Hey Rich, thantks for this helpful how-to. It helped me fix a dirty trim switch on the Commander 3000 handle. All it took was sanding the brass contacts inside the switch and applying delectric grease. You saved me a lot of time and trouble, and maybe $$.
Glad it helped By the way, dielectric grease is non-conductive but in this case it probably won't cause a problem, just don't use it on high voltage areas like your sparkplugs. Your engine won't start and even if it does it will run very rough.
Thanks for the information on how to take this a part. I had a cable break and had to replace it. I had to take mine totally a part. The three hex bolts you have attach to the control housing the shift cables go into behind the fiberglass. Removing those 3 will allow you to slide the control box forward from behind the fiberglass service it. I had to do that to replace my cables. The 3 stripped out screws you have should be hex bolts as well. Those three attach the black bezel to the boat and should have lock nuts on the back side. That was how mine was when I took it a part.
So you take out the 3 hex bolts, the back plate with cables attached slides forward and out of the surrounding fiberglass wall. Then you can remove the lock nuts and stripped screws (on mine) then replace them with hex bolts, put the lock nuts back on, slide back into the hole and replace the 3 hex bolts. Is that correct?
Hey Rich. Thanks! I think I got it right although it kind of still looks wrong. I paused your video to make sure it looked the same! Thanks again. I also searched the internet for the red button picture angle and looks like that the way it is
Thanks Rich. If you can just to double check. Please don’t take it apart! Just a couple close ups of how the red button and two pieces are seated on yours would be good to see
Hi Rich, ì was glad you clarified the potions for the removal and installation of the pin at the end of the video. Deffenitly confusing before that. Hopefully you'll figure out your electrical issue. It's usually grounds that need cleaning on a boat. Using a multimeter to chase it down helps.
Hi Rich, My top trim button stopped working but the down one and trailer buttons work. Do you know which color wire is for each button? Purple, blue and red?
Mercury motor? 3 or 4 cylinders? Are the wires solid colors or do they have a white stripe? The manual just shows those 3 wires, doesn't say what's what. But those wires go to the relays (up and down) on the right/starboard side of the engine. If you take the cowling off and have someone press the up button you'll hear the one that's energized. Look for the color on that one. The top 2 relays should be trim and the 3rd relay is for the starter motor. Top relay is up, middle is down. Are you sure it's the switch in the commander that's bad? The switch on the shifter just closes the contacts on the relay. The relays actually do the energizing of power to the tilt motor/pump. It could be the down relay that's bad. Be sure and take voltage readings on those relays.
Hi Warren, I didn't have anything to hold the camera so I had to stop filming and take that peg out. No, didn't break mine. Did you have the shifter in the forward position, about a 45° angle? When the shifter is at that angle there's nothing holding the peg except that rounded/split end. Mine came out easily. My boat is garage kept year around. It's old but there's no accumulation of dirt or corrosion anywhere.
Hello, do you know what is the name of the tilt switch on the lower left of the mount? Mine is missing, I just have to short the contacts with a screwdriver to raise the lower unit for travel mode. I'd like to replace or repair it.
On the commander 3000 I have, the lower left is the kill switch. The tilt is the thumb button on the throttle. Near the end of the video you'll see a popup that's a link to the parts list page. That's shows the 2 switches; kill and tilt switches
Rich, i have a 1995 Tracker with a 75hp Mercury.. The alarm under the cowling was going off intermittently. The oil injector is working. I disconnected the alarm. What would cause the alarm to go off? Thanks for your help. Allen
Do you have the oil reservoir under the engine cowling? My 1995 115 Merc had a bad low oil sensor and it was always on. I had to replace the entire reservoir as there is no repair for the sensor. Another possibility is the rev limiter. When the alarm goes off, does it just beep and is there a sudden drop in power at the same time? This happened to me and it was a bad rev limiter.
Also. A 17mm socket will not fit on an 11/16 bolt. I was taking mine apart to diagnose a sticking throttle. Turned out that there is a recall for my unit.
Hey Rich. First of all thank you! This helped big time. When you put the two halves of the handle back together, does it seem not to seat together.. the plastic piece in the medal piece at the top and the button? Seems they should click in better but maybe not? Thanks again!
The biggest problem I had was the nub at the bottom of the shift handle. The top went together fairly easily. Make sure the wires from the trim button are in the channels in the handle. Make sure the spring is on the plastic peg on the black plastic side, through the metal "U" position and into the hole in the red plastic release. Check the video at 5:00 minutes. The only problem I had was with the bottom nub; hard to get off, hard to get on. :-)
Hi I have a problem every time I shift foreword it run but when I put in low idle it cut off the motor but I do it fast to neutral than the motor stay on so I don’t know what happen seem like something Cut off the motor on idle can’t figure out what happen don’t I hook up wrong or what
If I understand, when you shift from forward to neutral, the motor stops? When you start the motor in neutral, will it idle properly? When idling, can you shift from idle to forward then back to idle? Can you shift from idle to reverse then back to idle? Was the idle working properly before you disassembled the shifter? Is the shifter aligned for forward-neutral-reverse? At the end of my video I show how to check for shifter alignment Is your gasoline new? Old gasoline can make the motor run rough and stall. If you had this problem before you may need to rebuild the carbs or maybe just adjust the idle speed.
You can go to the Mercury parts catalog site, put in your serial number and find the part number. www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/parts-and-accessories/parts-catalog
Hi Faustino. Gas is getting so high that I've pretty much parked the boat. I don't mind buying gas for the boat but the SUV isn't gas friendly. $58 for a round trip to the lake, plus boat gas. Woof! I'm not sure what you mean by neutral switch. There are 2 switches in the Commander. The tilt 'n trim switch at the top and the kill switch on the lanyard. The throttle-only button is at the bottom of the control handle. You push that in and you can throttle without shifting. Is that what you mean? That's 824026
@@richward2288 I hear you on the gas. It is high and I must go fishing, just got to. The commander has a neutral switch in the grey box on the interior side, just above the linkage. Either my neutral switch is bad or I beat out of when I replaced the trim and tilt switch. My boat’s neutral switch at the commander.
Hey Faustino, I got a Mercury service manual for my 115. There is Diagram that shows the neutral switch. I don't know why they don't show it in the book for the Commander. However, it doesn't show a part number. If you're still looking I suggest you contact an online supplier like iBoats, MarineEngine.com or the Hull Truth.
Hi Rich , I have the same throttle I have a problem with it the neutral button is stuck it won't disengage would you know what to do to fix it it was working fine 😅 it just got stuck after we installed the impeller its alpha one gen 1 5.7 v8
Hi Luis, I never got notified about your question. Hopefully you have resolved it. In the Commander 3000 book only 2 switches are shown and the neutral switch isn't one of them. I suggest that you disassemble the Commander and get the part number off the switch. Another option is to contact a parts supplier like MarineEngine.com, iBoats, Hull Truth or Boats.net. Good luck and sorry about not seeing your post.
I found the neutral switch numbers in a diagram Neutral Start Switch 87-822198A1 (2 Ring Terminals) Neutral Start Switch 87-822198A2 (No Ring Terminals)
@Rich Ward, thanks for sharing this video. I have a 1994 Tracker Magna 17 with the same throttle setup, the QUICKSILVER 3000 Series, and I am having the hardest time finding the part number of the trim switch for this throttle. Does anyone have a part number for trim switch for this throttle?
@@toplopez My owners manual covers 3 models of the 3000 commander. If yours is like mine in the video then the torque is 150 in. lbs. (NOT foot lbs. mind you) It also says to use Loctite 242 on the threads of that bolt. My manual also says the bolt is 17mm - 11/16". Unfortunately there is no way to attach a picture here. (All 3 models say 150 in. lbs. and Loctite 242 in my manual.)
I think they are supplied by Mercury but Quicksilver is an aftermarket brand for Mercury. If you have Mercury outboard then that's why you have one of these. I've never had a problem with mine, good remote.
When you press the trim up button on the remote, do you hear the trim motor run or does it run only in the trim down? If you hear the trim motor only in the down position then you probably have a bad switch in the remote. If you hear the trim motor in the up position then you have something wrong with the trim pump or motor. Do you know how to check the pump hydraulic fluid? Check your owners manual for instructions and what fluid to use.
I had a problem with this video because he did not make it clear that it had to be in the fast idle-neutral position. That caused me to break the button trying to pry it off. He clarifies it towards the end but it was too late for me!
At 1:06 in the video I not only tell you to have it in fast idle, I have the throttle set that way. I don't see how you missed that. When looking at amateur videos, like mine, I always view the entire video first before starting any repair.
I just tore the handle apart. It's revealing that's for sure. I still can't get the damn thing to separate. I'm fucked if I forget where everything went. I wonder if I took too many things apart that didn't need to come apart. That gear assembly looks like a greasy clock gear. God I hope I didn't trash this damn thing. I don't do gunwales that often, otherwise I'd know this shit.
Sorry I'm just getting back to you. TH-cam is really bad about notifications. It's an on/off thing with them. The 2 halves of the handle are very difficult to work with. They are hard to get apart or put back together. There is only the screw and the nub at the bottom and it is the nub that causes the most difficulty. I did not remove the unit from the gunnel so I don't know about the gear assembly but what I could see looked dry, no grease. But that's the gear that the handle attaches to. I hope you had good luck with it.
@@richward2288 ...lol... That was awhile ago. My friend came to the rescue and put it all back together. I paid him fifty bucks to do it too. It's not that scary after all. I have another boat to do. I'm molding the rear seat to the rear part of the gunwales. It's going to resemble a horseshoe. I can't believe how expensive everything is now. I'm doing a pontoon interior that consists of 21 cushions. The foam alone was over 800 bucks. Three years ago it was half that. This covid crap is killing everything good. All ammo is about 88 cents a pop no matter what. Fuck all of us running with scissors on thin ice in late March, this pandemic is a fucking pain in the ass. I used to be reasonably priced but my goods have gone up way too high. It's now time to become a little more clever. I gotta learn how to be savvy. There's a loop hole under every other rock a guy turns over. I quit drinking coffee on the first and the result is, I can't shut the fuck up. I'm driving everybody bat shit crazy. However, this blond at the bar I was eating in gave me a squeeze on my shoulder that was telling me she likes me. I'm going to explore that next. This waitress looks like Ozzy's daughter. Fuck, she's thirty years younger than me. Grampa needs some love....and a substitute for coffee. 🙄
Hey Rich, thantks for this helpful how-to. It helped me fix a dirty trim switch on the Commander 3000 handle. All it took was sanding the brass contacts inside the switch and applying delectric grease. You saved me a lot of time and trouble, and maybe $$.
Glad it helped
By the way, dielectric grease is non-conductive but in this case it probably won't cause a problem, just don't use it on high voltage areas like your sparkplugs. Your engine won't start and even if it does it will run very rough.
Excellent and clear comments with help of the screen notes. Glad you verified reinstalled position and prop check.
Hi, thanks for the compliments. I hope you found my video useful.
Thanks for the information on how to take this a part. I had a cable break and had to replace it. I had to take mine totally a part. The three hex bolts you have attach to the control housing the shift cables go into behind the fiberglass. Removing those 3 will allow you to slide the control box forward from behind the fiberglass service it. I had to do that to replace my cables. The 3 stripped out screws you have should be hex bolts as well. Those three attach the black bezel to the boat and should have lock nuts on the back side. That was how mine was when I took it a part.
So you take out the 3 hex bolts, the back plate with cables attached slides forward and out of the surrounding fiberglass wall. Then you can remove the lock nuts and stripped screws (on mine) then replace them with hex bolts, put the lock nuts back on, slide back into the hole and replace the 3 hex bolts. Is that correct?
Hey Rich. Thanks! I think I got it right although it kind of still looks wrong. I paused your video to make sure it looked the same! Thanks again. I also searched the internet for the red button picture angle and looks like that the way it is
Mine is assembled but if you need me to take a picture of the red button area let me know. I really don't want to take it apart again, however.
Thanks Rich. If you can just to double check. Please don’t take it apart! Just a couple close ups of how the red button and two pieces are seated on yours would be good to see
Hi Rich, ì was glad you clarified the potions for the removal and installation of the pin at the end of the video. Deffenitly confusing before that. Hopefully you'll figure out your electrical issue. It's usually grounds that need cleaning on a boat. Using a multimeter to chase it down helps.
The problem I was having turned out to be a bad rev limiter. I replaced that and haven't had any more problems.
You sir, are an absolute godsend!
Glad i was able to help you. 🙂
Thanks for the video. It saved me some head scratching.
Glad it helped you 🙂
Thank you so much I been looking on how to remove it
Hi Nicole, glad I was able to help
life saver thanks
Hi Rich,
My top trim button stopped working but the down one and trailer buttons work.
Do you know which color wire is for each button?
Purple, blue and red?
Mercury motor? 3 or 4 cylinders? Are the wires solid colors or do they have a white stripe?
The manual just shows those 3 wires, doesn't say what's what. But those wires go to the relays (up and down) on the right/starboard side of the engine. If you take the cowling off and have someone press the up button you'll hear the one that's energized. Look for the color on that one.
The top 2 relays should be trim and the 3rd relay is for the starter motor. Top relay is up, middle is down.
Are you sure it's the switch in the commander that's bad? The switch on the shifter just closes the contacts on the relay. The relays actually do the energizing of power to the tilt motor/pump.
It could be the down relay that's bad. Be sure and take voltage readings on those relays.
thank u!
Glad I could help you
So I noticed a cut in the video in "just prying the peg out" . . . did you bust yours like I did mine?
Hi Warren, I didn't have anything to hold the camera so I had to stop filming and take that peg out. No, didn't break mine. Did you have the shifter in the forward position, about a 45° angle? When the shifter is at that angle there's nothing holding the peg except that rounded/split end. Mine came out easily. My boat is garage kept year around. It's old but there's no accumulation of dirt or corrosion anywhere.
Hello, do you know what is the name of the tilt switch on the lower left of the mount? Mine is missing, I just have to short the contacts with a screwdriver to raise the lower unit for travel mode. I'd like to replace or repair it.
On the commander 3000 I have, the lower left is the kill switch. The tilt is the thumb button on the throttle. Near the end of the video you'll see a popup that's a link to the parts list page. That's shows the 2 switches; kill and tilt switches
Rich, i have a 1995 Tracker with a 75hp Mercury.. The alarm under the cowling was going off intermittently. The oil injector is working. I disconnected the alarm. What would cause the alarm to go off? Thanks for your help. Allen
Do you have the oil reservoir under the engine cowling? My 1995 115 Merc had a bad low oil sensor and it was always on. I had to replace the entire reservoir as there is no repair for the sensor. Another possibility is the rev limiter. When the alarm goes off, does it just beep and is there a sudden drop in power at the same time? This happened to me and it was a bad rev limiter.
Also. A 17mm socket will not fit on an 11/16 bolt. I was taking mine apart to diagnose a sticking throttle. Turned out that there is a recall for my unit.
Both worked on mine, your mileage may vary. Use whichever one works for you.
Hey Rich. First of all thank you! This helped big time. When you put the two halves of the handle back together, does it seem not to seat together.. the plastic piece in the medal piece at the top and the button? Seems they should click in better but maybe not? Thanks again!
The biggest problem I had was the nub at the bottom of the shift handle. The top went together fairly easily. Make sure the wires from the trim button are in the channels in the handle. Make sure the spring is on the plastic peg on the black plastic side, through the metal "U" position and into the hole in the red plastic release. Check the video at 5:00 minutes. The only problem I had was with the bottom nub; hard to get off, hard to get on. :-)
Hi I have a problem every time I shift foreword it run but when I put in low idle it cut off the motor but I do it fast to neutral than the motor stay on so I don’t know what happen seem like something Cut off the motor on idle can’t figure out what happen don’t I hook up wrong or what
If I understand, when you shift from forward to neutral, the motor stops? When you start the motor in neutral, will it idle properly? When idling, can you shift from idle to forward then back to idle? Can you shift from idle to reverse then back to idle?
Was the idle working properly before you disassembled the shifter?
Is the shifter aligned for forward-neutral-reverse? At the end of my video I show how to check for shifter alignment
Is your gasoline new? Old gasoline can make the motor run rough and stall. If you had this problem before you may need to rebuild the carbs or maybe just adjust the idle speed.
I need to replace the trim switch I bought one but not sure if it is the right one could use some help on whether I bought the right part
You can go to the Mercury parts catalog site, put in your serial number and find the part number. www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/parts-and-accessories/parts-catalog
@Rich how are you doing these days? Would you have the part number for the neutral switch that goes in the commander?
Hi Faustino. Gas is getting so high that I've pretty much parked the boat. I don't mind buying gas for the boat but the SUV isn't gas friendly. $58 for a round trip to the lake, plus boat gas. Woof!
I'm not sure what you mean by neutral switch. There are 2 switches in the Commander. The tilt 'n trim switch at the top and the kill switch on the lanyard. The throttle-only button is at the bottom of the control handle. You push that in and you can throttle without shifting. Is that what you mean? That's 824026
@@richward2288 I hear you on the gas. It is high and I must go fishing, just got to. The commander has a neutral switch in the grey box on the interior side, just above the linkage. Either my neutral switch is bad or I beat out of when I replaced the trim and tilt switch. My boat’s neutral switch at the commander.
@@toplopez th-cam.com/video/oTJymnT3lRU/w-d-xo.html
Hey Faustino, I got a Mercury service manual for my 115. There is Diagram that shows the neutral switch. I don't know why they don't show it in the book for the Commander. However, it doesn't show a part number. If you're still looking I suggest you contact an online supplier like iBoats, MarineEngine.com or the Hull Truth.
@@richward2288 thanks.
Hi Rich , I have the same throttle I have a problem with it the neutral button is stuck it won't disengage would you know what to do to fix it it was working fine 😅 it just got stuck after we installed the impeller its alpha one gen 1 5.7 v8
Its the throttle only button that's stuck
Hi Luis, I never got notified about your question. Hopefully you have resolved it. In the Commander 3000 book only 2 switches are shown and the neutral switch isn't one of them. I suggest that you disassemble the Commander and get the part number off the switch. Another option is to contact a parts supplier like MarineEngine.com, iBoats, Hull Truth or Boats.net.
Good luck and sorry about not seeing your post.
I found the neutral switch numbers in a diagram
Neutral Start Switch 87-822198A1 (2 Ring Terminals)
Neutral Start Switch 87-822198A2 (No Ring Terminals)
@Rich Ward, thanks for sharing this video. I have a 1994 Tracker Magna 17 with the same throttle setup, the QUICKSILVER 3000 Series, and I am having the hardest time finding the part number of the trim switch for this throttle. Does anyone have a part number for trim switch for this throttle?
My book says the panel mount model of the Commander 3000 is 87-18286A41, for the trim switch part number
@@richward2288 thank you Sir! I’ll try that part number and update you on what I find.
@@toplopez It's available on Amazon
www.amazon.com/Mercury-Mercruiser-87-18286A41-Commander-Switch/dp/B003903TEC
Rich for the nut you mention 150 in lbs. Might this be the specifications for your boat type or for this specific commander?
@@toplopez My owners manual covers 3 models of the 3000 commander. If yours is like mine in the video then the torque is 150 in. lbs. (NOT foot lbs. mind you) It also says to use Loctite 242 on the threads of that bolt. My manual also says the bolt is 17mm - 11/16". Unfortunately there is no way to attach a picture here. (All 3 models say 150 in. lbs. and Loctite 242 in my manual.)
Also where did you get the manual?
The book for the remote control came with my Ranger when I bought it. I got a bag of books, saved them all, they have come in handy. :-)
I have the same remote control on my 1995 Tracker Super 16 pro.
I think they are supplied by Mercury but Quicksilver is an aftermarket brand for Mercury. If you have Mercury outboard then that's why you have one of these. I've never had a problem with mine, good remote.
I have same remote but the trim dont go hi only down !
When you press the trim up button on the remote, do you hear the trim motor run or does it run only in the trim down? If you hear the trim motor only in the down position then you probably have a bad switch in the remote. If you hear the trim motor in the up position then you have something wrong with the trim pump or motor. Do you know how to check the pump hydraulic fluid? Check your owners manual for instructions and what fluid to use.
I had a problem with this video because he did not make it clear that it had to be in the fast idle-neutral position. That caused me to break the button trying to pry it off. He clarifies it towards the end but it was too late for me!
At 1:06 in the video I not only tell you to have it in fast idle, I have the throttle set that way. I don't see how you missed that. When looking at amateur videos, like mine, I always view the entire video first before starting any repair.
I just tore the handle apart. It's revealing that's for sure. I still can't get the damn thing to separate. I'm fucked if I forget where everything went. I wonder if I took too many things apart that didn't need to come apart. That gear assembly looks like a greasy clock gear. God I hope I didn't trash this damn thing. I don't do gunwales that often, otherwise I'd know this shit.
Sorry I'm just getting back to you. TH-cam is really bad about notifications. It's an on/off thing with them.
The 2 halves of the handle are very difficult to work with. They are hard to get apart or put back together. There is only the screw and the nub at the bottom and it is the nub that causes the most difficulty.
I did not remove the unit from the gunnel so I don't know about the gear assembly but what I could see looked dry, no grease. But that's the gear that the handle attaches to.
I hope you had good luck with it.
@@richward2288 ...lol... That was awhile ago. My friend came to the rescue and put it all back together. I paid him fifty bucks to do it too. It's not that scary after all. I have another boat to do. I'm molding the rear seat to the rear part of the gunwales. It's going to resemble a horseshoe. I can't believe how expensive everything is now. I'm doing a pontoon interior that consists of 21 cushions. The foam alone was over 800 bucks. Three years ago it was half that. This covid crap is killing everything good. All ammo is about 88 cents a pop no matter what. Fuck all of us running with scissors on thin ice in late March, this pandemic is a fucking pain in the ass. I used to be reasonably priced but my goods have gone up way too high. It's now time to become a little more clever. I gotta learn how to be savvy. There's a loop hole under every other rock a guy turns over. I quit drinking coffee on the first and the result is, I can't shut the fuck up. I'm driving everybody bat shit crazy. However, this blond at the bar I was eating in gave me a squeeze on my shoulder that was telling me she likes me. I'm going to explore that next. This waitress looks like Ozzy's daughter. Fuck, she's thirty years younger than me. Grampa needs some love....and a substitute for coffee. 🙄