General Info: Windlass Power Issue - Quick Remote

[Cheeky Monkey]

We have lost power to our windlass remotes - both the handheld remote and the Quick chain counter (on our Helia). We still have power to the windlass itself.

Our wiring diagram for the windlass says there is a 4amp inline fuse to the remote/chain counter, but we can't find it anywhere. We have reset the breaker to the windlass (but that's not the issue, so it didn't fix the problem!)

Has anyone had this issue and/or know whether there is a fuse to the remote/chain counter?

We'd love to get back out at anchor and not stuck in the marina, so ANY help will be hugely helpful!!

Thank you!
Ryan
Latest YouTube Video of our circumnavigation adventures: https://www.youtube.com/chasethestoryaroundtheworld

[oranaman]

Checkout post 2# on the link below:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ues-51137.html

It explains how the anchor windless system works, how to modify it and how to make it work without the s/b engine running.

Although this is for an Orana it applied to most boats with similar solenoids.

[captainjay]

In the starboard engine room you will find a box with several relays. They power for the switches comes off of one of these. It uses a voltage sensor to power the windless. Check the relays, connections and yes the fuse holder should be in there as well. You can bypass this by jumping straight from the main hot lead on the solenoid to the hot lead on the remotes, with a fuse in line. The windless will run all the time then not just when the motor is on.

Usually when this fail it is something stupid like a loose wire.

Jay

[ZipTie]

Ryan,
Maybe these will help.

[Cheeky Monkey]

Captain Jay - Thank you for the response. Do you know where the box would be in the engine room? The search continues!

[Cheeky Monkey]

Zip Tie - thank you so much for the diagrams. They are really useful. This has confirmed that there is a fuse on the remote side of the system, but I've still not tracked it down.

Ryan

[captainjay]

Originally Posted by Cheeky Monkey

Captain Jay - Thank you for the response. Do you know where the box would be in the engine room? The search continues!

It will be a grey plastic box. It will likely say coupler in French as one of the relays runs the battery combiner as well.

If you don't find it send me a pm with an email and I will take some pictures in the morning when I get back to the charter base. We have a couple Helia's on the dock right now.

[ZipTie]

Ryan,
From the Quick diagram, it makes it look like it could be a small RED 4amp wire coming off of the batteries.

Make sure to look under those big RED rubber covers on the battery terminals to make sure that a small fuse is not hiding under them.

[captainjay]

This is the box and where it is located on the newest Helia that we have in the fleet. It has a six amp re-settable fuse in the box with the relay. The relay is switched from the alternator output on the starboard engine.


5faadd93-9ead-4c8c-ae23-d6bd926436f4 by captainjay, on Flickr

6982a891-7d17-4bf0-8712-8a2ca8f45c7d by captainjay, on Flickr

2913619c-2593-47e0-ae12-83a5d5a8cfae by captainjay, on Flickr

2249828b-d86c-448f-bcab-a6004da14ae8 by captainjay, on Flickr

[Cheeky Monkey]

Captain Jay
Thank you so much for that information - it was just what we needed this morning.

We tested the relay but bypassing and that got us power to the system. Working backwards from there, we tested the alternator on the Starboard engine to find that it's not kicking out any current. So there lies our problem. From your experience with Helias, have you had any issues with the alternators and any recommendations for where to start looking for the problem?

Again, and always, thanks for everyone's help!

[captainjay]

Check for loose wires or corrosion. That is an internally regulated alternator. If it is not a wiring issue than you will want to take the alternator to a rebuild shop and have it tested. That alternator costs around a thousand dollars so you are going to want to have it fixed if possible.