Tilt and trim

Sometimes my tilt and trim clicks and I have to tap it with a tool to make it work. Any ideas?

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Is this the same 1988 50 merc?

Yes

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On my 40 I had the same problem. Mine would click until I taped the relay, what I did to fix it (cause I'm cheap)was to remove the 2 relays and set the on the bench with the prongs up, fill with wd40 and let set over night, put them back in and never failed since. That was 2 years ago.

You have a bad relay.

Fin, are you tapping the motor or the relay to make it work? If it's the motor, the brushes are worn and need cleaning/replacing. If it's the relays, then they are defective or corroded. Either of those can be tested pretty easily simply by seeing where the voltage stops at (if the motor is getting voltage its the brushes).

Is it "clicking" when you hit the trim button?

It clicks once. Weather I push the up or down button. I'm not able to get close to it right now cause the 12 gallon fuel tank is full and it's pushed up close to it


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OK, so yours has the remote pump/reservoir mounted inside the boat. If you have basic troubleshooting skills with a test light (and a helper to operate the switch) you should be able to test it yourself. It's been awhile since I've had my hands on one of those but here goes. Since the relays are clicking on both the up and down commands, you should be able to see if the relays are hot on one post and open on the other with a test light. That confirms you have battery power to the relays large post. Then when the switch is activated and you hear the click, the other large post should be hot on the relay that clicked . Test both relays that same way. If they get hot on both large posts when you hear the click, they are good. Since you have neither up or down I suspect they will test good as it's rare to have both go bad at the same time. The next thing to check is the motor ground, I think I remember the motor wires are blue, green, and black (Blue and green are voltage for up and down, black is ground). Put the test light ground on one of the hot all the time solenoid posts and touch the black motor wire terminal. If it lights up you have ground. If you have ground and the blue and green wires are getting power when the solenoids click, the motor is defective and needs brushes or replacement.
In my instructions, I'm assuming the terminals are well crimped and corrosion free. If you see loose connections, poor crimps, or corrosion, fix those items before any test light troubleshooting.

I hope this helps....
Chris