Bow Thruster Not Working

[bpanerio]

My Cutwater 28 bow thruster stopped working. It just makes a click sound when you move the toggle to the right or left. The stern thruster works fine. The fuse seems to be fine in the 1/4 berth. Ideas? Thanks!

 

[Capt’nKarl]

Check connections to make sure they are tight and there’s no corrosion.
Karl

 

[knotflying]

There is a troubleshooting sequence to follow to help determine the cause of your issue. Go to the sidepower/Imtra site and you will find it there. It could be the solenoid, relay. thermal protector, connections or joy stick itself.

 

[bpanerio]

I put a volt meter on it and it has power to it.

 

[KKRCRACE]

My bow thruster stoped working this weekend on my 2 year old boat. Pretty sure that it’s a broken gear box. It’s not the shear pin as I have already checked that. Should last longer than 2 years I would think.
KKRCRACE

 

[SLyle01]

My bow thruster stoped working this weekend on my 2 year old boat. Pretty sure that it’s a broken gear box. It’s not the shear pin as I have already checked that. Should last longer than 2 years I would think.
KKRCRACE

Had the exact same thing: gearbox seal failed, seawater corroded gears, washed off lube & stripped pinion gear.
Had to replace entire gearleg (aka Hub Ass'y.) Don't hold your breath for FM or Lewmar to honor their '3 year warranty' any time soon (waited over 3 mos.and it covers parts-only anyways).
I just bought one (110TT model) from "MauriPro" in CA for $196 -7 days delivery!

 

[MarcoArias]

My Cutwater 28 bow thruster stopped working. It just makes a click sound when you move the toggle to the right or left. The stern thruster works fine. The fuse seems to be fine in the 1/4 berth. Ideas? Thanks!

Hi!

The first thing I would recommend is to check voltage at the bow thruster while everything is powered. Feel free to email me direct if you have any questions. My email is in my signature.

 

[bpanerio]

So.....I ordered a complete motor replacement with relay, solenoid, plug in ready. My question is:

Can I leave the boat in the water and replace this without any water coming in? Is the bottom half bolted in place? Just how hard will this be for me to do? It looks like a couple of hex bolts, the wiring harness, and the positive and negative cable to the unit. Thanks for the help!!

 

[SLyle01]

Agree that a 2 year old CW (or in my case a 1 year old R27) bow thruster should NOT fail at all. Lower plastic seal fails/breaks and seawater does the damage: gears lose lube and strip.
Replace out of water. C28 should be pretty straightforward if it's a 110TT Model. Replacing the 140 Model thruster in bigger CWs is a nightmare: Lewmar says "it is a 4 hour job and the saddle must be cut out and replaced" (a $20 part).
My R27 bow thruster 110TT Hub Assembly (gearleg) took ~3 hrs. for a good Tech. to do.
Lewmar has a problem but they don't seem to acknowledge it. Been waiting 3 months for FM or Dealer to get Lewmar to honor even their minimal Parts-only "3-year warranty".

 

[knotflying]

So.....I ordered a complete motor replacement with relay, solenoid, plug in ready. My question is:

Can I leave the boat in the water and replace this without any water coming in? Is the bottom half bolted in place? Just how hard will this be for me to do? It looks like a couple of hex bolts, the wiring harness, and the positive and negative cable to the unit. Thanks for the help!!

Replacing the bow thruster is a lot easier than the stern. You can remove it while still in the water.

 

[KKRCRACE]

I replaced the Bow Thruster gearbox the other day on my C 24. Took me about an hour with help from a Freind and was not a difficult job. I also found that the seal in the bottom of the gearbox had also fallen out. From the growth inside I would say it had been missing for some time. I used gray silicone and put a bead around the seal on the new one and let it blend onto the housing. Hopefully that will stop the new seal from falling out. Hopefully Lewmar will sent a new one.
KKRCRACE

 

[MarcoArias]

So.....I ordered a complete motor replacement with relay, solenoid, plug in ready. My question is:

Can I leave the boat in the water and replace this without any water coming in? Is the bottom half bolted in place? Just how hard will this be for me to do? It looks like a couple of hex bolts, the wiring harness, and the positive and negative cable to the unit. Thanks for the help!!

That is correct. The motor itself is detachable and removing it will not allow water in.

 

[bob daily]

When did FM Chang from SiedPower to Lewmar thrusters? And the reason why, are they more reliable or easier to work on or just less expensive? Bob