2005 342 engine hatch works intermittently

johnep

My engine hatch works intermittently.  I thought it was a bad battery, so being a new to me boat I replaced them all.  Turned out to be a good thing since they were between 6 and 10 years old.  The hatched worked great for 2 weeks.  I let it sit for 2 weeks now no go, I have to jump it to work.  The boat is out of the water for the winter so I have power hooked up and have the battery charger on thinking one battery may have been drained but still no go.  I looked at the switch, which has like 7 wires going to it and saw no sign of heating up.  Anyone been down this road?  I am thinking there must be a relay that has a connection issue?  Is there a place I could find the wiring schematic? Any help would be much appreciated.

LaRea

Check for corrosion in the 2-pin connector at the bottom of the actuator.  

johnep

Thank you for your reply.  I did check them and they are fine.  I should have mentioned, it works fine when I jump it in the battery switch panel.

Black_Diamond

If it works when you jump it at the switch panel, the actuator is fine. 

The switch at the dash just reverses the power for up/down. Check you have good connections there. 

cruzan

The probable cause, is the contacts in the switch need to be cleaned. The switch can be taken apart to burnish the contacts. In the end I replaced the switch. A relayed system in this circuit would be an improvement. JMHO 

johnep

I did take a good look at the switch and the connections.  I think I saw 7 terminals and all were clean and tight.  I would love to know why there are so many wires.  Doesn't make sense to me other then there may be a relay for up and one for down?  I think I need a schematic to figure this one out.  Thank you all for your replies!

LaRea

Here's a typical schematic - marked as a 2004 342.  YMMV ... there's some variation among builds.  On some boats, the override studs will raise or lower the hatch depending on polarity.  On others, including my 370, the studs will only raise -- not lower.  

johnep

That looks like what I am looking for.  I was pretty sure mine had 7 connections but I may be wrong.  This should get me where I need to be. Thank You!

cruzan

The 7th is for the lamp on the switch.

rinkercruiser

I had a similar situation and it turned out to be two relays in the electrical panel at the rear lower side of the boat where the stud post are to jump the hatch if the battery is dead. I replaced both relays and the hatch has been working fine.

johnep

Thank you all for the information.  I will be addressing this issue with other updating over the winter. 

rinker270nb

I feel your pain and will be watching this thread. When poweeeing at the auxiliary leads, my hatch rises string. When the switch is used, it's a slow and painful process.