Penta D3 200 trim sensor

[dublinnc11]

I have an issue with my NC11 engine trim. 

On the left engine pushing any of the trim buttons results in the manual trim indicator bouncing up and down. I don't know if the engine is actually trimming or if its a sensor. 

Anyone have experiences with this?

[Hanzel]

Last year my trim sender of the sb engine gave wrong indications, not jumping but indicated -5 whilst the drive was half way up.
Could not lower the drive and also joystick was not working any more.
I went in the water (early april!) to feel if anything was loose or so.
Ended in replacement of the sender itself. Be careful, check with your drive number for the right type of sender!

[dublinnc11]

Thanks for that. I wonder if it is a common issue with the D3. I will probably be jumping into the water myself pretty soon to check. 

[Boatruptcy]

I also have an NC11 with the D3s and I ended my season with the exact same issue on my starboard engine.  The outdrive is definitely not trimming, but both the manual and digital indicators suggest that it is.  It's a problem because when I go to start the engine, it won't start because it "senses" that the outdrive is trimmed up too high, which it is not.  I have to keep trying until is senses the engine is trimmed down enough for it to start. In the spring, I will have the Volvo tech replace the sensor, which I am told may be on the outdrive depending on the model.

[Hanzel]

For this situation you can try to ‘trick’ the system by starting a trim-calibration procedure.
Normally you can lower the drive until the end and than finish the calibration and start the engine.

And btw, the sensor is indeed at the outdrive itself.
One challenge: when stopping the engine the drives return to the middle position and than it is hardly possible to reach the sensor.

[Boatruptcy]

Thanks Hanzel!  How do you do that calibration?  I will be pulling the boat for sensor change.  I can still manually raise and lower outdrive, so hopefully not an issue.

[Hanzel]

calibration evc-d 3.pdf (591.33 KB)

Here is the procedure, see page 2, easy job.
Succes and keep us posted about the results.

[Boatruptcy]

Wow!  Super helpful!  Thanks so much!

[ian222]

I had the same issue, where the gauges swing up and down on the dash.
i replaced the trim sensor and all was good.

[inewbie]

Same. I used the trim calibration to temporize until I had the boat hauled out at the end of the season. (Some counseled me that using the joystick with a faulty trim sender could lead to damage.....never had a problem).

The trim sender evidently goes out fairly frequently on our boats as it operates in a harsh environment and transits through the transom.

1+ "boat unit" in cost. Mechanics complained it was a beyatccch to fish the wire through transom. On youtube I saw them use a fishing wire to pull (maybe I'll try it myself next time).

Unfortunately, it is becoming apparent to me that boating is something that happens occasionally in between expensive repairs.

[Hanzel]

Agree it's not an easy job to find the wire.
We connected a thin rope to the wire from inside before pulling out, new wire easy pulling in, however than you have to close the hole with the wire plug....... no access and huge difference in diameter uchhhh.
Finally succeeded with lots of vaseline

[dublinnc11]

So the engine might still be trimming just without any indication of the level?

Any rough figure on the repair costs?

[Boatruptcy]

I think you can manually trim, but the indicator on dash and digital at helm, is reading something completely different, and fluctuating a bunch.  I'm anxious to hear the cost as well, as it is on my commissioning list for this spring.  Anything undere $1k is a win!

[Hanzel]

Don’t know in other country, but in Holland I paid for the sensor around € 250 and the work was around 2 - 3 hours including the landing.
As mechanical engineer, I do not trust electronics 😁, when one stucks the other can follow so I bought already a second sensor, just in case……
As I mentioned before, check the type as there are several types.