Lost steering on 2017 Bennington tritoon

[nukeantz]

Got half way across lake and lost steering. Before that my fish finder said transponder lost power. Don’t know if one has anything to do with the other. Had to idle and steer it back to dock by pushing the motor side to side from the back. If it sat in the water at the dock I would think muskrats chewed something, but it kept on a lift 5’ out of the water all the time. Only have 70 hours on it and I bought it new.

 

[Potomacbassin’]

Without details I will assume you don't have electric assist either in a Verado or separate system.

If you can move your engine by hand, I'd start by making sure all mechanical attachments are intact. Is your Seastar physically still attached to engine (should be a bolt connecting the two)? If so check your Seastar troubleshooting guide for fluid leak or air in the system. Last option would be something in the helm steering is not working correctly so you can run some checks there.

Not too many moving parts here so that should narrow down what could be going on.

 

[BigKahuna]

Got half way across lake and lost steering. Before that my fish finder said transponder lost power. Don’t know if one has anything to do with the other. Had to idle and steer it back to dock by pushing the motor side to side from the back. If it sat in the water at the dock I would think muskrats chewed something, but it kept on a lift 5’ out of the water all the time. Only have 70 hours on it and I bought it new.

Hope you diagnose what's wrong with it quickly and have it fixed. Don't think that those little buggers can't climb up your lift. When we first moved here we had multiple neighbors that had damage from muskrats chewing on their transponder/engine wires..... on their lifts!

 

[nukeantz]

Sea star is still attached to engine. I don’t see any leaking areas visible, although I did notice oil on the water. I am assuming there is a leak, but between the decking and the aluminum that I see from underneath. I don’t see how a muskrat could get in to it, was hoping maybe a hose got cut from vibration since it was new. What kind of fluid do I use to fill so I don’t void Warranty, I assume I add fluid on dash to the right of steer wheel?

 

[LaurencetheAdventurer]

Got half way across lake and lost steering. Before that my fish finder said transponder lost power. Don’t know if one has anything to do with the other. Had to idle and steer it back to dock by pushing the motor side to side from the back. If it sat in the water at the dock I would think muskrats chewed something, but it kept on a lift 5’ out of the water all the time. Only have 70 hours on it and I boug

Sea star is still attached to engine. I don’t see any leaking areas visible, although I did notice oil on the water. I am assuming there is a leak, but between the decking and the aluminum that I see from underneath. I don’t see how a muskrat could get in to it, was hoping maybe a hose got cut from vibration since it was new. What kind of fluid do I use to fill so I don’t void Warranty, I assume I add fluid on dash to the right of steer wheel?

Search power steering issues dealing with a similar, but sounds like a different issue with full steering loss vs just the power assist.