Bow/stern thruster

[IT'LL DEW]

Hello...I have a 2010 330 Da with the bow and stern thruster option. Last summer there was a weekend where the port side thruster would not work. The port side bow and starboard thrusters worked just fine. The following weekend the stern thruster worked just fine and did so for the rest of the summer. I launced the boat a few weekends ago and everything worked great. However, I have since lost the stern thruster for good? I switched the thrusters around via the quick disconnects and the port stern thruster Switch activated the port bow thruster which would eliminate the switch being bad. Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated!! Ron

 

[Sous]

Hello...I have a 2010 330 Da with the bow and stern thruster option. Last summer there was a weekend where the port side thruster would not work. The port side bow and starboard thrusters worked just fine. The following weekend the stern thruster worked just fine and did so for the rest of the summer. I launced the boat a few weekends ago and everything worked great. However, I have since lost the stern thruster for good? I switched the thrusters around via the quick disconnects and the port stern thruster Switch activated the port bow thruster which would eliminate the switch being bad. Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated!! Ron

I'm a bit confused when you say "port side" thruster... I assume you mean when you try to move the bow to the left/right, since you should only have one thruster which spins different directions for different movement of the bow or stern. Is that your set up???

In any event, my first thought would be to look at the tunnels to see if there is anything gunked up in there. Barnies and other "things" could keep the internal props from spinning.

 

[Gofirstclass]

Dew, Like Sous said there is only one thruster at the bow and one at the stern. Each thruster has a motor that is reversible, and there is usually two propellers on each thruster to help move the water.

If you tried to move the boat to the port side with the bow thruster and it didn't work, but did work when you moved the boat to the stbd side, then the problem is not likely in the motor, it's in the switch (joystick?) you are using.

You may not have had a chance to see your thruster, so here's a picture of mine. In the photo you can see both blades, one pointed to the stbd side, the other to the port side. When the thruster is used, both blades turn, it's just the motor that is reversed in the direction it pushes water.

Hope this helps.

 

[IT'LL DEW]

I'm a bit confused when you say "port side" thruster... I assume you mean when you try to move the bow to the left/right, since you should only have one thruster which spins different directions for different movement of the bow or stern. Is that your set up???

In any event, my first thought would be to look at the tunnels to see if there is anything gunked up in there. Barnies and other "things" could keep the internal props from spinning.

Yes....sorry for the confusion. I am referring to the blade's reversal. I don't think it is the switch as I reversed the quick disconnect plugs for the bow and stern thrusters and when I engage the stern thruster to move to the port side, the switch worked the bow thruster. This tells me the switch is good. When I moved the bow thruster to port side....nothing. Switched the quick disconnects back and the original problem occurs. I boat in a fresh water lake for 5 months a year so we get no barnacles ....thanks for your reply...

 

[JimG]

What he is saying is the stern thruster does not reverse... it runs and moves the stern to starboard, but will not reverse and move the stern to port.

(We happen to boat together and I have looked at this problem with him)

From his schematics, it appears that the reversing contactor is built into the motors... very tough to get to the stern thruster on his boat :smt101.

 

[JimG]

Ron, what was the brand/model of your thrusters?

 

[IT'LL DEW]

Yeah, yeah, yeah....what Jim said. Just thought I would see if anyone else had experienced similar issues with their bow or stern thrusters. Thanks for chiming in Bone...

 

[IT'LL DEW]

Mine are Max-power....not Vetus. Not sure of the model

 

[Sous]

As Ok, that make sense... and sorry had I looked at your details I would've seen you're in fresh water.

It sounds to me like you may have an issue with the control box and/or connectors there. Have you looked to see if you've got any corroded wires/connectors or worn connections in the control box? Also when you engage the switch (both ways) can you hear the control relays click?

 

[IT'LL DEW]

No I have not looked at the control box....I did notice a small black box under the dash that said max-power on it...had a couple wires coming out with 5 amp fuses...one was labeled bow thruster and the other one labeled stern thruster. I have not removed the cover on the box to see what is there. As for the clicking...no. I hear nothing when trying to engage the port stern thruster nor do I hear any clicking when engaging the starboard thruster movement...

 

[Sous]

Ok so some assumptions and basic checks...

I assume that the control panel powers up normally when you turn it on (beep and light comes on).
I assume that you are not trying to reverse direction (stb-port or port-stb) within the time delay thus working in one direction then not in the other.
I assume that the motor is not in over-temp protection thus preventing movement.
I assume that the thruster battery disconnects are in the "on" position.
I assume all fuses are OK; control box fuse and battery isolator fuse (also double check the 5A you mention... seems low, what does your manual say? Control box fuse should be 8A, I think)
I assume all batteries are fully charged and in good condition.
Check all power connections (clean, tight, no corrosion, proper ground connections)
Check voltage at thruster motor 10.5 or above is required under load.
Check 6 pin connectors from control panel to joystick (seated properly, corrosion, loose wires/pins, etc)
Check 6 pin connectors from control panel to thruster (same as above)

On the control box itself you should definitely hear an audible click when the relay engages. It won't be loud by any means and you may need to get your ear down to it but that would give you an idea of where to go. If you hear the click you control box to joysticks should be good and then you look from the box back to the motors.

 

[IT'LL DEW]

Thanks a ton Sous.... I'm heading up to my boat shortly and I'll look these over. I'll probably need JimG for some of these and this is his one weekend per summer he misses... Literally! I'll update this post once we figure it out...thanks again!

 

[Sous]

Thanks a ton Sous.... I'm heading up to my boat shortly and I'll look these over. I'll probably need JimG for some of these and this is his one weekend per summer he misses... Literally! I'll update this post once we figure it out...thanks again!

Sounds good. Remember there are really 2 systems, if you will, at play here from a power perspective. The control box and joysticks are from one power source and the motor itself is from another so even if the joystick controller lights up it doesn't mean the motor has power... two power sources, two sets of fuses, two different power disconnects (joystick=breaker, motor=battery disconnect switch), etc. It really sounds like you've got a power issue somewhere. The first checks will help to isolate it at least.

 

[gkuypers]

It's crazy how this thread is posted and now I too have an issue with my bow thruster. Yes, I do have Axius with Stern drives and also a Bow Thruster joy stick on my dash. On Saturday while docking next to another boat I had the Bow Thruster on (lights on the stick were on) but when moving the stick left to right nothing (I prefer to use only the thruster & not full Axius while docking up with another boat). While using Axius though, everything seems to work OK, so wondering if all the sudden my thruster joy stick on the dash went bad?

 

[gkuypers]

At the boat this weekend tried again to get the Side-Power 8960g Bow Thruster Joystick to work, but still nothing. Axius does seem to work fine, so the thruster does seem to be working. After reading some online it does sound like these Joysticks do go bad, so wondering if anyone has any experience with a bad one? I also confirmed there is power to the Joystick and the lights on the stick do come on, but nothing when moving the stick Left or Right.

 

[SmilingMonkey]

At the boat this weekend tried again to get the Side-Power 8960g Bow Thruster Joystick to work, but still nothing. Axius does seem to work fine, so the thruster does seem to be working. After reading some online it does sound like these Joysticks do go bad, so wondering if anyone has any experience with a bad one? I also confirmed there is power to the Joystick and the lights on the stick do come on, but nothing when moving the stick Left or Right.

Are you sure that the Axius joystick also controls the thrusters? I wasn't aware that it could do that.

 

[gkuypers]

I guess I thought it did, but seems this is not the case. Guess I'll have to use the troubleshooting guide I found online to see what's up with my bow thruster.

 

[IT'LL DEW]

Just wanted to give a quick update....JimG and I just finished replacing the stern thruster control box with a new one and the problem is resolved. The new one cost $200 from a U.S. Distributor in South Florida. It was a simple swap- out and sure beats the alternative of pulling the thruster motor out and sending it out for re-build.

 

[Sous]

Just wanted to give a quick update....JimG and I just finished replacing the stern thruster control box with a new one and the problem is resolved. The new one cost $200 from a U.S. Distributor in South Florida. It was a simple swap- out and sure beats the alternative of pulling the thruster motor out and sending it out for re-build.

Good deal. Glad you're back up and running... and for a fairly cheap fix!

 

[gkuypers]

Update to my Side-Power Bow Thruster issue. I went through the test procedures sent to me by Imtra and found the Thermo Switch to be bad on my SE40 which is a relatively cheap and easy fix.