Windlass 320

pmerklinger

I had a problem with my windlass on the weekend. When under load going up it cuts out I think the motor is shot. I have a 2005 320 that has a horizon 600/900 windlass. What would be a good replacement. Thanks, Pedro

Weber

I just replaced mine this week. The horizon can be rebuilt. Your motor is probably good, but the directional bearing (item #10 on the exploded view) is probably the issue. I also found that the connections on my circuit breaker were very loose causing a voltage drop. I opt'd to replace over rebuild just for piece of mind on the water. I also decided to toss the directional high amperage switch and went with a contactor relay setup. Lewmar makes a direct replacement for the horizon, it has the same footprint so you don't need to drill new mounting holes. I did however need to drill a new hole for the wiring, as it is in a slightly different location. I found the windlass at a website called boatbandit.com. They had it for hundreds less than west marine, and it shipped and was delivered in less than 24 hours from when I ordered it, I couldn't believe it. I went with the lewmar pro-series 700, all stainless steel model. It comes with the relay kit, and switch. Couple things I needed to do to make the retro fit work. The switch itself is smaller than the original one, I used the cover for the circuit breaker and mounted the switch into it, and reused the old circuit breaker cover for the new circuit breaker. It does not come with the 16 gauge switch wiring, so you need some wire and spade connectors. The old switch lugs are smaller than the new relay lugs. You need to change them to the correct size, or drill them bigger. Finding a spot to mount the relay was also a challenge. As there is room under the dash panel but getting a drill or something in there to mount it is not really easy or possible. I mounted mine the the back of the bracket that holds the GPS into the dash. Besides that, it was pretty easy besides doing mine in the rain...

pmerklinger

Thanks for the info, i am also leaning towards replacing the unit because of its age and also the time of year (it may take a few weeks to get repaired). How did you access the mounting points under the windlass to remove it, Pedro

Weber

On my boat there is a removable panel in the main cabin bed, just under the mirror.  If you pull back the mattress a bit you may see a black strap.  The panel is just attached with velcro.  Pull that panel off and then there is a water tight panel that you can remove to access the rode.  Stick a light in there and look up, you will see the 3 mounting all threads and nuts.  

I did not have a connector for the electrical in there, so I cut the wires.  Just make sure you leave enough that you can pull it out of the access to reconnect.  If anything cut it close to the windlass, as the new windlass have about 2-3' of wire attached to it.

There should be a few small clamps that keep the wires out of the way of the rode.

pmerklinger

I took apart the windlass, inspected all seals,bearings ,gears. I had the motor taken apart and inspected. All looked ok so i cleaned it up (was not that bad) re greased complete, sealed the case and then bench tested. It seems to work ok . Does the 320 set up have a solenoid or is the polarity done through the main switch. If it is done through the main switch then i am thinking that that might be my problem? Pedro

Weber

It's done through the switch.

Check you connections on the circuit breaker, they are known for vibrating loose and causing intermittent issues.

Becareful with the small gear on the motor. My worked fine on the bench, but would seize under load. After messing with it back and forth it would free up for a while then get stuck.

The switch is very easy to test, you just need a meter or test light. Pull the screws out and pull the switch out. You will see two sets of heavy wire, 2 reds 2 blacks. 1 set is the feed, it should have 12v without you pushing the switch. The other set will have 12v when you push the switch. It just reverses the polarity depending on which way you move the switch.

pmerklinger

Installed the windlass back into the boat. Dry run seemed ok so I replaced the rope line with a completely new line . Problem solved. Thanks for your help and insight. Pedro