Bennett trim tabs
Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 11:34 pm
I have a 1980 F26 that stays in its Keuka Lake slip most of the summer, but I enjoy Fall boating after things a a little more quiet on the lake. I noticed a few days ago that my trim tabs were not working -- motor sound for each of the tabs, but no movement. Based on the info. I found in a search on this site, I was guessing that there was probably an electrical issue (not enough juice to the solenoids). I have spent most of the last couple of summers tracking down gremlins, so wasn't surprised to find my tabs problem could be electrical (thinking yet another corrosion issue -- the kind I thought I was done with when we moved from salt water (or brackish, anyway) in Maryland.
Anyway, I found today that there was little or no fluid in the unit, so I corrected that first. It turns out, that solves the problem for now. I found, though, that the left and right hoses are reversed at the control unit. Is this something that should be corrected? The switch is correct for right and left (and up/down), so I'm thinking maybe a prior owner had the left and right leads reversed somewhere, and just decided to reverse the hydraulic lines to correct the problem. I haven't pulled the switch or done any other checking yet, and would rather not mess around with the hydraulic connections on this 1980 boat. Other than that issue, the lexan cover is cracked/split at the rear, but still screws in place (pump motor and solenoids under the cover appeared to be very clean). The clicking of the solenoids is not real easy to hear, although they are clearly working as the tabs are now operating. So, anybody have any thoughts??
By the way, there is a black box with a 16 amp circuit breaker button on the bulkhead at the port side of the engine -- marked "trim tabs". The breaker was OK, as would be expected since the control button for the tabs was working. For the record, there is also a breaker/reset button under the helm and fuse panel -- also the red plastic key for the electrical system. This breaker popped once early on when I was trying to dock -- immediately shut down the motor so I guess that breaker is for the ignition switch and maybe nothing else (hasn't happened since, but I'm still a little spooked.) In addition, there is a panel for the A/C shore power and onboard charger in the storage compartment on the passenger side. The charger makes a buzzing sound when doing its thing. (Somebody had wondered about that in one of the posts I found -- instruction booklet for the charger says the buzzing is normal, and tends to quiet as the batteries reach full charge. I haven't noticed any difference in sound, though, and the batteries were brand new this Spring.)
Anyway, I found today that there was little or no fluid in the unit, so I corrected that first. It turns out, that solves the problem for now. I found, though, that the left and right hoses are reversed at the control unit. Is this something that should be corrected? The switch is correct for right and left (and up/down), so I'm thinking maybe a prior owner had the left and right leads reversed somewhere, and just decided to reverse the hydraulic lines to correct the problem. I haven't pulled the switch or done any other checking yet, and would rather not mess around with the hydraulic connections on this 1980 boat. Other than that issue, the lexan cover is cracked/split at the rear, but still screws in place (pump motor and solenoids under the cover appeared to be very clean). The clicking of the solenoids is not real easy to hear, although they are clearly working as the tabs are now operating. So, anybody have any thoughts??
By the way, there is a black box with a 16 amp circuit breaker button on the bulkhead at the port side of the engine -- marked "trim tabs". The breaker was OK, as would be expected since the control button for the tabs was working. For the record, there is also a breaker/reset button under the helm and fuse panel -- also the red plastic key for the electrical system. This breaker popped once early on when I was trying to dock -- immediately shut down the motor so I guess that breaker is for the ignition switch and maybe nothing else (hasn't happened since, but I'm still a little spooked.) In addition, there is a panel for the A/C shore power and onboard charger in the storage compartment on the passenger side. The charger makes a buzzing sound when doing its thing. (Somebody had wondered about that in one of the posts I found -- instruction booklet for the charger says the buzzing is normal, and tends to quiet as the batteries reach full charge. I haven't noticed any difference in sound, though, and the batteries were brand new this Spring.)
