Carver Owners Forum

Hi Folks,

I have a 2003 530 Voyager. I live on the boat on and off. A couple weeks ago I was awoken in the middle of the night to the bow thruster running. It is a Volvo Penta BP1200 (24v). I rushed to the helm and tried reversing direction and deactivating the station. I also went to the upper helm and repeated this. No effect! I continued to fiddle and it would stop for a second when I reversed direction, then start up on its own again. After a couple minutes it stopped on its own and did not repeat this through the rest of the night. Later, I flipped the master switch in the engine room to be sure there was no repeat performance. This could have been a disaster if I hadn't been on the boat.

Question: what might have caused this malfunction? This could have been really serious if it had happened while docking. The relay? The joystick (rocker)? A loose wire? LoL. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks
Tim

Thruster starting up on its own at dock in total calm while you were sleeping is really going to be a mystery. Do you have a remote control for the thrusters?

Interference with a remote also occurred to me. A pule from someone's radar perhaps? But as best I can tell the bow thruster is hard wired. But I will check further. I am back on the boat for a few days and will leave them on to see if there is a repeat performance.

Apparently, a neighbors Hatteras 74 did the same thing a few weeks earlier.

I replaced the switch at the thruster after a friends boat burned when the contacts melted. The master cut off in the bilge welded itself shut and there was nothing left do do, It might be a good idea to look at the contacts on the switch. Somewhat hard to get to but worth the effort.

Remove and inspect the contractor at the motor, most of the time one of the contacts weld together and can be pried apart with a screwdriver. This only a temporary fix as once it happens, after separating will happen again. Interference from a remote which is rare could also be a cause.

Cricket,

Did you ever get this sorted out? We just had the exact same thing happen ~during sea trial~ of a prospective 466.... any ideas/insights would be appreciated, Thanks

I have a 2004 466,my thruster started on its own. It was the contacts on the dash switch. I pulled the switch and cleaned then sprayed with contact cleaner, been working fine since then.

Hal? Hal? Open pod bay doors please Hal!