Suzuki 200 HP 2017 Trim down range of motion limited

[Melbjim]

I just posted the paragraph that covers the Tilt Limit Cam but it appears the screenshot has been placed in quarantine until approved. If you want send me your email and I’ll forward the screenshot on to you.

Thanks - got your email of screen shot of the above info.

It looks to me from that info that the lower cam may have an adjustment but there's no mention of it. Apart from the procedure to clear the upper trim ECU limit setting not working for me at all I am wondering if I can fiddle with the lower cam to get it to go full flush with the transom? By chance, did you happen see any info or procedure on how to adjust the lower cam mechanical range of motion? Just curious. I am actually kind of surprised that there's a lower limit cam at all given that the transom frame stop limits it mechanically.

[Murray]

Thanks - got your email of screen shot of the above info.

It looks to me from that info that the lower cam may have an adjustment but there's no mention of it. Apart from the procedure to clear the upper trim ECU limit setting not working for me at all I am wondering if I can fiddle with the lower cam to get it to go full flush with the transom? By chance, did you happen see any info or procedure on how to adjust the lower cam mechanical range of motion? Just curious. I am actually kind of surprised that there's a lower limit cam at all given that the transom frame stop limits it mechanically.

Nothing else mentioned in the service manual that I can find. Any chance your Tilt/Trim lock lever is bent or somehow damaged and causing grief? I’ll send you the troubleshooting chart of the Tilt/Trim

[Melbjim]

Nothing else mentioned in the service manual that I can find. Any chance your Tilt/Trim lock lever is bent or somehow damaged and causing grief? I’ll send you the troubleshooting chart of the Tilt/Trim

Appreciate all the support Murray.
I went ahead and re-trailered and brought into my mechanic to have look see. I was really perplexed and annoyed by the reset/clear procedure not working for the trim up side of the system - no buzzer tone at all.

It turned out that the analog trim gauge trim sensor attached near to the starboard side hydraulic trim actuator was corroded. We put a new one in and the reset/clear trim up procedure failed the first time but then worked the second attempt. So it appears that the ECU logic actually DOES look at the analog signal and not just the limit switches. The theory is that it was intermittent over the full range of motion - especially to the upside of it (where the up trim reset failed as I reported).. Am just relieved that I didn't have some kind of ECU firmware bug or some esoteric electrical harness feedback/continuity issue.

I will be taking the boat out hopefully today for a confirmation test run on the water that its all fixed now.

Hopefully this history here will be useful to others in the future.

[Melbjim]

Nothing else mentioned in the service manual that I can find. Any chance your Tilt/Trim lock lever is bent or somehow damaged and causing grief? I’ll send you the troubleshooting chart of the Tilt/Trim

Appreciate all the support Murray.

I was really perplexed and annoyed by the reset/clear procedure not working for the trim up side of the system - no buzzer tone at all. So I went ahead and trailered and brought into my mechanic to have a look see.

It turned out that the analog trim gauge trim sensor attached near to the starboard side hydraulic trim actuator was visibly corroded. We put a new one and re-ran the reset/clear trim-up procedure. That failed the first time (no confirmation beep tone). On the second attempt it worked. So it appears that the ECU up/down trim/ reset logic actually DOES look at the analog signal and not just the limit switches. The theory is that that sensor was intermittent over the full range of motion - especially to the upside of it (where the up trim reset failed as I reported). Am just relieved that I didn't have some kind of ECU firmware bug or some esoteric electrical harness feedback/continuity issue.

I will be taking the boat out hopefully today for a confirmation test run on the water that everything its all fixed now.

Hopefully this history here will be useful to assisting others having similar issues in the future .

[Melbjim]

This problem investigation just gets deeper and deeper.

Wish I had checked before I left the shop. The analog gauge's trim settings were all messed up - showing all high angle tilt/trim up settings irrespective of actual engine trim angle.

So tried to reprogram the trim/tilt ECU settings using the procedure. That makes the analog trim tilt meter work but again I could not get full hard stop down. So I had to again use the hydraulic release override to drop the engine full down against the engine metal transom frame hard stops (the last 10-20 degrees of range of motion). The new sensor did not solve the original problem.

In my research It turns out that this is how Suzuki designed it. It's extremely irritating and utterly stupid the way this programming works since by default we can't get full hard down range of motion without messing up the analog gauge readings. You only get full hard down but not proper gauge readings unless you do a trick.

I found the trick in an earlier post here on the forums that shows a way to hack the programming to get both full hard down and proper analog gauge readings. See link below. I have not tried it yet but it sounds like this is the way to do it.

You have to trick the ECU programming by tinkering with the trim sensor's plastic slider assembly so that it appears to reach hard stop earlier than it really does. This is done by putting wraps of masking tape on the sensor contact lever to make it thicker so triggers a faux/simulated hard stop earlier before exceeding gauge analog range limits.

If you don't do something like this then you can only get to within 10-20 degeees off hard stop and the gauge working onlt over that range of motion. But if you use the hydraulic over ride to get full down during resetiing of actuator range of motion the analog gauge will not make any sense at all and is useless.

https://www.thehulltruth.com/boating...df300ap-2.html

[Melbjim]

This FIXED it!

You just need to increase the diameter of the analog trim sensor's actuator arm's short stubby axle where the plastic down-trim bracket engages when going from full up tilt//trim to down trim. I used a short piece of plastic-velcro-fiber USB cable cinch wrap material wound about 2 times around the sensor arm and secured with the velcro - perfect thickness (1/4"-3/8" diameter expansion). You can use anything - duct tape, a short section of 3/8" diameter pipe/tubing etc.


Just perform the regular procedure for clearing the lower limit switch limits after dropping the motor all the way down flush to transom using the hydraulic trim release screw (on port side of engine at transom frame access port).This gets you the full range of actuator motion from transom all the way up to the up-limit switch/cam.

When you run the procedure to set the full up and full down range before lowering down with the down PTT just be sure to first pull off that temporary spacer. The motor will go all the way down flush to transom (or very close to it depending on how much diameter expansion material you used). Then the gauges work and you also get full range of actuator up/down motion.

Should have been such a simple adjustment/maintenance routine but alas it seems that some nerdy ECU programmers figured out a great way to confound the programming so to keep everyone from being able to go negative on the prop thrust angle to protect us from only God knows what (being negative?? ). But what a great way to increase revenues for shops with more mechanics time and sell new sensors on the presumption that the analog trim sensors must be bad (when most are not).