Official 280 Sundancer Thread

[Henry Boyd]

JJ, there is a breaker for the windless in the engine compartment on the port side just forward of your batteries. Check to make sure that didn't get tripped.

Actually there are multiple breakers.

JJ go back and look at my post # 2774 in this thread. It covers the locations of all of the breakers with photos for the windlass system. The foot switch breaker is and in-line ATC fuse located in the locker. Ours was mounted to the same stud as the control box.

 

[JJ Chones]

JJ, there is a breaker for the windless in the engine compartment on the port side just forward of your batteries. Check to make sure that didn't get tripped.

It's not tripped. There is power to one side of the solenoid, so I am getting power up to that point.

 

[JJ Chones]

Actually there are multiple breakers.

JJ go back and look at my post # 2774 in this thread. It covers the locations of all of the breakers with photos for the windlass system. The foot switch breaker is and in-line ATC fuse located in the locker. Ours was mounted to the same stud as the control box.

I'll look again. I think my next plan is to energize the solenoid then try the forward foot switches. If that works then it comes down to the starboard dash switch and/or the EIM.

 

[aquaaddiction]

.
So I'm leaning towards the switchpad being bad (part #1718618) but I'm wondering about that foot switch fuse up front that I can't find.
Any Ideas?

So it doesnt work from the footswitches or the helm panel?

Have you been able to measure a 12v feed up front by the foot switches? The helm and footswitches are in parallel, i.e. either should be able to energise the high current relay coil. There is a clear wiring diagram in the back of the owners manual (downloadable from Searay website) from which it should be pretty easy to do some basic troubleshooting with a volt meter.

According to the wiring diagram the inline fuse in the anchor locker is only for the foot switches, i.e. the helm panel should still operate the windlass even if that fuse has failed, likewise the footswitches should still work even if the EIM has failed.

The same wiring diagram also shows that the EIM windlass controll operates via a seperate latching relay (not the same as the large relay in the anchor locker) which itself has 2x 5A fuses, as I am still awaiting delivery of my 280 I cant tell you where it is, but here is a pic of it:
View attachment 25406

Anthony

 

[JJ Chones]

Anthony,
I haven't been able to locate the foot switch fuse. I'll be down at the boat later and give it another look. there is no power up at the foot switches or the forward control box. Probably because the solenoid is not energized. I'm wondering if the solenoid could be bad? I'll jump it later. also, the 5 amp fuse is good (i only have one).

 

[themikehyde]

I know this is a little late, but this is how I added our name on the transom.

 

[aquaaddiction]

Anthony,
I haven't been able to locate the foot switch fuse. I'll be down at the boat later and give it another look. there is no power up at the foot switches or the forward control box. Probably because the solenoid is not energized. I'm wondering if the solenoid could be bad? I'll jump it later. also, the 5 amp fuse is good (i only have one).

The footswitch fuse just powers the footswitches from the positive feeed to the relay in the anchor locker so if you are not geting power to that then the fuse is irrilvent. Id say dont wory too much about the EIM/helm system for now get the footswitches working as that is simpler wiring. Basically you should have 12v going to the large relay in the anchor locker for the system to operate, if that is not there then the problem is further back. if it is then the footswitches just connect that 12v back to a relay coil to energise it when they are pressed, allowing current to flow from that feed thru the relay and into the motor.


Dont forget the negative connections are just as important as the positive, you may get 12v on the red wire but if the negative wire is bad then it will appear to be dead.
good luck.

Anthony

 

[Henry Boyd]

So it doesnt work from the footswitches or the helm panel?

Have you been able to measure a 12v feed up front by the foot switches? The helm and footswitches are in parallel, i.e. either should be able to energise the high current relay coil. There is a clear wiring diagram in the back of the owners manual (downloadable from Searay website) from which it should be pretty easy to do some basic troubleshooting with a volt meter.

According to the wiring diagram the inline fuse in the anchor locker is only for the foot switches, i.e. the helm panel should still operate the windlass even if that fuse has failed, likewise the footswitches should still work even if the EIM has failed.

The same wiring diagram also shows that the EIM windlass controll operates via a seperate latching relay (not the same as the large relay in the anchor locker) which itself has 2x 5A fuses, as I am still awaiting delivery of my 280 I cant tell you where it is, but here is a pic of it:
View attachment 25406

Anthony

The latching relay is located on the port side of ER above batteries. See pictures in post # 2774

 

[Gunn]

Anthony,
I haven't been able to locate the foot switch fuse. I'll be down at the boat later and give it another look.

JJ,

A few pages back I too had Windlass issues, though different than yours. I do not have an inline fuse on my footswitches either. The guys here were telling me there was one, the owners manual said I had one, but I don't! In fact, my wiring setup differed from the diagram on a few accounts. I ended up sketching out my own schematic to make sense of it. Had been meaning to scan it and save it, but have never got around to it.

So don't sweat the fuse...you probably don't have it.

Tom

 

[JJ Chones]

Last night I went back to the boat and headed straight for the latching relay. I use a Power Probe to do my testing as it will test for +,- and will also provide power or ground and is breaker protected.
Both sides of the latching relay coil showed showed ground (-). this was to be expected. When I applied power to one of the coil terminals the breaker on my probe tripped. Ok, try the other terminal, same thing, the breaker popped. Hmmm that's not right. So I took the red/white wire off of the terminal (because it was the closest to me) and when I applied power the latching relay worked! I jumped that terminal to the positive side of the battery and checked all the switches, everything worked. The forward foot switches worked as well as the helm up and down switches. The power indicator light on the dash pad was also lit. The only thing not working is the windlass power switch, i get no response from it.
At this point I might just put in a separate power switch with an inline fuse and leave it like that for the rest of the season. I traced the red/white wire back to the aft EIM and it's fine up to that point. It reads as a direct path to ground (-).

 

[scootdogg]

ok.. so i posted about this earlier and someone responded back so i thought i had it taken care of... but!!! what is up with the captains seat being so damn low? i tried to raise it but it appears that it is as high it will go without being on the very end of the pedestal. i am above avg in height but when in the seated position with no bolster i barely even see over the helm. anyone ever raised their chair?

 

[Bama]

cabin door a mess

I was in a narrow channel on plane this weekend and could not avoid the large wake of a dummy approaching me on the wrong side. I had no where to go. I should have cut in front.

Next time I will go off of plane (like my wife always wants me to) and buy a gallon of gas instead of this! When we got back to the marina the cabin door was off its tracks on the starboard side. It is jammed real good. The boiat always takes the bumps well but this is a new problem. We hit the wave real hard and I fear the top starboard bushing/slide is broken. I sure hope not.

Here was my full message to jason.
My cabin door is completely jammed. I can open it a few inches at a time, but only from the outside, using upward leverage of the handle. If you are in the cabin you cannot open it without a person on the outside. I hit some rough water over the weekend and the starboard bushings or rollers became misaligned or off track.

My fear is that the top one broke….(what appears to be nylon bushings not rollers).

But my hope is that the lower (starboard) track (I cannot tell what it sits on but it seems to be a track along the lower edge) is jammed too.

What I do know is that the entire starboard side is too low and I have to attempt to straighten it to move it at all.

What I hope for is a mere alignment, not a replacement which would be inaccessible (except for maybe the bottom). The problem is that even the misalignment is a 2 man job (one inside and one outside) and my wife was not strong enough to be much help. When I went to the parts book to see what the connectors look like, they are not even shown separately.

 

[bajturner]

ok.. so i posted about this earlier and someone responded back so i thought i had it taken care of... but!!! what is up with the captains seat being so damn low? i tried to raise it but it appears that it is as high it will go without being on the very end of the pedestal. i am above avg in height but when in the seated position with no bolster i barely even see over the helm. anyone ever raised their chair?

Hey scoot, I remember your post. I had trouble with this as well, but after a little experimenting I did figure it out. On the pedestal there is an oval handle attached to a bolt, and a small spring-loaded pin with a ball-shaped knob. What you have to do is loosen the oval handle a bit (don't completely unthread it) then, while pulling the ball-shaped knob out (completely), lift the seat straight up. It is kind of hard to do on your own. The seat is fairly heavy and the telescopic post may bind a little. Once you reach the desired height release the knob then tighten the oval-handled bolt.

 

[Half Off]

Hey scoot, I remember your post. I had trouble with this as well, but after a little experimenting I did figure it out. On the pedestal there is an oval handle attached to a bolt, and a small spring-loaded pin with a ball-shaped knob. What you have to do is loosen the oval handle a bit (don't completely unthread it) then, while pulling the ball-shaped knob out (completely), lift the seat straight up. It is kind of hard to do on your own. The seat is fairly heavy and the telescopic post may bind a little. Once you reach the desired height release the knob then tighten the oval-handled bolt.

I'm wondering if this was an option. I looked at mine last time I was at the boat and I don't have that spring loaded pin. I do have the "T" handle that adjusts drag on the rotation and the slide adjust lever. I did find a locking lever that I didn't know was there that is located up high and will lock my seat in any rotated position.

 

[Tonka Boater]

Hey scoot, I remember your post. I had trouble with this as well, but after a little experimenting I did figure it out. On the pedestal there is an oval handle attached to a bolt, and a small spring-loaded pin with a ball-shaped knob. What you have to do is loosen the oval handle a bit (don't completely unthread it) then, while pulling the ball-shaped knob out (completely), lift the seat straight up. It is kind of hard to do on your own. The seat is fairly heavy and the telescopic post may bind a little. Once you reach the desired height release the knob then tighten the oval-handled bolt.

I'm wondering if this was an option. I looked at mine last time I was at the boat and I don't have that spring loaded pin. I do have the "T" handle that adjusts drag on the rotation and the slide adjust lever. I did find a locking lever that I didn't know was there that is located up high and will lock my seat in any rotated position.

I can adjust the height on my seat as bajturner described. It helps a lot but the visibility is still not great. Sitting would be OK while cruising a long distance in open water but I need to stand to be feel comfortable on my lake. We have a lot of traffic and I can't see many of the other boats while sitting.

 

[Bucit]

Tonka - what's up with selling the boat? Are you going bigger?

 

[Gunn]

I'm wondering if this was an option. I looked at mine last time I was at the boat and I don't have that spring loaded pin. I do have the "T" handle that adjusts drag on the rotation and the slide adjust lever. I did find a locking lever that I didn't know was there that is located up high and will lock my seat in any rotated position.

I too do not have a height adjustable seat. Unless the previous owner lost the spring-loaded pin and ball-shaped handle? Anyone care to shoot a picture of the height adjustment seat assembly??!

Mine seems to sit pretty low on the pedestal aluminum pole, so I was thinking I could raise it up permanently somehow since there is plenty of remaining pole to grab onto. But I usually sit on the bolster and then I can see pretty well. There are times though that the bolster gets uncomfortable and I'd like to sit. But I can't see much, and must risk hitting a crab pot float (and line) or a log while sitting.

Tom

 

[saopm]

Was down at the boat at lunch time and snaped a pic. Figured you guy would be asking.

 

[Bucit]

My seat it set up the exact same way as the pictures. I would think they are all like that?

 

[Tonka Boater]

Tonka - what's up with selling the boat? Are you going bigger?

Going smaller for the time being. Awhile back I was toying with a ski boat and decided to stay with the 280. I've come full circle again and this time it's actually listed. I ski often during the week with a friend and my kids are into it now so it makes sense to get my own ski boat. For my situation it doesn't make sense to keep the 280 and get a ski boat in addition. My lake is not great for skiing so the 280 wouldn't be used enough to make it worth keeping. I will trailer the ski boat to different lakes in the area. Not to mention, it still has some decent value at this point. It has been on the market for only 3 days and I'm getting interest.

Not getting out of boating -- that's for sure!