Windlass light

[ghebbns]

Hi all,

My windlass is not working and I am just starting the troubleshooting.  There is a breaker on the electrical panel labeled windlass with a light.  I am wondering when this light is supposed to come on?  Is it when the breaker is triggered or when the windlass is actually being used?

I know this is a tough one to answer, but any suggestions on most likely problem?  When I push the foot switch, there is nothing.  I haven't taken the anchor locker apart yet to see what is going on - still trying to get the rest of the boat ship shape.  Any suggestions as to where I should start would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Greg

[BillG]

I'm not an expert, but I would start with electric. Take your multimeter and determine if you are getting power to the circuit breaker, if so are you getting power to the solenoid, some manufacturers call this this the contactor.  How they are wired depends on who makes the windlass, but you should have 2 or 3 wires running to the foot switch and there often is a small 3-5 amp fuse here, is it good? Finally have someone push on the foot switch and see if you get a power reading at the windlass, if you are then it is not in you wiring.

[Jim Hardesty]

On my windless, the small red light is on when the breaker is on.  BTW I leave it off, only turning it on to use the windless.  Also, the foot switch is wired to a solenoid to activate the windless motor.  The solenoid could be stuck.
Just a word of caution.  The windless needs more amps than most things on a boat.  Use care when trouble shooting.
Jim

[ghebbns]

Thanks for your reply and word of caution.  How do you turn the breaker on and off?  I thought it just popped out when it is triggered.  Maybe it is off and I don't even know it.

[patrice]

HI,

On mine it say Pull to put ON and push to turn OFF...   

[ghebbns]

I had a few minutes to stop down at the boat and have a look.  My breaker actually pulls off and pushes on.  The light is not working but I did measure 12v when the switch was on so I think it is working.

It was pretty windy and I only had a few minutes but I thought I could hear a slight clicking when I engage the foot switch with the breaker on.  I did not hear this with the breaker off.  Makes me think that the windlass may be seized.  Should I be able to turn it by hand?  I can't budge it.

Thanks

[Noah]

Currently, my Maxwell windless has a 150 amp breaker/switch in addition to the main panel breaker and indicator light. Perhaps you have an inline fuse that is blown where the windless come off your battery bank?

[patrice]

I had a few minutes to stop down at the boat and have a look.  My breaker actually pulls off and pushes on.  The light is not working but I did measure 12v when the switch was on so I think it is working.

It was pretty windy and I only had a few minutes but I thought I could hear a slight clicking when I engage the foot switch with the breaker on.  I did not hear this with the breaker off.  Makes me think that the windlass may be seized.  Should I be able to turn it by hand?  I can't budge it.

Thanks

I don't beleive you will be able to turn the windlass by hand, there is to much gear reduction.  Unless you have remove the bulkhead in v berth and have acces to the motor end of the shaft.

I might had the breaker explained reversed, it was from memory .. ;-)

[ghebbns]

So I took the v-berth apart to get access to the windlass.  I am getting 12V to the solenoid so the problem is not with the wiring.  I had someone engage the foot switch and measured the voltage on the other end and was only getting around 5V.  I have been doing some reading and it appears corrosion of the solenoid is a common problem - would the account for the drop in voltage?  Also, I could smell some electrical burning.  Is it possible to clean a solenoid or should it just be replaced?   

Thanks

[ghebbns]

I was able to take a photo of the setup today.  I believe this is a solenoid but not 100% sure.  It looks like it is attached to the foot switch on deck.  It is only a one-way windlass.  Is anyone familiar enough with this type of solenoid to know if I can disassemble it to check for corrosion?

Thanks.

[2ndwish]

Did you check the input line (the one you mentioned has 12V) when the foot switch is contacted? If it too drops to 5V, likely the switch is good and you have a wiring problem upstream. If it stays close to 12V, then you likely have the bad switch.  Looks to me like that is not a solenoid, but rather a high current foot switch. Relatively easy to check whether it is bad by jumpering across the terminals and see whether the windlass works. Can do that safely by switching off the breaker, bolting both red wires in the picture to one stud and flip the breaker on. Have someone at the breaker to flip it off quickly . If it works, you have a bad switch. Replace it-preferably with a solenoid and auxiliary foot switch. If  jumpering doesn't work you have more homework.

[BillG]

I would agree that the photo shows a high current foot switch and not a solenoid, a solenoid would have 2 or 3 small gauge wires leading to the foot switch.

[TonyP]

Greg

Here is a pic of my solenoid. Your pic is definitely the underside of your foot switch.