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Old 05-07-2017, 09:01 PM   #4
GoneFarrell
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City: Columbia City, OR & Mulege, BCS
Vessel Name: Imagine
Vessel Model: Farrell 34
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 848
seab,
I had same issue a couple of weeks ago, same model. Mine are 7 seasons old.

#1: get someone to turn off the main disconnect for the thruster. Then maybe charge your batteries, depending on the situation.

In my experience the problem was with the potted electronics in the joystick assembly.

I have experienced two failure modes over the last season. First was when my gal's 500W ham radio power amp signal coupled with the wiring on the boat. When she hit the morse key, boat spun around the mooring buoy! Was kinda funny at the time. Turnoff main switch for the thrusters, problem solved. No problems with thrusters for a year.

Then this spring I had random runs of the bow thruster to starboard. That got worse over the course of a week. My diagnosis lead me to the potted stuff on the bottom of the stick assembly. That stick assembly had a rough winter in La Conner, which may have contributed to its failure.

The electronics control the LED's on the face panel, and are also in series with the primary contactors on the joystick. That means when the lights are out, no go. Lights on, thrusters will run if there is adequate voltage/power available. They will kick off if your battery bank is low.

In the manual, I saw that it's OK to add an auxiliary switch set, like you might do for lower helm. Says use a 5 amp rated switch, which covers the inductive kick from the coils of the power relays on the motor.

Knowing that "other" switches are OK, I rewired the joystick to be a dumb switch set, mainly to prove I was right about the failed electronics, and secondly to save over half a boat buck. Works great, very reliable, just no pretty green and red lights. Requires new procedure to only have main switch on when thrusters are needed, not an issue for me. And so my springline skills will once again deteriorate at the swing of the Lewmar joysticks!

I'm sure others have had this maddening experience which is the other reason to share this workaround here.

Another possibility would be the "black box" on the side of the motor. That's what its called. Mine checked out OK, didn't seem to be part of the problem.

You may want to look at the brushes on the motor too, if they ran for extended time.

Hope this helps. Try it if you are a plug and player, otherwise, swap out the joystick. And the 500W amp is banned from my boat!
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