Windlass, Thermal Overload?

So my Simpson-Lawrence Seawolf windlass cuts out the second it feels a little load. While this can be a good thing it seems to be doing it way too often. Even when we are winching up the anchor with it hanging straight down off the bottom it is cutting out from the load (I assume). The Sea Wolf guy in London says that I may have a thermal overload sensor going bad. That's if it has a thermal overload sensor. I guess some do and some don't. Anyone know anything about TOS or any experience with a windlass that cuts out like mine? If not the TOS is it a sign of a bad motor? Again, I understand the need for it to cut to protect itself under some circumstances but this is too much and it seems to have gotten worse over the year or so we have owned the boat.

I am sure that my S-L Anchorman windlass did not have a thermal cutout and I doubt that many if any do. Maybe what you are experiencing is failing brushes that stop conducting when the current gets a little high.


I had my motor rebuilt at an auto generator/starter shop in Annapolis. They adapted some brushes that they had in stock to fit. I looked long and hard for a replacement motor first but couldn't find one. And Lewmar who bought S-L some years ago couldn't help.


David

Thanks DJ. John (London guy) said mine may or may not have one. Will check tomorrow to see. If it doesn't then I will see about the motor I guess. Odd that one would have it and another not but what do I know. We were pulling up a good bit of chain and the cut outs got more frequent the more chain we pulled in. I assume the heat building up hotter and hotter. No cooling down.

Another possibility is an automatic resettable circuit breaker . They are around. Often used in the RV industry.

https://www.wiringproducts.com/bussmann-short-stop-circuit-breakers


Take a look to see if you have one installed. If so it may be too small for your anchor system OR it may be getting weak. They do that and will trip more and more easily if they trip too often. THe springs and pivot points wear.

If you do, hopefully it is near the main power connection to the batteries or buss bars. It should be but also look near the windlass which is not where it should be UNLESS there is the more typical C.B. which must be manually reset near the batteries.

If there is the manual reset C.B. near the batteries then replace the resettable unit with a higher rated unit to stop the nuisance trips which is also hard on the motor,.

To test if it is the motor or a C.B. you could attach a voltmeter to the actual windlass motor leads and see:
--- if the voltage disappears when the motor stops meaning a C.B.
---or if the motor stops but the voltage remains meaning the motor/last wiring is faulty.

The windlass is on its own circuit breaker on the panel. Also has an On/Off lever on the wall next to the panel. The circuit breaker isn't tripping when this is going on. I will look to see if there is another one, auto reset, somewhere in the power circuit.

Do the volt checks as suggested then and that should tell you more definitively what is going on.

Just check to be sure that panel mounted C.B. is not just for the control circuit. The control circuit needs to be fused/C.B. but the motor side also needs to be fused/C/B.

They may be one and the same but often not since the motor will pull many times the control circuit amps.

How big, rating, is the panel mounted C.B.?

Thanks CE, not sure what size CB it is. Will check that tomorrow as well. I do have a remote unit on the flybridge but don't think that has anything to do with it.

Had this happen to me on my new (to me) boat first time I anchored. I have a new anchor-related everything incoming, but my conclusion was rusted chain. When I used the hand crank it was VERY hard in quite a few spots in the first 60 or so feet.

firstbase said:

So my Simpson-Lawrence Seawolf windlass cuts out the second it feels a little load. While this can be a good thing it seems to be doing it way too often. Even when we are winching up the anchor with it hanging straight down off the bottom it is cutting out from the load (I assume). The Sea Wolf guy in London says that I may have a thermal overload sensor going bad. That's if it has a thermal overload sensor. I guess some do and some don't. Anyone know anything about TOS or any experience with a windlass that cuts out like mine? If not the TOS is it a sign of a bad motor? Again, I understand the need for it to cut to protect itself under some circumstances but this is too much and it seems to have gotten worse over the year or so we have owned the boat.

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That sounds like the behaviour of mine last summer. I took it to an Auto Parts store who sent it out to a Starter/Alternator place. It came back re-wound, with a note that it must have been abused! Fortunately it now works perfectly well and as I had replaced all of the 2/0 wiring and the solenoids in the diagnostic phase, I now have a "new" anchoring system.

As for abuse, over 20 yrs ago I did have some trouble hauling up the anchor. When it reached the surface, in murky water, I tied off the load and retrieved the anchor, then backed out in to deep water to release a trailer frame weighing at least a ton. I call that rising to the challenge, not abuse. Then it worked well for another 20 yrs.

Simpson Lawrence Seawolf 520 windlass anchor

Does anybody out there have or know where I can get a replacement motor for Seawolf 520 windlass anchor. The part number that I have which is probably outdated is 6052030 it’s a 12 V motor I have taken it to several repair shops but what they need is the winding. Are if you know anybody that specializes in rewinding the Armature that would be helpful as well, I can always send it off to them.
Thanks,
David

You could try contacting SL Spare at Contact | Simpson Lawrence Yacht Parts & Spares as they say they purchased all the existing spare parts. Motors are not available but the say contact them for a solution. Hope this helps............

rochepoint said:

You could try contacting SL Spare at Contact | Simpson Lawrence Yacht Parts & Spares as they say they purchased all the existing spare parts. Motors are not available but the say contact them for a solution. Hope this helps............

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"John"...don't know his last name responded to my contact request. I assume he is the owner. Extremely helpful with my Seawolf windlass problem at the time. As it ended up I didn't purchase anything from him this time. He didn't seem to care. Emailed support/answers to questions, attached helpful documents, etc. Nice, helpful guy and I wish my windlass would break so I could buy something from him. Did I really say that?

It might be worth it to check and clean all connections and grounds in the windlass circuit.

firstbase said:

"John"...don't know his last name responded to my contact request. I assume he is the owner. Extremely helpful with my Seawolf windlass problem at the time. As it ended up I didn't purchase anything from him this time. He didn't seem to care. Emailed support/answers to questions, attached helpful documents, etc. Nice, helpful guy and I wish my windlass would break so I could buy something from him. Did I really say that?

Click to expand...

I just replaced that same windlass with a Lewmar 1000. The S-L was shorting out from water ingress, Western Starter (Richmond) fixed it once but it kept leaking.

Cost me about 1 BOAT unit off Amazon (US) and I feel it's not good to push a windlass, such a key and complex function, past it best-by date. It was good money after bad to repair it once, when I am actively upgrading a 1983 Permaglass.