Shortening a control cable

[Oldslowandugly]

I have installed a Trim-N-Tilt unit on my 1993 Evinrude 48SPL. I ran the tilt control cable from the motor up to the console but since it is a 15-foot Sport I have a lot of extra cable left over. Right now it is coiled up and stored in the console but I want to shorten it. I seem to remember reading it was acceptable to shorten a cable as long as the original or correct connectors are used. What I would do is cut the cable several inches from the connector end and remove what I needed for a neat installation and then solder the wires back together. There are five wires in the cable so five good splices will need to be made. The cable gets connected to the UP-DOWN switch and the tilt gauge. I don't think the length of the cable or the splices will affect the function of them.

[brill]

Shortening the tilt-n-trim harness assembly should not cause a problem. I would consider using heat shrink butt connectors to provide a mechanical and watertight seal. The ABYC standard (sec 11.14.5.7) states " Solder shall not be the sole means of mechanical connection in any circuit. If soldered, the connection shall be so located or supported as to minimize flexing of the conductor where the solder changes the flexible conductor into a solid conductor."

Does this tilt-n-trim retrofit utilize an external box for the relays or are they mounted under the cowling? I am just curious.

[jimh]

If the cable is cut in two and some section removed, and then the two pieces re-joined by well-made splices, there won't be any electrical harm to the circuitry.

I would not recommend shortening the cable, unless there is no place to hide the excess cable and it will remain in sight and become a nuisance.

Are there connectors on both ends of the cable?

As I recall, in c.1993 Evinrude had not changed over to the MWS wiring system, and a cable from that era, like a trim-tilt harness, might not necessarily have connectors on both ends. Particularly at the helm end, I think the conductors for the trim gauge are just individual wires fitted with ring terminal connectors. If that is the case, then I would shorten the cable by cutting off the excess at the helm end, then just install new ring terminal connectors on the loose wires. If there is a connector for connecting to the trim switch on the throttle handle, then you could splice the original onto the loose wires. This approach to the shortening the cable will avoid making a splice in all the conductors somewhere in the middle of the cable.

It is also possible that if there is a connector on one end, you could extract the wiring and contacts from the connector body, cut the cable to the desired length, obtain new contacts for the connector, install the new contacts on the loose wiring, and reassemble the contacts into the connector body. Here I assume the connector body has contacts that are inserted after they are crimped to the wires. New contacts for a connector are just pennies in cost, well maybe a dollar if you buy them from a boutique vendor. You might need a connector extraction tool. Maybe your dealer will help you as he probably has the tool for that OMC connector sitting on a dusty shelf in his service shop.

If the connector for the trim switch is as I recall, it might only have two or three contacts. Even if you had to pay $2 per contact, it would be a good investment of $6 to avoid the butt-splices. The butt-splices and heat shrink and tape will cost at least $6, anyways. Re-fitting the connector will look better and be more reliable than a butt-splice.

This approach would eliminate all butt-splices. My general rule is that on a small boat there is seldom any good reason for having any electrical conductor run through a butt splice.

[Oldslowandugly]

Thanks for the quick replies.

There are two relays, one for UP and one for DOWN. That had me confused about the pump motor function. The relays switch the polarity between the two motor wires and reverse the direction. They are mounted on a bracket that fits into a cavity in the wiring compartment. After I figured out the trick to getting it in there, it is actually a very neat installation.

The wire connectors at the [engine] end I will leave alone as they include the relay harness, pump motor harness, remote switch harness, and gauge sender harness. I tucked them all in to the spot where the oil injection would have been. The remote switch and gauge harness runs up to the console, and that is where I need to shorten it.

Jim is correct, the gauge wires are ring connectors except for the tilt gauge sender wire which is a pigtail with an interlocking connector. The remote switch has three male spade terminals. However the cable's female spade connector does not match the switch so a four inch adapter is included to connect the remote harness to the switch. Jim's idea is better than what I was thinking of doing. I can shorten the cable's wires and install new ring and spade terminals and that would eliminate the need for the adapter.

I like short, neat wiring and I use crimp terminals that are then soldered, sealed, and shrink wrapped. Thank's for the advice!

[jimh]

Good idea to eliminate the adaptor. As long as you will be re-terminating the conductors onto new terminal connectors, you might as well fit on the correct terminal connectors so you can connect the conductor right to the switch without that intermediate adaptor cable. The new rigging will be better than the old rigging.

[Oldslowandugly]

Yes, a lot of work, but all done and everything works. Jim I did as you suggested and I'm glad I did. After I cut the cable I measured the remainder and it was twelve feet long! Now the cable runs exactly right up to the switch and gauge and has new terminals on all the wire ends, crimped, soldered, and sealed. The female spade connectors were the locking kind so I opened them up and re-used them since they were new to begin with.

[jimh]

You work fast. You should change your username to Oldfast...

[Oldslowandugly]

.....and still ugly. I can't believe how long that cable was. You could mount the switch and gauge on a 20+ foot boat. But the T-N-T is specifically for a 40-48-50 hp motor. Weird.