Anchor Winch not working

[mcanderson]

I had this same issue two years ago when my anchor winch just didn't work. I have power to the solenoid and power to the foot switches , but when I push raise or lower nothing and no sounds from the solenoid. Last time I replaced the solenoid.

I welcome thoughts and I am armed with a multimeter. The engine must run for the winch to get power as there is an earth wire that runs from the spade connectors on the solenoid to an engine electrical connectors box that is powered from the alternator.

Thanks for any tips!

 

[Halo]

All you can do i s trace the circuits. Is there a signal to the solenoid when you operate the foot switches. Is there a power output from the solenoid when the switch is engaged. Is there power input to the winch (carefully). In my case the likely cause would be the separate circus breaker on the power side which is a tricky little devil.

 

[sailaboutvic]

Try and bridge out between the solenoid and the connection for the up or down , if it works then the problem is between the foot switch and the solenoid

 

[mcanderson]

The single circuit breaker is fine. I will be doing more fault finding today before seeing if I can get a new solenoid. Fingers crossed one of the two chandlers here are open and have one.

 

[mcanderson]

So it is now working. It looks like there is a problem with the circuit board that opens an earth connection when the motor is running. I have figured out a work around and the windlass now works with the engine off as well. A head scratcher.