Simpson Lawrence Windlass that was factory installed on my 44DS keeps tripping breaker when run properly. We have taken it apart and greased it etc.. it has a 70 amp breaker, and all the wiring is in good condition. we have ckd the switches they are ok . It has done this a couple times since it was bought, but now it does it all the time. any suggestions?
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What's the breaker brand?
It might say Lewmar on it but it could be BlueSeas anyway. Mine was recalled by BlueSeas. I can't remember what the problem was though. When I received the recall notice, it was for another model breaker. Slightly different than mine. A phone call precluded the need for a change-out. Also, are you wired through an amp guage? Do you really draw that much? That's a lot. Could be just a bad breaker,,,,,
It might say Lewmar on it but it could be BlueSeas anyway. Mine was recalled by BlueSeas. I can't remember what the problem was though. When I received the recall notice, it was for another model breaker. Slightly different than mine. A phone call precluded the need for a change-out. Also, are you wired through an amp guage? Do you really draw that much? That's a lot. Could be just a bad breaker,,,,,
Tighten Connections
Go thru all the connections on the windlass, breaker, etc and clean and tighten the connections. Sometimes they get a little loose and cause resistance. I had that trouble and mostly fixed it by tightening. It still will trip the breaker if trying to pull the boat to the anchor with the windlass. Bill
Go thru all the connections on the windlass, breaker, etc and clean and tighten the connections. Sometimes they get a little loose and cause resistance. I had that trouble and mostly fixed it by tightening. It still will trip the breaker if trying to pull the boat to the anchor with the windlass. Bill
brushes
I had that problem a few years ago, and finally ended up swapping out the motor brushes. Check the connections at the terminal first.
I had that problem a few years ago, and finally ended up swapping out the motor brushes. Check the connections at the terminal first.
SL windlass, here we go again.....
Based on my experience with a SL Anchorman 800 windlass, the motor is a strong possibility for the problem. My SL windlass had a Leroy-Somer motor (French made) and SL discontinued use of that motor in 1997 due to poor brush reliability. I can second that since my original brushes went 6 years and I have put in a set of brushes each year since then. With your 2004 vessel, I would hope that you have the replacement motor that is made in the Scotland by LEMAC. I just ordered and installed this replacement motor this past week. It is available from a company in the UK. Got it in 4 days via DHL. Runs great!! See the attached link to that company. I can give you the part number- let me know if you need it and I will look it up. Anyway, if you have the older L-S motor, it is garbage. I would replace it with a new motor. I put half the cost of the new motor into 2 sets of brushes and still had a unreliable machine. BTW, the 70A breaker (probably the same as I have), will allow current in the 150A range for short periods of time- maybe 10-30 seconds or more. I have measured my windlass with the old L-S motor and observed currents in the 100-200A range when pulling moderately hard. The instructions say to only use the windlass to pull up the free anchor and chain and NOT to pull the boat to the anchor or breakout the anchor from the bottom. Use the boat to run-up to the anchor and breakout if required. If the chain pulls tight when pulling up I IMMEDIATELY stop pulling and runthe boat to slack the chain again.
Based on my experience with a SL Anchorman 800 windlass, the motor is a strong possibility for the problem. My SL windlass had a Leroy-Somer motor (French made) and SL discontinued use of that motor in 1997 due to poor brush reliability. I can second that since my original brushes went 6 years and I have put in a set of brushes each year since then. With your 2004 vessel, I would hope that you have the replacement motor that is made in the Scotland by LEMAC. I just ordered and installed this replacement motor this past week. It is available from a company in the UK. Got it in 4 days via DHL. Runs great!! See the attached link to that company. I can give you the part number- let me know if you need it and I will look it up. Anyway, if you have the older L-S motor, it is garbage. I would replace it with a new motor. I put half the cost of the new motor into 2 sets of brushes and still had a unreliable machine. BTW, the 70A breaker (probably the same as I have), will allow current in the 150A range for short periods of time- maybe 10-30 seconds or more. I have measured my windlass with the old L-S motor and observed currents in the 100-200A range when pulling moderately hard. The instructions say to only use the windlass to pull up the free anchor and chain and NOT to pull the boat to the anchor or breakout the anchor from the bottom. Use the boat to run-up to the anchor and breakout if required. If the chain pulls tight when pulling up I IMMEDIATELY stop pulling and runthe boat to slack the chain again.
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