Galley Maid Windlass Motor Slow and Circuit Breaker Tripping

[scottinsydney]

Windlass has worked perfectly last 5 years. But on last outing it seemed a little slow. Did not think anything of it.

7.30pm today .... Let the anchor free fall and used a little power OUT for to set the chain snubber. Windlass motor hardly moved and circuit breaker in anchor locker popped.

Motor happier when going UP, but slow.

The battery is full and charger on.

What are the first things to check in the morning? Are there any connections in the engine room?

Worse case scenarios?

 

[Sonic Boom]

Your correct, check the electrical connections. Sounds like a voltage drop is increasing amps and popping the breaker. Could be as simple as a bad or corroded ground connection

 

[Freestyle]

I just dealt with a similar problem and had the luxury of having the guy who built my windlass at Galley maid come to the boat to trouble shoot.

The first thing he checked was the gear oil which was old and terrible looking. The motor struggles when it gets too crappy. It looked like it had not been changed ever and I have owned the boat 11 years and not changed it. It wasn't the problem but worth doing.

Second thing he checked was the batteries. While it tested as 32 volts, the sustained amperage was too low and tripping the breaker. I replaced three golf cart batteries that had found their way into the bank and the windlass performed flawlessly.

Rick at Galley Maid is a long way from Australia but a nice guy and could talk you through this. PM me and I will forward his contact info.

Bruce
Freestyle
Tampa
1986 62 CPMY (54MY with ext.)

 

[davidwigler]

Check the gear oil in the gearbox.

There is a motor controller connected to the up-and-down switches. Mine is in the anchor locker. There might be corrosion on the terminals or loose connections.

 

[bigbill]

if galley maid is like my ideal windlass the shaft goes through an upper bushing, that is where mine was binding up and popping the breaker. i pulled and cleaned the shaft, put a dab of grease on it and it has worked great for about 8 years

 

[oscarvan]

if galley maid is like my ideal windlass the shaft goes through an upper bushing, that is where mine was binding up and popping the breaker. i pulled and cleaned the shaft, put a dab of grease on it and it has worked great for about 8 years

Saw a pro struggle for two days to get an Ideal out..... used EVERY trick in the book. The bearing/bushing had fused and NOTHING got them to give up.

In the end the sawzall and a drill ended the battle, with the loss of parts of the Ideal.....

So yes, keep that lubed!!!!

 

[scottinsydney]

Removed the capstan, springs, spingloader, wildcat (that's what GM call it). There is a bottom clutch plate, which will not come off and its likely either the big washer or circlip has bitten into the clutch plate's metal. (GM and I have been in touch about this previously.)

With each part removal we tested the up/down function and heard horrid grinding and binding noises. DOWN kept stopping and tripping the circuit breaker. Hmmmmmm.

A big screwdriver used as a lever tried to lifty off the bottom cluctch plate. Bits of steel crumbled out from under the clutch plate. Hmmmm. There should not be any iron. But there is... the outer tube that the shaft lives in.

So out came the can of WD40 and it was sprayed liberally onto the shaft to soak down to the bearings and whatever else was grinding/binding.

After 5 minutes there was minimal improvement. DOWN was still sticking. After 10 minutes we tried the up and down buttons and there was vast improvement. After more WD40 and 30 minutes soaking, both up and down have completely freed up with the motor spinning freely and no grinding/binding sounds. (There was no gear noise, as any noises were above deck.



Nice ad for WD40. We sprayed the shaft and let it soak down. Problem (temporarily?) solved.

++++

So we will watch it and I'll contact Rick at GM again to look at how to remove the locked bottom clutch plate. I'll also change the gear oil immediately. Wiring below has been checked and sprayed with WD40.

To be truthful, I never want to remove the windlass as I have read the removal procedure. Daunting.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Removing is not too bad. I have taken two of them out. You just need a piece of pipe and a BIG hammer.

 

[scottinsydney]

Following on, I've taken a look at the Galley Maid drawings and they do not show any shaft bearings up near the deckplate. Given that I cannot remove the clutch plate without angle grinder persuasion, what would have bound up so tight to stop the shaft turning and tripping the circuit breaker?

I believe the clutch plate will not lift off as the stainless circlip below has bitten into the base of the plate.

 

[Beachcomber]

I would strongly suggest calling Galley Maid. I had similar issues and the call to them proved to be a great idea. I believe I spoke with Rick? And he told me that one of my gears was failing. Upon pulling the gear box and opening it sure enough the gear he said was failing.
I ordered all of the bearings, seals and gears. About a 4 hour job for an old retired guy.
It runs like new every since and that’s been 2 years now.

 

[jmooney]

Seems like a good idea to remove the capstan, wildcat , and clutch plate every year. Clean the shaft and coat with a light coat of grease . My windlass wouldn’t free fall until I did this .

 

[scottinsydney]

Contacted and received response from Rick at GalleyMaid.

The WD40 indeed lubricated the top bushing on shaft. So that's a win.

Removal of the clutch plate will be problematic.

 

[jmooney]

I just went out and pulled my capstan , wildcat , and lower clutch plate off . It disassembled easily due to the grease still remaining. Reassembled with new grease . The lower clutch plate is not fastened, it is just lowered on the shaft . I would try a penetrating oil for several days, some heat to the hub would help. A puller with very long arms would be great as the clutch plate is very rigid. But if you can find anything like that , I would be amazed . Pry on opposite sides with substantial pry bars . This being said , I don’t remember what holds the shaft into the gearbox, so some prudence would be advised. I am amazed at all you are doing while on a mooring. Good luck!

 

[scottinsydney]

The anchor is already out so the windlass has to be functioning otherwise we cannot get it up. We roped the anchor snubber to a cleat while windlass disassembled. Nice and calm.

The lower clutch plate moves freely sideways back and forth on the shaft. Key in key way is free to move. We think the replacement circlip underneath has bitten into the clutch's metal preventing it being lifted up.

 

[jmooney]

If the clutch is free on the shaft , try cleaning the shaft above to shiny metal , use fine sand paper. Will it move up and down slightly? It doesn’t take much to bind the movement.

 

[scottinsydney]

So Rick at GM says to use crowbars and if that does not work, then cut the lower clutch plate off. So it can stay on for now.

Last week I began the process of changing the oil in the windlass gearbox. Not helped by a rounded lower sump plug from a previous owner and cramped space with little leverage. A new set of bolt extractor sockets eventually solved the problem.

The oil must be 30 years old. It has some water in it but has turned to glug. After draining for one hour, the sump is still 3/4 full but its just slowly oooozing out. I've poked in the hole and its like treacle.

Does anyone have an idea how to approach to cleaning and getting the glug out of the gearbox? There are upper and lower sump plugs (like filling an outboard's lower gearbox.)

I could get two hosetails and connect up a circulating pump with some type of oil sump cleaner mixed with new oil. Then drain and refill with new oil.

I thought this might be a simple job, but its going to take 3 weeks or more.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Maybe circulate some mineral spirits.

 

[oscarvan]

I thought this might be a simple job

HAH! One in ten, maybe. Some are "OK" and then there's the ones that keep you awake at night.....

 

[SKYCHENEY]

You do know that the lower clutch plate with the springs has a set screw in it, right?

 

[scottinsydney]

Hi Sky,

An upper plate has the set screw and springs. There is no set screw in the bottom plate.... only the keyway. Just odd it will not lift off.

++++++++++

So I spoke to a man today who has made his career in helping his customer's solve their personal sludge problems.

The sludge man, Mr Jimmy, indicated that the sludge in an engine or gearbox needs heat to allow a chemical dispersant to work. As I explained to him, I am not going to heat and circulate any oil with my head and torso stuck horizontally in a small unvented anchor locker. He seemed to agree.

So the plan of attack is to use 25ml or 1 fluid oz of their oil sludge treatment (FOC) with as much new oil as possible. Over time and with some windlass use, the chemical will deteriorate the sludge to a more liquid form....perhaps a sludgee. I'll replace the oil again in a couple of months. The chemical does not hurt the gears.

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