Bow Thruster Not Working

Jim,

Sorry... I thought you were from Progressive Dynamics. That is who Sea Ray used as OEM for the boats in 2003ish (and many other years). I see you are with ProMariner and not Progressive Dynamics.

Oops.

So if ANYONE FROM PROGRESSIVE DYNAMICS IS OUT THERE, MY RANT IS FOR YOU!

I did go look at the manual you posted and the way you set the voltages looks great and the voltages line up correctly. Unfortunately, Progressive Dynamics lumps Gel and AGM in the same bucket and gives them the same charging profile which is ridiculous. But... you probably don't care that your competition are dolts.
 
Gary,

I am happy to see that your battle is with Progressive Dynamics not ProMariner.

That said, if you need a replacement I would be happy to support you and work with you. Sea Ray used ProMariner, Progressive Dynamics and MasterVolt in certain boats off and on and we are working to consolidate the business to ProMariner solely. Let me know if I can help.

Jim
 
Back to the bowthruster - I checked the inch long fuse coming from (to?) the battery charger and it is blown. The fuse, however, has a plastic cover over which says "Bow Thruster" and which for the life of me, I can't get off. The screws seem a bit stripped and my various screwdrivers can't get a purchase. Based on their location, I can't dremel slots into them. Any suggestions on removal?

I figure I get one free fuse replacement - after that something must be wrong. Thanks in advance.
 
Don't no how to help you on the removal of the fuse as I am not at my boat. I won't be out there till thurs. I will look then if someone else hasn't helped.
You and I both know there is a reason for a blown fuse so tread cautiously. Also the bow thruster should only be used in short bursts. This was the way I was taught and I have yet to have any problems.
Jack
 
Ed,

I believe that the fuse you are refering to is provided by us (ProMariner) with the ProTech-4. It is there for reverse polarity purposes should someone connect the unit incorrectly to batteries. If you damage the fuse or holder trying to replace it let me know and I can send you one. Just to confirm you can take a photo of the fuse holder to make sure it is the same one.

On another note Jack is correct that bow thrusters are intended to be used in short bursts the concern is that they use a tremendous amout of current when used. I was told at one point from the builder that they were drawing somewhere between 400 and 600A when used. This will depend on the size boat etc but that is an awful lot.

Jim
603-766-7603
jmitchell@pmariner.com
 
Ed,

Just out of curiosity, and because of this discussion, I had that plastic fuse cover off yesterday and mine just clipped into the side "rails". Yours may be different. It was a bit tough to remove (thought I was going to break it) but it did come off without tools by squeezing the left side first.

The fuse is rated at 500 amps on mine.

James
 
Lots of work done this weekend. The fuse I was working on is in the galley by the battery charger and washer / dryer. It is a fuse on the battery charger. I got my easy out, drilled out the screws and all went smoothly- but....fuse not blown. Couldn't see it enough with the cover on.

Replaced my remaining batteries - Stbd and Bow thruster - with AGMs. The stbd bank was a real PITA.

Bowthruster works. So it is either the batteries (replaced, so if that is the issue, solved) or the charger.

Is there an easy way to check the charger other than watching the batt voltage?

Thanks!
 
The charger can be troubleshoot further.

I tried to attach the manual section but it is too large.

I would be happy to help so please give me a call or email me.

Email directly or phone is better for me so I can assist you immediatly.

Jim Mitchell
603-766-7603
jmitchell@pmariner.com
 
Hey Jim, First off thanks for being available to answer questions like these. Very cool to have a manufacturer "on-line".

I have a 2005 Sea 48DA. Not sure if it was either last year of the year before but I had my bow thrusters batts go low and wouldn’t charge back up. At the time I had a guy taking care of things for me and he just put new batts in and the problem went away. This season at the beginning, everything was fine. Maybe a month ago, batts went low again. Took my volt meter and got a reading of like 8 volts coming from charger. Independently one batt read 11 volts and the other little over 12 volts. Opened up Batts and had to add a gallon of distilled water between the 2 batteries. Checked every fuse, powered everything down took charger off wall, looked inside, fuse appears Ok. Hooked everything back up and I got a reading of 28 volts coming from charger. Wait a few days and nothing changes on batts. I went and bought a new batt to replace the 11 volt one. At that point I am getting 25 volts plus from Charger. Thruster works great for one weekend. Next weekend batt that was previously 12 volts is reading 11 volts. Replaced that battery. So now I have 2 new batteries and everything works great for a few weeks. This weekend, thruster very weak. Check batt water and a little low in both but not a lot. Filled water back up and cycled charger on and off. Waited a day and nothing changed. Thruster very weak. Sounds to me that the Charger just isn’t working properly and I should replace it. Your thoughts? Does it have anything to do with having the batt charger on when switching from Shore power to Gen power and this causing problems? Just a thought.
 
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I had a similar issue with the bow thruster batteries not holding their charge and despite changing the batteries, it turned out to be a charging issue.

Jim Mitchell (ProMariner) was most helpful (e-mail and phone) and we ended up replacing the original 17 amp 24V charger (model 21-3) for the new style 30 amp unit (model 2430) just before departure. Winds were howling for a couple of docking adventures on our trip this past week and the Vetus thruster now has ample power when you really need it. Thanks Jim.
 
Jim suggested the 2430 model versus the 2425 for the extra charging capacity in case I switch to AGM batteries. The only wrinkle is that the 2430 is much taller than my old 21-3 and we had to mount the unit sideways on the transom wall, which is acceptable. Also watch that your flooded cell batteries don't boil out on the initial charging. My needed a lot of distilled water the first day. After that it's been fine. Also I had to upgrade my DC (25 to a 40) and AC breakers to handle the extra capacity.

James
 
My thruster went off line last week on our cruise to Canada.... It would thrust starboard but not to port. I opened up floor where it is located and saw a snap connector I opened it up, cleaned the terminals, filled it with di-electric gel and it's working great.......
 
To exit this thread (which has been really helpful, btw) - Sea Ray / extended warrantee replaced my charger. Beginning of this season, the batts were dead again. I replaced them again (West Marine, warrantee again), and things are working fine. So it looks like the charger went, the batteries died, I replaced the batteries, the charger killed them again, realized the charger was the problem, got it replaced and then replaced the batteries. What fun!
 
my 2006 seared 38 , the bow thruster joy stick the led is on , the solenoid clicks, my AGM battery is less than 10 months old and the charger was replaced 10 months ago by marine max and up until last month it was working well, now not working ,i charged it to 100% with an outboard charger and checked all fuses , could it be the motor Vetus Bow 3512E
 
nick, check the fusible link. On my 420, it is on the engine room bulkhead. It looks like this. When it blew, there was just no response from the joy stick controller.

Jaybeaux
20170602_155549.jpg
 
Diddo on juggernaut1. Every time (been 3) I have had issues with all of a sudden not engaging has been loose or dirty connections. I don't have a Vetus, but my sidepower has a relay that is mechanical. may check that as well.
 
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