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A question to the hive mind re Amel 54 (Sleipner side power) Bow thruster capacitor please.
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Porter McRoberts
Yesterday while cleaning contactor and brushes and then reassembling the bow thruster, accidentally we tore this small wire and capacitor vs resistor which connected between the brushes Set “A” and Set “B” of the four sets A-D. It appears to be a capacitor of some kind, theorized by the guy in the electronics shop to offer some sort of harmonic filtering and reduction of radio interference, and thus non-essential to the function of the BT. It is a Sleipner “side power” bow thruster. No response yet from Sleipner.
The electronics guy has a host of small capacitors, and it would be easy to wire one up, but which size? Might anyone 1) know the size?, 2) be able to confirm the non-essential nature of this small device? 3) have any suggestions in the absence of intel from Sleipner? Thank you very much! Porter McRoberts A54-152. Tahiti.
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Ryan Meador
Hi Porter, The capacitor should be labeled. On one side of the disc, I expect you'll see some tiny numbers. If you can write them down and/or get a clear photo, that would help a lot for identifying it. Failing that, you'll have to measure it with a meter (looks impossible due to the damage) or get the specifications from the manufacturer. I concur with the tech -- it is a ceramic capacitor, most likely to reduce electrical/radio interference. I'd prefer not to speculate on whether it's safe to operate the thruster without it. Ryan and Kelly
SM 233 Iteration Boston, MA, USA
On Fri, Aug 21, 2020 at 1:02 PM Porter McRoberts via groups.io <portermcroberts=yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote: Yesterday while cleaning contactor and brushes and then reassembling the bow thruster, accidentally we tore this small wire and capacitor vs resistor which connected between the brushes Set “A” and Set “B” of the four sets A-D. It appears to be a capacitor of some kind, theorized by the guy in the electronics shop to offer some sort of harmonic filtering and reduction of radio interference, and thus non-essential to the function of the BT. It is a Sleipner “side power” bow thruster. No response yet from Sleipner.
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Scott SV Tengah
Try Brad at Imtra, the distributor in the US. They've been pretty helpful and responsive.
Norwegians (Sleipner) may still be on summer holiday. :) -- Scott 2007 A54 #69 SV Tengah http://www.svtengah.com
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Actually the capacitor may also help in reducing the sparking of the brushes and reduce the wear and tear on those things. So definitely recommend to replace. I can't tell you the value though as our Amel is too far away to see.
Regards, Arno Luijten SV Luna, A54-121
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Hi Porter,
Is (was) there only one capacitor in the system? Seems like a 4-brush motor might have at least one more. If so, maybe you can carefully lift one leg off and measure it? I would surmise that it is non-essential, but I would not suggest operating the thruster without it, just in case. I'm sure Sleipner will advise the correct capacity soon enough. Tahiti ! Lucky you 😀 Cheers Dean SY Stella A54-154 Sent from my iPhone X
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Porter,
There is also a possibility that the component is not a capacitor. It could be a varistor. If so, it may be a little more difficult to source. Hopefully Sleipner will wake up soon! Cheers Dean Sent from my iPhone X
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Porter McRoberts
Thank you all. I really appreciate all the thoughts.
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Sleipner still sleeping. IMTRA seems willing to help. They had some questions which prohibited a final answer today. Regardless. The thruster thrusts well, sounds good without it. We turned around in the marina just fine. I’ll limit use without the widget and update when I get final answers Thanks again and have a wonderful weekend! Porter Porter McRoberts S/V IBIS A54-152 WhatsApp:+1 754 265 2206Www.fouribis.net
On Aug 21, 2020, at 10:23 AM, Arno Luijten <arno.luijten@...> wrote:
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Mark & Debbie Mueller
Very recently I had an opportunity to get familiar with our Sleipner bow thruster. No such part was in the unit.
-- Mark Mueller Brass Ring A54
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Porter McRoberts
Mark. Thank you.
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Interestingly. The US contingent got back to me. They suggested the part was a heat sensor and sent a photo. The photo they sent was similar to what I have, but suffered in that it had an additional wire connection that then fed back to a relay. The part they showed me we do not have. I like safety features, however this scenario like engines, I’d rather ruin an engine saving the ship than ruin the ship saving an engine. I use the thruster when I can’t maneuver with the rudder and as sparingly as possible. There evidently is a sidepower outfit here in Tahiti. I’m going to ask them to have a look, if covid doesn’t stop us! Thanks again Porter A54-152 Porter McRoberts S/V IBIS WhatsApp:+1 754 265 2206Www.fouribis.net
On Aug 23, 2020, at 5:08 AM, Mark & Debbie Mueller <brass.ring@...> wrote:
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Scott SV Tengah
Porter, I replaced my Sidepower after the commutator cracked and it started eating brushes ($$$$$$). Note that the Sleipner that Amel installed in my A54 (#69) has been superceded by another model. The solenoids are moved to the forward facing, referenced to your A54, side of the bowthruster. I am not sure if they updated the thermal sensor too. As an aside, if you ever need to replace your motor, you'll have to cut out a bit of the bow locker floor and also use some wood "shims" to push the bowthruster cover / stairs towards the front of the boat to accommodate the new solenoid location. I've had a few outfits look at our NEW bowthruster because it was having intermittent issues. They cost me a lot of money and couldn't figure it out. Brad at IMTRA is generally quite helpful and their techs will give you step by step instructions. If you want to test yourself, try this: https://seatronic.no/productattachments/index/download?id=1080 You can bypass a lot of the sensors, including the thermal switch. That way, you at least isolate exactly what is wrong. FYI in our case, for the intermittently functioning NEW Sleipner, it turned out to be the tiniest bit of corrosion on the connectors between the big/long relay box and the solenoids. I'd suggest corrosion-x or silicone grease on those contacts.
On Sun, Aug 23, 2020 at 8:32 AM Porter McRoberts via groups.io <portermcroberts=yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote:
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Porter McRoberts
We stored the boat. For longer than intended BT down so as to allow access to change the zincs etc. covid... delays. Boat returns to water. BT working. Delivery skippers sail boat to delivery ship. Local captain helps put ibis on ship can’t get BT back up. We get IBIs off ship in Tahiti. BT stored in partially up/down position. The thruster wasn’t working. Up down or side to side. Replace fuse and up down good. Get into motor and commuter with baked on graphite and dust. Brushes swollen from heat. I think the loading captain worked the hell out of the motor with heavy winds. Polished commuter, trimmed up brushes. Corrosion Xed. Then broke mystery wire... at last step. BT works like a champ. (Without mystery wire) No spark, after reseating brushes minimal dust.
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My suspicion is mystery wire is a heat sensor, with an additional connection (long disconnected) from the relays as wires are a jumble entering and exiting an Audi brand additional relay used really as a junction box. It’s a simple machine made heartily complex. I’ll see what the locals say and continue to gently test it. Thanks for your and everyone’s input. Porter Porter McRoberts S/V IBIS WhatsApp:+1 754 265 2206Www.fouribis.net
On Aug 23, 2020, at 8:57 AM, Scott SV Tengah <Scott.nguyen@...> wrote:
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Porter McRoberts
Sleipner has responded that the wire in question is to reduce radio frequency interference and the motor will operate normally without it. Just an FYI. Porter A54-152 Porter McRoberts S/V IBIS WhatsApp:+1 754 265 2206Www.fouribis.net
On Aug 21, 2020, at 1:55 PM, Dean Gillies <stella@...> wrote:
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Porter, that is great news! Bill
On Mon, Aug 24, 2020 at 11:09 AM Porter McRoberts via groups.io <portermcroberts=yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote:
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