Lewmar windlass 1000 inop

[MissJill]

Anybody had issues with R-27 (or others) Lewmar windlass. Mine came with 2012 R27. Windlass has been used sparingly and has worked well - I always use a snubber to reduce load, hence problem is not owner induced.

Symptoms: inop from both interior switch and deck switches.
Checks: Manual ie loosing star wheel, frees gypsy as normal.
70 amp CB and 3 amp CB at connector are OK - do not trip.
Batteries fully charged - voltage drop when operating switches <1 volt. Using switch/s causes not only a clicking sound BUT a short whine or 'groan' from the connector or solenoid.Can't locate a solenoid to check if there is one.
Under deck wires to motor getting warmer than normal - I stop the switch activation after about 5 sec.

I'm thinkin' bad/stuck motor brushes or cone clutch arrangement locked up.
Believe windlass is still under warranty - but will be a pain to remove from deck and send somewhere.

Any ideas?

THX
Miss Jill

 

[SnugTug]

Could be a seized bearing??? Apparently rust/corrosion can occur over time - check out this video I found showing teardown and potentially points to issue you are experiencing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb03CrRcw2c

Good luck.

 

[Just Dreamin']

One item you might check is the Dual Direction Solenoid (Lewmar calls it a contactor). Basically this tells the switches which direction to operate the windlass. I have a 2009 R25 classic and mine is located inside the electrical compartment behind the helm station and accessed from inside the berth. If you have a Lewmar manual you should find a wiring diagram in the back which shows that particular part is the hub for most of the windlass electrical inputs/outputs. With a multimeter and a second set of arms (to operate the switches) you might be able to isolate the gremlin.
Just another item to check before removing the windlass.
Regards, Mike

 

[Crewdog]

We had to replace the stock windlass relay on right with a slightly larger one as seen here:

 

[aussie]

We had a similar problem and found that the chain piles up under the windlass causing it to stop/strain when we resettled the chain the windlass worked as it should 🙂
Just another POV hope you get it sorted 🙂

Cheers
Peter and Ronie B

 

[MissJill]

Fellow Tuggers -
Thanks for the replies - no issue with chain pileup or current flow.
I have contacted LEWMAR directly and followed their instructions to isolate the problem.
I bypassed the contactor (soleniod) with jumper cable to directly provide current to windlass motor.
Motor did not turn but jumper cable heated up rapidly and tripped 70 amp fuse.
Hunmnm - high resistance hence believe motor is 'frozen' or windlass gears are locked up - also unable to use manual wrench (supplied with boat for manual cranking of windlass) which points to a lock up which motor is attempting to overcome.
Guess I'll be manually handling the anchor like the old days 'till I sort this out.
Thanks for the link (SnugTug) -Will chk out this video since this is probably my next step.

Will update you all with my findings.

John Kelly
Miss Jilly
Remember:: BOAT stands for Bring Over Another Thousand!

 

[SnugTug]

Good luck - let us know how it turns out please.

 

[captstu]

My Lewmar windless froze - it appeared the chain was free, but actually, it was jammed. Loosen the gipsy clutch just to be sure. Probably a bearing, but it may be an easy fix.