Side-Power SE60

[About Time]

I have a sudden issue with my sidepower SE 60 thruster which I hope you can help with.
When I push the two ON keys on the control panels the light comes on but once I use the joystick I hear a click from the relay and an 'initial' starting noise from the thruster (0.5 sec) and then the light on the control panels goes out (OFF). I went in the water as I thought something had entered the thruster tube blocking the propeller but nothing down there and the propeller moves freely.
The thruster is connected to my starter battery and the two engines fire up easily.
Performed some tests...
I can start the engines - let them idle for a while and then sometimes I can use the thruster as usual.... or if I join my starter and service battery together (emergency start) then I can make the thruster work too. Seems like the thruster all of a sudden needs more power ......
Therefore I went along for a new starter battery as I thought my old one was dying but sadly no change.....
I am now wondering if the thruster relay (that clicks) can be worn creating more resistance and therefore now requires a higher amp to work... or maybe it does not work like this
Anything else to study before I move on with a new relay and may find this waste of money too....
Thanks to a great forum and all the wise boaters here.

 

[julians]

I have a sudden issue with my sidepower SE 60 thruster which I hope you can help with.
When I push the two ON keys on the control panels the light comes on but once I use the joystick I hear a click from the relay and an 'initial' starting noise from the thruster (0.5 sec) and then the light on the control panels goes out (OFF). I went in the water as I thought something had entered the thruster tube blocking the propeller but nothing down there and the propeller moves freely.
The thruster is connected to my starter battery and the two engines fire up easily.
Performed some tests...
I can start the engines - let them idle for a while and then sometimes I can use the thruster as usual.... or if I join my starter and service battery together (emergency start) then I can make the thruster work too. Seems like the thruster all of a sudden needs more power ......
Therefore I went along for a new starter battery as I thought my old one was dying but sadly no change.....
I am now wondering if the thruster relay (that clicks) can be worn creating more resistance and therefore now requires a higher amp to work... or maybe it does not work like this
Anything else to study before I move on with a new relay and may find this waste of money too....
Thanks to a great forum and all the wise boaters here.

Side power have some good troubleshooting guides on their website, I have one for my thruster that I'll attach in a sec, it's probably not directly applicable to your model,but might give you some hinta about how to determine where the problem is.

Edit :actually the troubleshooting guide seems to be generic,so should be helpful to you. Have attached it to this post

 

[Croftie]

I have a sudden issue with my sidepower SE 60 thruster which I hope you can help with.
When I push the two ON keys on the control panels the light comes on but once I use the joystick I hear a click from the relay and an 'initial' starting noise from the thruster (0.5 sec) and then the light on the control panels goes out (OFF). I went in the water as I thought something had entered the thruster tube blocking the propeller but nothing down there and the propeller moves freely.
The thruster is connected to my starter battery and the two engines fire up easily.
Performed some tests...
I can start the engines - let them idle for a while and then sometimes I can use the thruster as usual.... or if I join my starter and service battery together (emergency start) then I can make the thruster work too. Seems like the thruster all of a sudden needs more power ......
Therefore I went along for a new starter battery as I thought my old one was dying but sadly no change.....
I am now wondering if the thruster relay (that clicks) can be worn creating more resistance and therefore now requires a higher amp to work... or maybe it does not work like this
Anything else to study before I move on with a new relay and may find this waste of money too....
Thanks to a great forum and all the wise boaters here.

Check all the power cable connections, if you have a multimeter check voltage at the thruster, sounds like a voltage drop

 

[harvey38]

So good a manufacturer puts this information out instead of 'Contact an authorised service agent'. At least you can have a go yourself if you have the knowledge.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[philipdawsonladds]

All of the thrusters that I have had all have a dedicated battery as the power draw is so great

 

[julians]

All of the thrusters that I have had all have a dedicated battery as the power draw is so great

Good point. Op are you sure it runs off the engine start battery?

They usually do have their own battery,or run off the service battery. It may be that your service battery is dead if it works fine when you join the start and service batteries together.

 

[About Time]

Thanks so much for all the feedback.
Yes - The thruster runs on the engine start battery. I just checked the wiring once again. That is a factory set up - not done by me ... Your point however makes very good sense. It should run on the service battery as the thruster draws so much current.
Julians - I really appreciate the guide for troubleshooting the thruster. It will be of great help this weekend. Thumps up.

 

[Greg C]

Thanks so much for all the feedback.
Yes - The thruster runs on the engine start battery. I just checked the wiring once again. That is a factory set up - not done by me ... Your point however makes very good sense. It should run on the service battery as the thruster draws so much current.
Julians - I really appreciate the guide for troubleshooting the thruster. It will be of great help this weekend. Thumps up.

I have similar issues, my battery is dedicated, but the fault the same. Did you find a fix?

 

[Bouba]

If your thruster is a brushless motor this will not apply.....if it is, you need to clean it thoroughly (taking the armature out) and check (possibly replace) the brushes. Messy job but usually you can do it while still in the water

 

[Greg C]

It's not that, never thought to try the flybridge controls and they work ok. So it might be the controller down stairs. I'm going to swap them over this week. Im normally out on my own, so don't use the flybridge often.