Tilt/Trim Relay Replacement

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wmk0002

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I got a used Panther Tilt/Trim unit with an outboard purchase recently. I have already posted some here about it. Anyways, since it is an aftermarket unit and the outboard did not have factory trim, the relays weren't under the cowl but had been installed in a 4"x4" electrical junction box. Also in the box was the keyed starter and kill lanyard attachment. It was done pretty slick but despite being in a gasketed box the holes where the wires passed through were not sealed watertight.

A couple of weeks ago I towed my boat into work to do some fishing that evening. We had a massive pop up thunderstorm roll though that afternoon and it dropped a couple of inches of rain on our site. Being that I store my boat indoors when not in use, I never take out the plug aside from when I hose it out, so while in the parking lot it filled up with who knows how much water. That junction box was yet to be permanently installed so it was loose on the floor in the rear hatch and got submerged. The relays worked fine that day but corrosion has since set in and ruined them.

I had already been looking into replacing the relays as I had read the factory Panther and CMC ones are junk. I ordered a KFI winch contactor instead of standard marine relays at the recommendation of other forums and based on TurboTodd from this site. I got it off Amazon for about $35 which is a good deal compared to standard relays, especially when you need a separate one for both the UP and DOWN direction. I cut, stripped, crimped, and heated on new ring terminals with heat shrink to the wiring and hooked it up to test it last night and it worked great. The winch contactor simply has a 1/4" stud for the positive and negative leads, a 1/4" stud for each of the leads to the trim motor, and then two small 18 or 20 g wires that connect to the switch.

Soon I will find a good location to permanently mount it and clean up the install and post some pictures. I can't speak to the longevity of this product yet but I will say I am a big fan of the simplicity of it. The studs allow for easy swapping of the trim motor leads to ensure the motor trims in the correct direction as the switch is engaged. And the unit itself is sealed and designed to be in a harsh environment. Just wanted to share my initial thoughts for anyone interested.
 
Nice writeup. It'll be good to see the pictures of your install. On my boat, I thread the plug through the hook on one of the tiedowns. I always see it when I remove the tiedowns to drop it in the water and it comes out as soon as the boat's on the trailer. Just my system to keep from getting it. I had the priviledge of seeing what waterlogged foam looked like when I did my rebuild, so I don't want water standing in the hull.
 
I'll have pics this weekend hopefully. I have a few places in mind to install it but I my rear hatch is not very organized and has a lot of stuff yet to be installed so I need to consider future placement of items. But back to original post and one of the things I like about it is that I can move it around easily. Moving locations isn't the big deal rather just drilling as few of holes as possible.
 

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