Hatch lift relay gone bad

[Bill Curtis]

OK, looking at that drawing @hughespat57 provided, the "cockpit lockout" switch completes the circuit to ground. If you connect a test light from terminal 85 on the relay to ground, I bet the light will light up when switch on helm is pushed. That shows the door switch is kaput.

Short the 2 wires together on that switch and will probably work till you acquire a new switch.

 

[Matt N]

@bbwhitejr - door "open" could correct, I dont have one personally. Yes its the transom door, but Sea Ray calls that the "Cockpit Door" in the schematics.

@Matt Norton
I had to check the 2015 and the 2016 350SLX had a better schematic.
The door has the magnet glued into it, that may have fallen out.
The switch I think just looks like a white plastic dot (no physical push button)

Others may be able to provide pictures.

So it appears I don't have a safety switch on the cockpit door. I took the door completely off and there's no magnet/pin/wiring.

When the door is closed, the latch it sits in is still open on top so when the hatch is raised it can detach on it's own without busting. On the SLX, the door appears to be more flush which probably causes an issue when raising.

 

[brewster16]

I'm almost certain your issue is the safety magnet as was stated above. I once went looking for it on my 44DA and there is nothing external to see. I believe its inside the door itself. If you want to find out for sure ask the guys in the 350 DA forum?

 

[bbwhitejr]

I'm almost certain your issue is the safety magnet as was stated above. I once went looking for it on my 44DA and there is nothing external to see. I believe its inside the door itself. If you want to find out for sure ask the guys in the 350 DA forum?

Agree....your wiring diagram will tell you.

Bennett

 

[Matt N]

I'm almost certain your issue is the safety magnet as was stated above. I once went looking for it on my 44DA and there is nothing external to see. I believe its inside the door itself. If you want to find out for sure ask the guys in the 350 DA forum?

Good suggestion. I asked and they confirmed there are actually two safety switches: 1 in the cockpit fridge door and 1 in the aft locker. I will investigate there next. This makes sense. If they were both open, they'd be at risk.

 

[Matt N]

I can't seem to find those safety switches anywhere. Checked the cockpit door, fridge door, aft lockers.

@hughespat57 Do you think it's ok to use while the relay is bypassed? I was initially concerned b/c I thought the relay's function was to limit power to the switch. If it's actually to loop in the safety switches, it might be ok. Just don't want to fry the switch.

 

[hughespat57]

I can't seem to find those safety switches anywhere. Checked the cockpit door, fridge door, aft lockers.

@hughespat57 Do you think it's ok to use while the relay is bypassed? I was initially concerned b/c I thought the relay's function was to limit power to the switch. If it's actually to loop in the safety switches, it might be ok. Just don't want to fry the switch.

Just watch out for the doors, it was a physical safety design, not an electrical safety.

 

[Matt N]

@hughespat57 You were right! I found the safety switch in the cockpit fridge door. I missed it originally b/c it was pushed in flush and looked like a screw head.

Unfortunately, the safety switch seems faulty. When I found it, I adjusted it to make ensure contact with the magnet. I could hear the relay clicking when it made contact and the hatch worked. 20 mins later it stopped working, no relay click and no hatch lift. Later in the day I had it intermittently working again, but went bad again.

I'll bypass the relay for now so I can operate the hatch lift. It looks like I'll need to remove the cockpit fridge to fully access the switches wiring. I am able to pull out switch too to expose the wires so I can maybe just splice a new switch in place.

There are two wires going into the switch. If I cut them and splice them together, would that imitate the "closed" switch? Just trying to see if I can narrow it down to the switch or the wiring that goes to the relay without pulling the fridge out.

 

[hughespat57]

Yes

 

[mrsrobinson]

Hopefully this is on topic...

When I I press the hatch lift switch at the helm, I have to have someone else lifting on one of the corners of the hatch to get it going, once started it does fine and closes fine. Kind of a pain in the butt because I can't do it by myself. Is this a bad switch, bad motor, something else?

 

[bbwhitejr]

Hopefully this is on topic...

When I I press the hatch lift switch at the helm, I have to have someone else lifting on one of the corners of the hatch to get it going, once started it does fine and closes fine. Kind of a pain in the butt because I can't do it by myself. Is this a bad switch, bad motor, something else?

Does it sit there and make a clicking/grinding noise until you get it started up? Sounds like an issue with the actuator.

Bennett

 

[mrsrobinson]

Does it sit there and make a clicking/grinding noise until you get it started up? Sounds like an issue with the actuator.

Bennett

No it doesn't, sounds normal, just won't raise until I nudge it.

 

[Andermant]

Your electrician's approach makes sense, narrowing it down to the relay near the hatch lift switch. But it's a real head-scratcher that the problem persists even after replacing it. You're right about the relay limiting the amps to the switch, preventing it from getting overloaded. If jumping the relay works without issues, it's a bit puzzling. Maybe there's something else in the circuit causing trouble? In the meantime, managing a small building myself, I've faced my fair share of lift problems. I've even explored lift maintenance services like Hin Chong (hinchong.com) in Singapore. Wondering if there's something similar in the US. Any thoughts, folks?