When trying to lift anchor and the windlass doesn’t work it’s going to take lot of work to get the anchor up. This is why it’s a good idea to keep the windlass in good working order.
When the windlass do fail it can be due to several reasons or a combination of reasons, here are some examples:
- Poor connections
- Low Voltage
- Motor failure
Poor connections typically cause low voltage or intermittently low voltage. This can be rectified by cleaning and tightening the power connection on the motor and control box. Remember to also check connections on the battery end as well.
Low voltage at motor can be due to poor connections as discussed above but there can also be other reasons like; low battery voltage, undersized power cables or even failure of the control box.
Motor failure, easily diagnosed by checking voltage at the motor connections M1 and M2 when the motor is engaged. If there is good voltage at motor then likely the issue is with the motor itself and it either needs to be serviced or replaced.
In our case it was the motor failure, it may have been possible to repair, but it looked in really bad shape after close to 10 years of life.
Given the poor condition and heavy rust it was an easy decision to order a replacement. Simply check the part number, in this case a 1000W 12V Lofrans motor, model number 633512. The motor ships without the fastening nuts so be sure to keep them.
The replacement is rather easy, simply remove the two topside fasteners and the motor should drop down by itself and if not, then with a little bit of help. To replace the new motor apply some windlass- or winch lube on the rotor and it should be as simple as just slot it in. May take a while to get the alignment right but after some tweaking it should pop in easily.
Remember to put the M1 and M2 connection in the same way it was, or the motor will operate in reverse.
As the windlass is generally mounted in a very harsh environment, be sure to use only tinned connections and cables.
If you have any questions or would like to know more then please leave a comment below!