Rutland 1200 - have I broken it?

[jaminb]

My boat came with a Rutland 1200 which I thought was a noisy pain in the neck so I tied it up and left alone, releasing only when sailing on lengthy, windy passage. Over the winter I replaced my leisure batteries and now the turbine only turns slowly (as in shut down mode). Having just read the manual I understand this was bad and I should have shut down at the controller (although the turbine was tied up so not spinning) before disconnecting. I have tried a reset, turning off and removing the positive feed to the battery for a minute, but the turbine is still stuck in shut down mode. The blades turn very freely by hand so don't think it is bearings.

Have I permanently damaged it? I would ask Rutland's technical support but they require proof of purchase which I don't have as it came with the boat.

thanks in advance.