need some help with the trim control on my landlord's outboard motor.
it has a 12 volt DC motor that controls the trim of the motor- there are only 2 wires going into the motor (+ and -). you change the direction of the motor by whichever way the polarity works.
here's where my problem is- it has one switch that is supposed to control the up and down motion thru 2 standard relays with a 2 way switch. i figured out how to get the relays to click, but how do i get it to switch the polarity of the motor depending on whether i want the motor to go up or down?
i know it's probably simple- it worked perfect until his father in law decided to try to clean up the wiring and just tore everything apart to clean up the wiring without noting what went where. that was a month ago, and they haven't been able to figure it out. a diagram would be sweet.

Hey Derrick,if you don't get an answer over the weekend shoot me a pm with your phone number monday morning and I'll have my boat tech. call you.:thumbsup:

thanks, but i kind of need an answer by tomorrow morning..
i've done some research using trusty old google, and i think i might have enough to go on.
but a complete wiring diagram would be nice if someone just happens to have one available...

If you're talking about a stern drive boat, here is the diagram. The buttons are the old style of control but the wiring is the same whether it has the buttons or the throttle lever control.
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/Trim_Diagram.jpg
Mike

Or did you really want the outboard diagram? If so, I'll post that as well.

What brand of outboard? It makes a difference.

i don't know what the brand of the outboard is- i forgot to mentally document it- but it is some sort of aftermarket trim device.
i know nothing about boats, so i don't know the proper terms..
anyways, i tried wiring it up about 10 different ways, and the best i could do was get it to go up a little bit. if i bypass the relay and switch altogether and just run the two wires from the trim motor to the battery, it works perfect- but as soon as a relay is put in the circuit, nothing. the relays work- verified with a test light- but for some reason they won't operate the motor when the juice is switched via relay.
also, the relays seem to be exactly backwards from every schematic i've found online.

here's the setup- a pair of standard 12 volt relays like you get with an electric fan wiring kit. each relay has 5 terminals.
the electric motor only has 2 wires coming out of it.
the dash mounted switch is a 2 way momentary toggle with 3 terminals- power in from the battery in the middle, then the two other wires each go to the low current side of the relays to activate them.

This should work.

http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/medium/Trim_Motor.JPG