Bow Thruster

[jim_thomsen]

I have a Lewmar 185TT bow thruster, installed new by Hallberg-Rassy in 2006. It had an on/off switch at the helm and foot switches.

It is being repaired in New Zealand and they replaced the Lewmar "black Box" and now say I need to change to the helm switch with the controls and disconnect the foot switches.

Does this make sense?

[osirissail]

You are missing a lot somewhere - let's see, change the "black box" then rip out the helm switch and controls and foot switches? How are you going to operate the unit, by mental telepathy?

Other bow thrusters like Vetus use joy stick controller with an "on/off" switch on the controller - so how is your system wired. Any diagrams, schematics?

[jim_thomsen]

There is no complete wiring diagram in my manual. When the boat was new they installed the bow thruster with an on/off switch on the helm and 2 foot switches. The "black box" (this is Lewmar's term) is a contoller on the bow thruster. They replaced it, but say that the new model does not work with foot switches, but requires the Lewmar helm switch ( a lot like the Vetus style - either joy stick or direction arrow switches). That seems strange but someone suggested that the new black box has a newer safety feature that turns off the system if nothing is pushed for some length of time and that it doesn't work with the foot switches.

[osirissail]

Interesting, maybe Lemar is "rebranding" whoever is making the Vetus.

After replacing a $200+ little joystick controller on a customer's Vetus with a new one, I took the old one apart. What could cost $200+ in a box that is basically just an "on/off" switch and a SPDT Joy Stick switch?

Amazing there was a whole circuit board inside with way too much stuff to be a simple switch setup.

So that is most probably why your "old" classic "switch-to-relay" system does not work with the "new, improved" considerably more expensive "black box" which in essence is the controller with the power relays in it to activate the thruster motor. This seems to be a trend in the industry to make "tried and true" simple systems into mega-complicated stuff that you cannot service - only buy a new replacement. . .