Lofrans Cayman 88 windlass problem

[neil1967]

The cayman 88 windlass on my yacht was poorly installed (before my ownership) and constantly sat in saltwater. As a result the base got very corroded. I removed the windlass at the end of last season and renovated the base - removed the corrosion and used liquid metal to build up the base again. All went well until having re-installed it, it will now only work in one direction - down. I have swapped over the leads to test the cabling, and the fault remained - down works, up does not. I have removed the end cover of the motor, and found corrosion inside the motor, around one of the pillars, which I have cleaned off. I can manually rotate the commutator both ways (so the problem would appear to be with the motor, not the rest of the windlass). I have removed and inspected the brushes, and they seem ok. I am now at a loss as to what to do next. Any advice welcome.

Neil

 

[[2574]]

Neil,

Suspect the switch control, especially if there is a plug and socket near the winch. Remove the socket and check the connections for corrosion, broken wires etc. they are notorious for corroding for obvious reasons.

Rob

 

[neil1967]

Switch is fine. I swapped the connections on the switch so that up became down and vice versa - problem moved with the wires! Definately a problem with the windlass.

 

[TradewindSailor]

Check that the brushes are free to move in their holders. If any are a little tight they won't make contact with the commutator. You can sand the sides of the brushes very easily with say 200 grit paper .....Do it little by little as they need to be a snug fit, otherwise they will chatter and wear.

I take it you have connected the motor up directly to the battery to check that it rotates .... or just reversed the up and down positive cables? Either way is checks the system.

If it still doesn't work the brush or the brush holder may be corroded .... or the brush may be faulty, although I can't see why. Make sure there is no leakage to the casing.