trim down button on throttle stopped working.

[blueblaster8]

Looking for some advice. The trim down button on my throttle stopped working over the weekend. Trim up works fine, but does not trim down. Trim button at the bow works both up and down. I ended up swapping the cables on the battery terminals, which allowed me to trim the motor down using the UP button. I want to take a look inside the throttle handle, but the only screw I see is in a spot which I am unable to get a screwdriver onto, due to its proximity to the gunwale.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Jonestrollingmotor]

Swapped cables on the battery terminals?????? This should have give a spark when you changed the polarity of the outboard and possibly damaged the diodes in the rectifier -- depending on the outboard. You probably have a broken green/white wire going to the handle mounted trim switch.
As to getting into the handle, that will depend on which "command" center you have.

[billnorman1]

Swapping the battrry leads might just have cost you a small fortune. Usually there's a master fuse in the engine maybe 50-70 amps hope you blew that. Solid state electronic items generally burn up with reversed polarity. You may have a bad throttle switch or broken wire in the throttle quadrant. It may be easier to install a blinker trim system than fix.

[blueblaster8]

Point taken about swapping battery cables. Boat is a 1997 Ranger R80. Any advice on how to access trim switch inside throttle housing?

[billnorman1]

Grab a can of WD-40. Wrap a towel around your throttle handle. Spray the WD into the switch while vigrously clicking the switch up and down multiple times while spraying it with the nozzle stick from the can.

If that doesn't work Google your motor type and the words "change throttle trim switch".