I have now had to change three Lewmar 140TT 2.2 kw bow thruster motors which suddenly stop working in all cases it appears to have been problems with the motor brushes seizing in position and corrosion on the brush carrier bush locating slot retainers has any one got any advice on a fix or methods to solve these Lewmar problems.
problems with lewmar bow thruster
- Thread starter albertan
- Start date
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Comodave
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Welcome aboard. Maybe find some conductive anti corrosion spray.
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Would think about two things other than the Lewmar device.
Is it getting enough voltage consistently. If it isn’t that may contribute to excessive brush dust production and screw up things as it’s conducive.
Would check battery health. Particularly under load if possible.
If it’s getting wet that’s no good. How is it mounted? Inside a chain locker inside a partitioned space or under the forward berth. Everything in the upper unit should be bone dry. We store other stuff nearby so used get rid and keep it really dry.
As regards the device sometimes the lower unit gets misaligned in the tunnel. May even hit the walls of the tunnel when in operation. Puts tremendous stress on everything. Are you just replacing the upper unit or it’s components or the whole thing? Might want a short haul and a careful check through for alignment gasketing and prior installation. If the lower unit is old might be worth the money to replace the whole thing while hauled.
Our Lewmar thruster failed. First had excessive dust so repair was a new battery and brushes. Worked fine for months. Second time hauled the boat. Thing was fried. Alignment was off enough there was a cut into the tunnel a fraction of an inch. What was interesting was no water was coming in and the prop turned easily with a finger. Bolts were very tight. Was a bear to get out. Can only think it shifted a wee bit when in operation from old adhesive.
Is it getting enough voltage consistently. If it isn’t that may contribute to excessive brush dust production and screw up things as it’s conducive.
Would check battery health. Particularly under load if possible.
If it’s getting wet that’s no good. How is it mounted? Inside a chain locker inside a partitioned space or under the forward berth. Everything in the upper unit should be bone dry. We store other stuff nearby so used get rid and keep it really dry.
As regards the device sometimes the lower unit gets misaligned in the tunnel. May even hit the walls of the tunnel when in operation. Puts tremendous stress on everything. Are you just replacing the upper unit or it’s components or the whole thing? Might want a short haul and a careful check through for alignment gasketing and prior installation. If the lower unit is old might be worth the money to replace the whole thing while hauled.
Our Lewmar thruster failed. First had excessive dust so repair was a new battery and brushes. Worked fine for months. Second time hauled the boat. Thing was fried. Alignment was off enough there was a cut into the tunnel a fraction of an inch. What was interesting was no water was coming in and the prop turned easily with a finger. Bolts were very tight. Was a bear to get out. Can only think it shifted a wee bit when in operation from old adhesive.
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