DearJon
Well-known member
hunterguy86 said:
Thanks hunterguy. I was just going to send you a PM, but I figured there might be someone else out there wishing to do this mod. So, here it goes.
This is a pretty simple mod, but one which you will use often. The switch I used is made by T-H Marine. You can buy it through many boat accessory retailers. Cost ranges between $29-$35. The switch has three wires coming from it. One purple, one light blue, and one light green. The purple wire is your "hot", or power. The light blue wire is "up". The light green wire is "down". Obviously, the wiring diagram may change from one model of controls to another, but I think these colors are fairly standard for the industry. I've included a picture of a wiring diagram for a newer Yamaha. Maybe it will help.
Before starting any work, make sure the battery or power source is disconnected. Identify the location that you want to mount the switch. It comes with two black screws, but I replaced them with quality SS ones.) From the 18" pigtail that comes off the switch, extend each wire using water proof butt connectors so that they reach the controls. Make sure you leave a little extra room to work with. You can always trim the excess off later. I like to put a dab of dielectric grease on all connections for peace of mind. Heat shrink tubing or liquid electrical tape will help prevent water from entering the connection as well. Make sure you route all wires so that they are protected and out of the way. I used flexible wire loom, or conduit that runs down the channel on the side of the boat. Some use PVC for this. Once the switch is mounted, and all wires have been run, it's time to open that control box. Remove the screws that affix the controls to the boat, so that you can access the back cover. Remove the screws that hold the cover in place to reveal the wiring inside. In my case it was easy to identify the three wires I needed to connect to. There was a Light green wire, a light blue wire and a red wire coming from the motor and running into the control box. These correspond to the green, blue, and purple wires running from your new switch. Avoid using wire taps to make your connections, as they can bring problems down the road. Splice into the wires with good solid butt connectors, and waterproof them the same way you did the others. Do not rely on the control box itself to protect the connections. Once all connections are made, reconnect the battery and test the trim switch on the bow. Then test the trim button on the controls and the one on the motor to ensure everything is working properly before starting reassembly. If everything checks out, replace the cover on the control box, and mount it back to the boat. Enjoy!
