342 Engine Hatch issues

bloving

Having issues with engine hatch motor. I can use the emergency posts and it opens fine. When I use the switch at the helm it is very slow or does not open the hatch. Almost like not enough juice to open it. Looked at wiring diagram and doesn't appear to be anything between stitch and motor. Any thoughts on what could be the problem?  The switch?

Liberty44140

Are you sure that it is getting enough battery power? I would first make sure there is enough power. After that, have you greased the Zerk fitting on the pump? I didn't know that it even existed until another post here from @Black_Diamond but I just greased mine this weekend and it runs smoother and quieter than before on my 342.

bloving

Thanks. I'll try putting a meter on it to see. I'll also try greasing the post

wm61356

If the actuator works fine when you apply voltage to the by-pass posts, but operates slowly when operated with the switch on the instrument panel you likely have a voltage drop issue in the feed circuit to the instrument panel actuator switch, across the switch itself, or high resistance in the ground circuit.

On my 2009 320 Rinker placed inline bus-bar type fuses for the 12 volt circuits to the Instrument panel low enough in the bilge that they can come in contact with moisture causing corrosion and voltage drop to the helm. I'm not sure about the wiring on a 342 because I've never worked on one , but you may have a similar problem.

Murray Luck

Recently had an issue with the hatch on my 350. It would work fine sometimes, other times it would not open or if opened would not close. Traced the problem to a set of Relays located behind the electric panel topside. Set of 5 relays were all badly corroded, only 2 were connected to the hatch. I replaced all 5. The hatch has worked perfect since then. I do not know what the other 3 relays are connected to.

MDboater

While cutting a zip tie I nicked the hatch actuator cable (lengthwise so the cut was parallel to the conductor strands).  It looked like a couple of the strands were cut but overall not too bad.  I tried moving the actuator and it was sluggish to move.   I cut out the damage and put in a marine crimp connector to rejoin the cable and all was well.  The point is that a surprisingly small amount of degradation (loss) to the circuit effected the actuator performance.  You might try cleaning the contacts on the switch terminal connectors or other connectors within the circuit.  While you are working there try bypassing the switch and manually connecting the wires to rule out the switch being faulty.  Look for connectors that may be compromised and replace with marine connectors.  I really like the marine heat shrink crimp connectors. Those connectors are crazy expensive at West Marine so check out the kits on Amazon.