Engine Hatch

rrraymo

Hello Everyone.  I have a 2004 Rinker 342 Fiesta Vee.  The rocker switch to open/close the engine hatch does not work.  However, the manual lugs located at the stern of the boat works to open/close the hatch tell me that the hydraulic lift works just fine.  I assumed this was just a bad rocker switch.  But I replace the rocker switch and it still does not work.  Any advice?

Thanks in Advance!

LaRea

There should be a 20-amp circuit breaker at either the helm or the battery switch panel (near the transom door).  Find it and reset it.  

rrraymo

thank you.  the circuit breaker is at the helm and it seems fine.  My next step is to remove the panel and look for corrosion or possibly a bad relay.  Any other thoughts?  Thanks

LaRea

On systems that use relays for the hatch motor, the relays are mounted on the back of the battery switch panel in the cockpit (at the transom door).  Your 342 does not have relays, but maybe there are connectors there.  Might be worth checking.  Pull the battery switch panel off and look for loose wires.  

rrraymo

@LaRea This is very helpful.  Thank you.  I will diagnose further and let you know what I find.

rrraymo

I believe all the connections are fine.  I am getting 12 volts at the hatch ram (when activating the switch).  But the ram will not operate it will only "click".  However, when putting a a battery starter onto the hatch override studs everything works fine.  Any chance the ram is bad?  Perhaps it is getting more amps with the battery starter and therefor operating?  

LaRea

There's only one thing that could affect the switch but not the posts, and that's the ground block. 

Look in the engine room for a screw terminal attached to a wall or bulkhead, with about 50 black wires attached to it.  First, make sure every screw is tight.  Then, methodically give each wire a solid pull and make sure it's really, really solid.  

If you find anything that is even slightly suspect, rewire the whole thing.  I can provide guidance on tools and supplies.  Easy DIY.

Cableguy Greg

Is everything else on the house circuit running fine? It sounds to me like the battery could be at fault. 

LaRea

He's getting normal voltage from the house bank, so I'm thinking it has to be a current restriction.  

rrraymo

Hey guys.  Thanks again for all the feedback.  The problem has been solved. 

@Cableguy Greg there were actually about 5 things acting up from various parts of the boat.  I was just trying to fix this problem first (engine hatch) but perhaps in hindsight I should have mentioned the other problems. 

@LaRea Your schematic above was very helpful and allowed me to trace the two wires from the switch all the way to the ram.  The problem was those connections were all fine.  But then per your your post on July 12 I decided to trace the negative (black) wire as far as I could.  Didn't take too long from there.  Found a bad connection within the connector.  The was a ground wire being used for several different things...fixed them all.  

Thanks again guys.  I really appreciate all the support.

LaRea

Excellent!  Glad to hear it, and thanks for posting about your solution.