Is “overhaul” quite the right term? I’m not sure. Anyway, the anchor windlass was not working properly, so I took it apart, cleaned it up, and put it back together again.
I was playing with it because I wanted to see how well or poorly my new Rocna 6-kg anchor would self-deploy off my current bow-roller. Here is the anchor and windlass on Two Lucky Fish‘s foredeck, complete with my shiny new do-it-yourself custom-fabricated bail:
The windlass appears to be a Simpson-Lawrence (now Lewmar) Sprint 400, and it was not actuating reliably in either direction, and even when it would run, it was gutless, unable to lift much of anything at all.
My theory was that it was not getting all the current through it, so I decided to open it up and take a look. Yuck!
The rotor:
The brushes:
So I took some 600-grit sandpaper and polished the contact surfaces on the rotor and brushes. Here’s a “before and after” picture of the rotor. Black glazing is bad. Shiny copper is good.
I applied some dielectric grease to the rotor and brushes, as well. I wiped it on, wiped it off, and took a tooth pick to clean any out from between these rotor contacts. Hopefully I’ve gotten most of it off. As I understand it, you want lubricity and conductivity, which the dielectric grease is supposed to provide. But you don’t want TOO MUCH conductivity, for instance between separate parts that aren’t supposed to conduct current at the same time. That would be bad.
Before I reassembled it all, I also took old rags and popsicle sticks and cleaned up as much of the powdery corrosion residue as I could, and I repacked the gear case with new grease. Out with the old…
And in with the new…
Looking at the picture, I think maybe I should apply some more…it had a LOT more than this when I first opened it up, plus some water.
Finally, I applied a little of my beloved polysulfide to the rubber “sock” that is supposed to direct water away from the motor housing. Made kind of a mess of it, actually…
With luck, I have found and addressed the source of the unwanted electrical resistance. With luck, cleaning up and reassembling the motor will make it all better, at least for a while. With luck, the polysulfide will prevent water from entering the motor housing.
But I’m just guessing! Comments from readers who actually have a clue about this sort of thing are most welcome.
So! Have I succeeded in “fixing” it? I won’t know that until I take it to the boat and wire it up. As you might imagine, I am eager to give it a try.
By the way, I DID take the boat out and try the anchor on the day I discovered the windlass wasn’t working. I was able to get the Rocna to set positively as I never experienced with the Claw, so early indications are promising. More on that later.
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Yep, that’s an overhaul!
As I recall, dielectric actually means non-conducting. So the grease itself doesn’t conduct electricity. Which is good, cause you don’t want the grease to short stuff out. The brushes still make mechanical contact with the commutator on the windlass motor, and will conduct electricity fine. Dielectric grease is great for electrical components on boats, as it protects against corrosion from moisture, salt, and galvanic effects. Excellent for battery terminals, wire connectors, light bulb sockets, etc…
Glad to see someone repairing something instead of just tossing the old. Isn’t that what we all used to do? “Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do, or do without.” Anyone still remember that Depression-era motto?
I took my lawerance simpson 600 apart, cleaned it up, replaced (2) frost bearings, and now it runs very hard in one direction. Does anyone have any ideas what I messed up on the reassmbly?
Thanks, Steve
I have a 400 simpson-lawrence windless.
The motor brush springs have taken a set. Any idea where one could buy brush springs for this brand? SO far I would have to buy the entire motor assembly.
Thanks for the writeup – I had the same issue with my Sprint 600 where the motor wasn’t moving in one direction (even without resistance). I can see why your windlass wasn’t working – the shaft on the compound gear assembly you show in your pictures is broken. Seems to be a common problem with this windlass. Replace the compound gear assembly ($94) and gaskets, she’ll be as good as new.
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