Trim motor runs by itself

[kmelford]

1996 175 EFI, S/N 0G361770

I recently was in my garage and all of the sudden I heard the trim motor started running. It was going in the down direction. I tried to operate the trim from the both the engine switch and the throttle controller, but neither helped. The engine was stuck with the scag pushing into the ground. I had to disconnect the battery to stop the trim motor.

I disconnected the switch on the engine, reconnected the battery and the trim still continued to run in the down direction. This tells me the engine trim switch isn't the issue. I disconnected the battery again and switched the wires on the engine/trim switch so I can get the engine to trim back up instead of digging into the ground (this did work).

If the engine trim switch isn't the issue, is it likely the relay that the trim motor connects to? A couple of weeks ago when I was on the water, I recall the trim motor not trimming up a couple of times as I came up on plane. But it was only for about 10 seconds each time.

Looking for some insight from you all out there. I'm thinking I should replace the relay and the switch.

Thank you for any insight or guidance.

[JOE54]

relays and check all switches

[styler]

Long shot but check to make sure you didn't place something on the bow trim switch. I've had my trolling motor cable activate it. But it really sounds like a stuck relay. Wierd that it done it all at once.

[cebra]

I had the same issue, it ended up being a faulty switch at the outboard. I searched the part code on the switch and found its replacement for $10 on Amazon, dealer wanted $100.

[kmelford]

Long shot but check to make sure you didn't place something on the bow trim switch. I've had my trolling motor cable activate it. But it really sounds like a stuck relay. Wierd that it done it all at once.

When I read this, it made sense that this was what happened. I was in my garage getting ready for an upcoming tournament and I have tackle all over the place pulling stuff from two boats. It's a mess right now. Sure enough it looks like this was the issue. The bow is now clear and when I reconnected the battery, everything worked the way it was supposed to. I'm embarrassed but glad it seems to be solved for now.

Thank you for the tip!!!!!!