Electric Engine Hatch Lift/Motor
 

The motor appeared to be losing a drop or two of oil every week, and at the same time started to lose it's strength and ability to raise the hatch.

I've brought this thing home and thought maybe there's a way to fix it instead of having to buy a new one ($250 on up). Has anyone ever worked on one of these? Any advice on what to look for, how they work, and how to repair?

This is the device I'm talking about below.

You may be able to get the manufacturer to refurbish it for a small fee. Mine is made by Lenco Marine. I sent it down to them and they fixed it and sent it back within a week.

Dave M.

Hi Dave,

Mine appears to be a different manufacturer, it's like the one in the pic above, but there's no name on it, just some numbers that I assume would indicate the part number.

I'm guessing mine is hydraulic and simply lost some oil, but I'm more of a computer jockey than a mechanic. Worse case scenario I'll buy a new one but trying to see if it can easily be fixed by adding oil or replacing some sort of seal. Maybe someone here has taken one apart before and could shed some light on it.

Thanks for the link to Lenco.

There are no hydraulic fluids in that style screw jack. There is a weight rating on the lifting torque. Check that your hatch hasn't become water logged. The graphics on some covers really leak and the plastic liners sometimes feed the water into the plywood underneath. The reversable screw jack is used in 7' satelite dishes and some race cars for tire changes as well. A dc motor repair facuilty should be able to rebuild the motor.

Often times the switch is defective and will not allow enough current for the motor to operate properly. Bench test it straight to a battery.

hatch lift
 

good point capt, I always installed with double pole relays controled by switch. If you don't have the relays you could have a severe voltage drop causing prob. If you need relay info email me at [email protected].

Well, I have it here at the house so I took it apart and yes, it's all pretty much mechanical. There are 2 brushes and springs inside the actual motor. The brushes look fine. I took the brushes and the rotor they rub against and lightly sanded the copper which was dark, now shiny again. Put it back together. I'll check the wiring as well. Thanks for the advice.

Make sure the grease on the screw jack is fresh. I have seen them get gummed up and slow them down. Make sure you have good connections, no corrosion. Check the voltage at the motor and see what you get while running that will tell you if you are dropping any excessive voltage in the wiring. A relay would eliminate some of that problem. Were the brushed worn to any extent? Spring pressure maybe low causing it to not run to full potential if the brushes are worn too much..
Also check that hatch weight..

Good luck.. you headed in the right direction.. Got to love this board!!

Dick

Thanks for the additional advice guys. YES!! This board is an incredible source of info.

The brushes were worn a bit, but didn't look bad. Springs seemed to be pushing enough pressure, so all of that seems fine. I put it on a direct line to a battery here on the bench, nothing. So either I put it back together improperly, or the motor definitely needs a rebuild, or it has to be attached on the boat with the switch somehow. There's 2 wires on this thing, one yellow, one red and that's it.

The hatch has no water in it. I forgot to mention this thing doesn't owe me anything. It was installed in 1989, I'm just trying to shave a few bucks if I can help it.

I doubt if the motor has double windings. I suspect the yellow to ground and the red to hot is one direction and the yellow hot and the red ground is the other. When it didn't run for you were you assuming a chassis ground?

Hi Formula233, don't know what you mean by assuming a chassis ground. In the boat, it's mounted to the wall, just the harness which has 2 wires.

Here at the house I simply connected it up to a battery, pos to pos and neg-neg. I'm a computer geek, not an electrician so I'm assuming I have to ground one of the wires, to say something like a ground on my truck or something? The motor didn't turn at all the way I had it hooked up to the battery.

When it was taken out of the boat last summer, it was hardly lifting, no noises or anything like that, just no strength.

The actuator you have is made by warner and theyare expensive because no discounters handle them. Formula233 was correct that it is a reverse polarity motor. It's like a trim motor and any starter alternator repair shop can rebuild the motor. Chassis ground is an automotive term and doesn't really apply to boats, so don't let that confuse you. The acuator itself is not hydraulic, just take it apart and clean and grease it. If you can't get it working let me know, I might have a used one.

Bowtie-I'm looking for a used actuator, send me a e-mail so we can talk.

since were on the subject, does some noise from the screwgear
for a few seconds between 12" and 6" from close
I only hear it on close . does it have anything seriously
wrong with it? how do u grease them?

The manufacturer is Wagner not Warner. They're made in Germany. They're still in business and on the net.
I've had mine apart several times to un-jam it, but never tore the motor apart.
Make sure the drive screw is greased really good before you put it together. Mine was starting to rust from lack of maintenence. Also check the gear box at the bottom for lubrication. Mine was almost dry. I used Valvoline high temp wheel bearing grease for all this.

The others are right, the motor requires a reversed polarity to change direction. There is no chassis ground.
If yours is like mine the wires on the drive motor are 14 gage and the harness wires are 8 gage. I couldn't find any crimp connectors or splices that would work. I soldered mine together. Tried to find a waterproof, two prong connector to install to make repaires easier, since mine has a habit of jamming, but no luck. All the connectors I've found don't have the right gage wire (14 ga).

Good luck.

Mine jams all the time too. I was thinking of trying to put a rubber spacer in there so it doesnt bottom out so hard.

I'm not sure a rubber bumper will fix it. When I was working mine by hand, I ran it all the way down till it bottomed out and the clutch slipped, it jammed again. If it jammed like that without a load on it I'm going to have to figure some thing else out to stop it.
I've been working on a cut-off switch to stop it at a preset point as it comes down. Some form of micro switch mounted on the lift body and contacting either the hatch or a tab on the lift frame. I wish I had more time to work on this idea. I know it'll work.

I had to repair mine a couple of times since 92'. The area behind the rubber "O" ring coroded pushing it outward causing more pressure on the shaft. The clutch would then slip making a clicking noise. I cleaned the area with a small wire brush and regreased, it worked fine.

I put it on the boat today after I sanded down the contacts and it's still doing the same thing. Very slow and not enough juice to push the pad up. It's dry, no water in the pad.

Found a local place that would rebuild the motor. The gears and shaft mechanism look fine. After 12 years, a new set of brushes are probably in order anyhow. If it still goes up very slow/straining, should I rewire, or replace the relay switch in the dash?? Neal mentioned replacing the switch because it may not be allowing enough voltage through. So my next question would be where to find the same switch?

Lots of good advice on this message forum, you just gotta love it. Thanks for all the input.

i just had the same problem. motor working slow and struggling until i recharged the batteries. did you check them?

First you need to connect direct to a battery(well charged) and see if it moves properly. If it does and is still slow when connected to the boat wiring then it is the switch or the connections(or wiring size). If you want, we can hook up a relay near the lift to up the current to the motor-this will alleviate any switch or wiring problems.

Don,t know where the wagner came from but it is Warner Electric, which is part of Dana. They are in South Beloit Il. I've dealt with them but they won't sell anything except to distributors. The bigest problem I've found is on Baja's they ground the motor to the guages on the dash. I just run a 10 or 12 ga ground to the battery or engine harness and the motor runs much faster. Cord I thought I had one but it is too long for what you have. Eddie and Rex both sell them but they aren't cheap.

I have new ones!!
 

I have a couple of new ones on hand. Made by Warner.I have sold many of these to people for different industrial applications. I only have these on hand because they were ordered by mistake. I would love to get rid of them, will sell at cost plus ship. Let me know closed and extended length that you need and I will get back to you.

Thanks,

Steve Hixson

Arts Auto Electric & Marine

hahaha, now you tell me!??!?!?! :D

How much for the 24" model? I've already had mine fixed for $80, but I might consider adding a second if the price is right.

fixed?
 

Where did you get it fixed? I might need that info in the future.
Tahnks

As it turned out, after searching the world for some info, the the service guys in my marina laughed and said leave it here, and we'll have someone come pick it up, and deliver it back tomorrow. HA!! New motor and presto!!

There are 2 places around Baltimore that pick up those motors from local marina's and deliver. They charge $80. The service guys might mark it up on you to $100. In any case, it's a lot less expensive than buying a new one. Ask your marina who "Best" is, then there's another who's name escapes me. The other is up by you somewhere, south of Havre De Grace. I think it's Joppatown or close to there. They're the guys who put the new motor on mine.

Send me an email to remind me to check for you and I'll call the guys to find the name tomorrow.

Keith, I have a 90 Baja 250. I am having trouble with my hatch lift as well. Mine goes up slow and really slows down at half way point. I saw your pic you have posted. Mine looks just like yours. Was this difficult to take apart? I noticed two nuts on top. I tried to loosen those and it felt like I was going to twist them off. Any advise would be appreciated. I have some pics of this motor. I need to locate them and then I will post them.
thanks in advance for any help!

That last post is over 12 years old, but good luck!

I think a lot of people are having good luck sending their ram to acculift to have it rebuilt.

hatch lift
 

lift on
i had my motor checked out last year, 2017. Motor was ok but needed to be greased. Works better now, however, had to replace my battery this year. My boat sat for a month. The lift would not go up. At this point I think battery in not fully charged. I ran the boat and later and lift worked good. I think I need a better battery charger.