Side-Power Bow Thruster Troubleshooting and Maintence

I've been having some issues with my Side-Power SP75 bow thruster lately. I had trouble finding helpful information on the website or in the manual so I called IMTRA and discussed what was going on. The tech sent me some really good guides for maintenance and troubleshooting. I've attached three PDF's here to share with the group.

Tom
IP 420-35
La Vida Dulce

Here's one more. This was a list of suggestions sent to me by the tech at IMTRA.

Do This First – Troubleshooting Tips for the Side-Power Bow Thruster:

• Check the operating voltage on the batteries, it should be 1 to 1.5V higher than at the thruster, a larger voltage drop then 1.5V should be looked into.

• Check the rated CCA of the batteries, at the rated 1045 CCA at zero degrees Fahrenheit, operating volts at the batteries should be in around 11 – 11.5V.


• Remove the motor from the boat and blow it out with compressed air (use respiratory protection).

• Check to make sure none of the brushes are sticking.


• Remove the prop and bring it to the surface for complete cleaning and anti-foul painting.


Tom
IP 420-35
La Vida Dulce

Tom:
Thank you, this is fantastic info and the PDFs are very helpful and clear. I am sure this will help many owners with the bow thruster troubleshooting process. Thank you for sharing this.
Hayden

Thanks for the information, will do this soon.

Wow, this last guide really helped out. Spent a good part of the day opening things up and found the main fuse for the thruster had gone. Trip to West Marine and got lucky to find the large fuse. Smiled, replaced it thinking all was good. Still no operation.

Original owners manual is really fuzzy on the parts/connections on the motor, and the current location of the unit in the bowels of the boat makes it no easier. Went through the steps identified here and found the solenoids bad.

my voltage at the batteries drops from 12.7 to 11.2 when running the thruster, is that too much ? do I need new batteries ?