Power bimini not operating
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gerry
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Is the tension off the bimini and did you try the reset ? Call Mike at Schwintek, 269-445-9999. they are the supplier for the Bennington power bimini top. Mike has been very helpful to me. Gerry
SChwintek
gerry
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The thermal reset is on the motor itself and is usually automatic after 15 sec. I meant the breaker on your console switch. Gerry
kaydano
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Check for voltage at the motor. Disconnect any connector you can find near the motor, use a voltmeter, and see if you get 12v when the switch is "on" and 0v when the switch is off. If you get 12v, the circuits to the motor are fine.
Assuming you have 12v at the motor, next disconnect the motor, and check the motor resistance. Disconnect the connector, and use an ohm meter to check the internal resistance of the motor. I good DC motor will read a very low resistance. If you get infinite resistance, something is wrong with the motor.
Typical things that go wrong with a DC motor: 1) It burned up. You are done. Order a new one. 2) The brushes are worn, or gummed up. You might be able to fix this problem.
Assuming something is wrong with the motor, and it's not burned up (you can't tell at this point if its toast or just brush contacts), try turning the shaft if you can. That might help the brushes make contact with the slip rings. If you suddenly get a low resistance from your ohm meter after moving the shaft, power up the motor ASAP and if it runs, quickly spray some contact cleaner in any hole you can find. The contact cleaner works best when there's movement to help "wipe" bad connections.
If this doesn't work, or you can't unhook and move the motor shaft, try tapping on the motor housing with something hard like a wrench. Don't dent anything, but if you're motor is electrically "open" (high/infinite resistance) then you really don't have much to lose. I had an alternator go bad once that had worn brushes. Course, I didn't know that at the time. It was late at night, and a ton of "idiot" lights came on (86.5 Supra). Turned out tapping on the alternator with a hammer was enough to get it to work for a while. It would stop, I'd smack it, it would work for a while, then stop. I pulled it, took it to a shop, and bought a brush kit. New brushes were about 4x longer than the ones that were worn out. Worked fine after that.
Assuming you have 12v at the motor, next disconnect the motor, and check the motor resistance. Disconnect the connector, and use an ohm meter to check the internal resistance of the motor. I good DC motor will read a very low resistance. If you get infinite resistance, something is wrong with the motor.
Typical things that go wrong with a DC motor: 1) It burned up. You are done. Order a new one. 2) The brushes are worn, or gummed up. You might be able to fix this problem.
Assuming something is wrong with the motor, and it's not burned up (you can't tell at this point if its toast or just brush contacts), try turning the shaft if you can. That might help the brushes make contact with the slip rings. If you suddenly get a low resistance from your ohm meter after moving the shaft, power up the motor ASAP and if it runs, quickly spray some contact cleaner in any hole you can find. The contact cleaner works best when there's movement to help "wipe" bad connections.
If this doesn't work, or you can't unhook and move the motor shaft, try tapping on the motor housing with something hard like a wrench. Don't dent anything, but if you're motor is electrically "open" (high/infinite resistance) then you really don't have much to lose. I had an alternator go bad once that had worn brushes. Course, I didn't know that at the time. It was late at night, and a ton of "idiot" lights came on (86.5 Supra). Turned out tapping on the alternator with a hammer was enough to get it to work for a while. It would stop, I'd smack it, it would work for a while, then stop. I pulled it, took it to a shop, and bought a brush kit. New brushes were about 4x longer than the ones that were worn out. Worked fine after that.