Bench Test an Electric Windlass Motor?

[SkiprJohn]

I would like to bench test a windlass electric motor and thought I knew how to do it but it didn't work out. The motor has one lug near the rear of the motor. I put a 12V positive charge there and a negative near the gear drive. All I got was sparks. No shaft spin. I just used an 8 amp battery charger for the source of the power. Would that be too weak to make the motor spin and should I get a stronger source of power like a running truck, tractor, car battery terminal?

Am I missing some other element here?

This might be another case of me thinking I knew what I was doing but not really.

I believe the windlass to be a very old Ideal from a Grand Banks trawler. Very Old.

Thanks for any help even if its a humorous annecdote or giving me a shove toward reality.

Kind regards,

[Charlie]

Hi John:
Not enough current I used a 50 amp charger to bench test mine. Didn't move. You need to connect to a battery or find a electric motor shop to test it for you.

[Boracay]

When I took my windlass out to Arco-Hutton to be checked they put on a couple of leads from a battery (from memory).

It turned, they pronounced it to be good, put a few dabs of grease on it, and charged me a few bucks.

I reinstalled it and its worked fine ever since.

At around 2000 watts its not going to be far off 150 amps under serious load. A big battery charger may do it but a battery could be a better option.

Do check that the right terminals are being connected. That magic smoke is very expensive to put back in.

I found a website for the Ideal Windlass Company. They seem to have all sorts of interesting information.

[djmarchand]

Windlass motors can be repaired. Go to an older automotive electric shop in a marine town. The older the better. They can usually cobble together brushes and bearings.

David

[GordMay]

Goto ➥ IDEAL WINDLASS COMPANY

Then “Service Info” ➥ East Greenwich

Then “Maintenance & Troubleshooting” ➥ http://www.idealwindlass.com/TROUBLESHOOTING.pdf

[mbianka]

I used a bigger 12 volt power supply to check my (1986?) Maxwell Nilsson windlass under no load but, not much bigger maybe 10-15 amps. A battery might be better though. Just make sure there is only one lug. I had two and when I connected the supply to them there was nothing. Turns out they were two seperate windings in the motor (one for up and the other for down) when I took the negative side to the case it operated fine. :
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: REPAIRING A MAXWELL NILSSON VR-700 WINDLASS PART 3

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Captains,
You folks have given me a lot of very good information and my confidence is returning. Soon I'll have enough gumption up to test it again.
I never had an electric windlass before so this is all new to me. For its age it looks to be in pretty good condition although I'm not certain how an electric motor can stay out in the elements without rusting to pieces. This is a horizontal windlass with the motor mounted on deck so its right out there in the open.
kind regards and thanks again.

[SkiprJohn]

Ok. It works. I used the tractor battery and especially big jumper cables and it spins! Whoopee. Now all I have to do is put it back together.
Thanks for all your help! The troubleshooting section on the Ideal site is very helpful and shows how it should be wired.
kind regards,