Selva Madeira power trim problem

I was at sea and suddenly noticed that Selva Madeira 40 power trim was going up but not down.
I tried also the tilt switch on the motor but it didn't work either. I was able to get to the harbor slowly but surely.

When I pressed the down switch there was a clicking noise coming from the relay but the trim motor was not spinning at all. I did some study on Youtube, once again thanks to Dangar Marine, there is a nice video about outboard trim-tilt relays.

You can see Selva Madeira trim-tilt relays in this diagram (number 55). The Selva part number is 8515070 and the relay is manufactured by Hella and the product code is  4RD 931 680-01.

I opened the engine cover and checked the relays visually, nothing special spotted my attention.
The plan was to take relays off and switch them in order to see if one of them was faulty.
I used a small flat screwdriver to detach the relays and put them back in different positions.
For my surprise the trim started to work fully, I was able to trim it up and down.
I removed the relays again and tried to clean the connectors but they were in quite good condition. I sprayed some WD-40 to the relay base also.

Hard to say what was the root problem, maybe some conductivity problem.
This was a cheap fix! 😁

Selva trim-tilt relay part #8515070 (5-way relay 40A)

Trim-tilt relays connectors

Relay base

Testing over the hub cleaver on Selva Madeira 40

Today I made a test drive with Signature 10.5"x 18" over the hub cleaver propeller.
This was the first cleaver I have tested and compared to Signature semi-cleaver the difference was quite dramatic. On the first try I was not able to get the boat to plane, the outboard was screaming 6300 rpms which is 800 rpm over the maximum and still the boat was doing only 8 knots or so.

I was able to get the boat to plane when I moved myself to the center of the boat and the outboard was at WOT. With all other previously tested propellers the boat typically starts to plane extremely fast.

I guess the over the hub design, smaller diameter and Selva's quite large gear case is not the ideal combination but still I'm having hard time to understand why the hole shot is so bad.

Once the boat was planing the overall feel was quite good but still I noticed that the outboard was revving much higher than compared to Solas 11 x 17 round ear propeller.
I know that cleavers should be run very high, I don't have a jack plate and the outboard is mounted to uppermost position. However I was able to hit 6000 rpm without much effort so I think the problem not fixed by raising the engine even more. I think the propeller could have more pitch, maybe 20".

The top speed was a couple of knots slower compared to Solas 11" x 17" but I didn't want to push Selva over 6000 rpms.

Installing Hill Marine Signature over-hub cleaver propeller

I'm continuing the never ending quest for finding the optimal propeller for my Selva Madeira 40 outboard. I'm mainly interested to get the maximum top speed.

I have been reading lots of propeller theory and finally wanted to install a real cleaver propeller and see how it behaves.

I ordered 10 1/2" x 18" Signature cleaver for Yamaha 40-60 hp from eBay, this propeller has over-hub exhaust which means that exhaust gases go to propellers blades instead of going through the hub. In theory this kind of design should provide less drag and help with the top speed. On the other hand the hole-shot can suffer, I was willing to take that risk.

Signature 10 1/2" x 18" cleaver

Installation was very easy as I have previously installed Signature semi-cleaver propeller, I used the same XHS hub kit with slightly modified Yamaha thrust washer.

The weather was very windy so I didn't want to go for a real test drive, I only made a small test in the harbor. If I compare this propeller to Signature semi-cleaver 11 1/4 x 18 the difference is huge based on my limited tests at trolling speed. The semi-cleaver behaves more like normal round ear propeller whereas the cleaver seems to have very poor hole-shot, I raised the motor RPMs over 2500 and the boat was going only 5 knots. I think this mainly due to over hub exhaust, I'm a little afraid will the boat even plane 😅

Tiny-Tach tachometer blackout and reset

I was at sea enjoying great weather with my Selva Madeira when I noticed that Tiny-Tach tachometer stopped operating, there was nothing on the screen and pressing the button did not help.

I have been using Tiny-Tach to monitor Selva Madeira RPMs, I have been very satisfied with it,
I bought some cheap tachometers from China but was not able to even install those due to too short wires. The only thing I was a little skeptical with Tiny-Tach is that it has an internal battery which cannot be charged or replaced. I have read that the battery should last several years and my Tiny-Tach was less than a year old. Outside the season I have kept Tiny-Tach indoors to avoid freezing temperatures.

I contacted Tiny-Tach UK because that's where I got the Tiny-Tach with an extended sensor cable. The customer service from Tiny-Tach UK has always been great and now I got instructions how to reset the Tiny-Tach:

First lift a corner of the front sticker and peel it back.

To the right of the select button there is soft 'potting'.

Using a straightened metal paperclip or something similar probe the soft potting.

The object is to short the battery and reset the display. It may take a few attempts to reset.

It should go through a set up display and revert to zeros.

I followed these instructions and after a couple of reset attempts the device started to show zero hours. They even mailed me a new sticker to put on the display! 👌

The root cause of the problem remains still a mystery, it was extremely warm day so maybe the device overheated, this is just my speculation. The Tiny-Tach representative said this can be caused by too much red sensor wire or if the white wire has a poor or non-existent ground to engine block.

Resetting TinyTac using pincers.

Ready to install new cover sticker.

Good as new!

Selva 50HP Madeira 684cc MAGNUM Boat Performance Spark Plugs revisited

I wanted to test again Brisk racing spark plugs (NOR14LGS) now that I have upgraded to larger carburetors and lifted the Selva Madeira outboard to the highest mounting position.

I'm comparing against Champion L78 which is one of the recommended spark plug types by Selva owner's manual.

I'm only interested in the top speed gain and after careful testing there was a 0.4 knots difference favoring Brisk spark plugs. This difference is so small that it might be caused by weather, how high the outboard was trimmed and the differences in GPS accuracy.
I also found that my Selva Madeira was not trolling well, the engine stalled many times maybe due to too low RPMs. I raised the idle RPMs to 1200 but when the gear was on the RPMs dropped sometimes below 800 and Brisk spark plugs were not able to keep the engine running. With Champion spark plugs this did not happen.

To sum it up I'm not planning to use these Brisk racing spark plugs because I want the outboard idle and troll properly. Champion spark plugs are also very inexpensive.

Larger idle jets for Dellorto 38/34 carburetors

Recently I installed larger carburetors to my Madeira 40 outboard to match the ones in 40 XS / 50 HP models. Although the carburetors came from Selva factory the idle jets did not match the to specification. What I got was #65 although Selva documentation says that 40 XS / 50 HP models use #70 idle jets.

My Selva Madeira was not idling very well with #65 idle jets although I have adjusted the idle fuel/air mixture screws.

It's not particularly easy to find Dellorto OVC parts online, I noticed that EUROCARB is one of the few who is selling those. Unfortunately they had only one #70 idle jet available and told that they are not getting more. I ordered the one they had and then the problem was to find another one.

When I got #70 idle jet I noticed that it was exactly the same as #65 idle jet, the only difference was the size of the opening in the tip of the jet. I discovered also that number 70 meant 0.7 mm opening.

I decided to convert the #65 idle jet to #70 by drilling the idle jet using 0.7 mm drill bit.
I was not using a drill, only rotated the drill bit slowly until the opening matched the #70 idle jet.
I was extra careful not to leave any metal parts inside and used compressed air to clean the idle jet.

Once I installed these #70 jets to my Selva Madeira 40 it started to run more smoothly, at least I felt so.

From top to bottom:
#65 idle jet
#70 idle jet
#65 idle jet converted to #70 using 0.7 mm drill bit

Installing Michigan Match propeller

I was looking for an aluminium propeller with more than 17" pitch but those are quite hard to find. The propeller must be Selva Madeira compatible which basically means it must be Yamaha compatible. I found a Michigan Match 10.9" x 17.6" propeller for Nissan/Tohatsu and decided to order one.

This seems to be some older model which is not in the latest catalog, the product number is 142009.

Michigan Match 10.9 x 17.6

I quickly noticed that this propeller is not compatible with Selva Madeira stock thrust washer.
I decided to use the Yamaha thrust washer that comes with Michigan Wheels XHS hub kit 117, the one I modified a little.

There was still a problem with the compatibility, the diameter of the thrust washer was about 44 mm or (1 3/4 inches) leaving a 2 mm gap. I really hope someone could standardize the propeller fittings, it's very hard to install propellers from other brands. Of course Michigan XHS and Solas Rubex hub kits are trying to overcome these problems.

What I did is that I took magnetic tape and folded it two times to make a suitable adapter ribbon that was 1 mm thick. I used a bench vice to make it more solid, it was easy to install and after some lubrication the thrust washer installed quite nicely.

I think you can use any strong tape, maybe brass tape could be the optimum, I just had magnetic tape in stock 😏

Magnetic tape

Magnetic tape folded two times.

Custom adapter ribbon installed.

Yamaha thrust washer modded for Selva Madeira.

Michigan Match propeller 142009
ready to be installed on Selva Madeira.

Jun 7, 2018 update:

I tried to install the propeller but diameter of the outer body is too large and the propeller was touching the gear case and only barely rotating!
I'm planning to remove some coating and try again, will post an update later on.

Jun 30, 20180 update:

I used some sandpaper to make hub diameter smaller, now it's a little less than 80 mm and propeller spins freely when installed on Selva Madeira 40.

I did some tests on the water and propeller behaved quite well, still the top speed was a little slower than with Solas 11 x 17 so I'm keeping this Michigan Match propeller as a spare propeller.

14200

142009