The new sender does not have the plug on the end, only the connectors; you will need to re-use the old plug or get a new one ( the plug is too big to go through the hole in the transom)

Graham