Minx handling problems....

[gcarter]

Today the river was full of junk. Kind of like Lake Cumberland. We had to start and stop quite a bit. The boat did very well. Then for about 10 minutes, it was up to its old tricks. I had Elaine sit in the middle of the back seat for awhile and it didn't do it any more. We went into a spring and checked it out, tabs, drive, prop, bottom. Nothing. Later Elaine sat in the passanger seat and it no longer did it. Go figure.
I spoke with Brian Kamrath the other day, he is going to send me a set of shorter set of tabs. They will be just like the Victory tabs, only a little longer than the stock Bennetts.
I know rhat I will figure it out.

[MOP]

George no tab fuse and it still did it for about 10 minutes? I still feel you have an issue with the power steering ram, either shuttle valve is out of adjustment or it is sticky. Having a very hard time thinking the tabs are doing funny things!

Phil

[smoothie]

George...now that everything has been said and done I can tell ya that Tom had the same problem with his Minx when we had it out for the first time...when he hit the gas the boat kept wanting to do donuts to the left,right away we thought engine mounts or trim tabs,checked both and was a ok,he tried one more time and got on plane but then it was all he could do to keep it from pulling to the left,,,so I told him to let me give it a try,I got her up on plane and hit the trim button and away we went,handled like a champ in some sloppy water with a mirage,so I stopped and left the trim the same and hit the gas and she took right off,we played this game again over the weekend just to make sure this was what it was before I posted and sure enough we were doing donuts again with the trim all the way in.after that he trimed it out and pulled his daughter up and around the lake slalom sking...hope this helps!

[Cuda]

George...now that everything was been said and done I can tell ya that Tom had the same problem with his Minx when we had it out for the first time...when he hit the gas the boat kept wanting to do donuts to the left,right away we thought engine mounts or trim tabs,checked both and was a ok,he tried one more time and got on plane but then it was all he could do to keep it from pulling to the left,,,so I told him to let me give it a try,I got her up on plane and hit the trim button and away we went,handled like a champ in some sloppy water with a mirage,so I stopped and left the trim the same and hit the gas and she took right off,we played this game again over the weekend just to make sure this was what it was before I posted and sure enough we were doing donuts again with the trim all the way in.after that he trimed it out and pulled his daughter up and around the lake salom sking...hope this helps!

That's the same thing Budman said this weekend.

[gcarter]

that my problem centers around the fact I never bled the air from the hydraulic line to the stbd tab.
Most of you probably know the Bennett ram uses a spring return. When you raise the tab electrically, the solenoid for that side opens and the pump motor freewheels in reverse.
In fact, if there's air in the line (like mine), you can push down on the tab and it will pop back up on its spring.
Now here's my hypothesis;
Under certain conditions, the waterflow moving past the transom would contact the tab surface, generate suction, pull the stbd tab down and upset the trim. This coulod probably happen at any time.
The solution is, bleed the air from the line! With the line completely purged, the tab would be unable to move on its own, solving the problem.
Unlike Ricks friends problem, my boat goes straight. It's never veered to the left.
Anyway below is a pic of the stbd tab on the trailer.

[BUIZILLA]

the solenoid for that side opens and the pump motor freewheels in reverse.

George, can you expand on this theory...

JH

[gcarter]

George, can you expand on this theory...

JH

Sure Jim, you may remember when I first started using the boat, I had trim pump problems. When energised, the fuse would blow every time. I called Bennett and described the problem Their first suggestion was to run wires direct from the battery to the connector at the pump. But more specifically to the motor reverse wire (I don't remember the color) which "when energised, freewheels in reverse". In other words, you can run the motor in reverse continuously.
Now, I've not disassembled one of their pumps, only taking them at their word.
BTW, the problem turned out to be the way Ultra Panel Marine wired the trim panel and it was an easy fix.

[gcarter]

Err,


no..

The Bennett tabs can be pushed down by hand at any time.... Matter of fact, I just walked out and did four of them, none of which need bleeding... AIR, the system is self purging BTW...

Hmmmmm.....I've not disassembled one of the rams, but how is it that you can push down a tab with its cylinder full of an incompressible fluid?

[smoothie]

George,the fluid is on top of the piston pushing down only and a spring pushes the piston,tab back up so when the tab is in the up position (no fluid) you can push the tab down by hand compressing the spring,let go and the spring pushes the piston,tab back to the up position.

[MOP]

Bennets are self bleeding, George I have installed many many sets and have never ever done anything but cycle them several times and refill the the tank. The return spring pushes the air out all by them selves, no way will the water suck a tab down they will just stay up from the spring pressure. The action you spoke of was very fast, tabs do not act that fast, and the fact that it happened at low and cruise speed kind of rules them out. I still say go over the adjustment on the steering ram and grease the shuttle valve, like I told you that is the only thing that I have ever seen that will jerk a boat to one side or the other quicky at varying speeds.

Direct from the Bennet installation instructions!
Step 14 - Using the control, hold the "Bow Down" position for 15 seconds, then "Bow Up" for 15 - 20 seconds. Repeat 3 times. This will purge any air from the system. No bleeding is necessary.

Phil

[gcarter]

Oh well, on to the next theory.....

[MOP]

George get the book out and go over the centering adjustment and grease the fitting I told you about, I really think your problem will be history. I don't have a flat bed scanner or I would shot you the instructions, it is about a 30 minute job. If you do not have the book call me early I read it to you, a few notes will get you through.

Phil

[penbroke]

George,the fluid is on top of the piston pushing down only and a spring pushes the piston,tab back up so when the tab is in the up position (no fluid) you can push the tab down by hand compressing the spring,let go and the spring pushes the piston,tab back to the up position.

When you push the tab down by hand is the fluid allowed to flow and fill the volume at the top of the cylinder?? Otherwise you would be creating a vacuum and wouldn't be able to move it very far. If you push it down by hand does it stay there or return to where it was?? The spring can only move the tab back up if the fluid is allowed to flow back to the tank thru the valve which with no power should be closed??

Frank
I need to play with my tabs...

[MOP]

I don't think any fluid is pulled past the vavle body not sure, I think between the spring and maybe some vacuum it is some powerful! Try it that sucker is tough to hold down and goes right back to where it was set. I have had a tool or two sitting on a tab and used it as a step ladder if your foot slips off the tools get catapulted and scattered several feet away.

Phil

[gcarter]

As far as the freewheeling goes, from the same instructions...

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Scott, I know it says this, but you can try this;
Run the pump down with the solenoid closed...it will bog and stop when the pressure builds up. But run the pump in reverse with the solenoid closed and it runs without any load. I know because I did it. This was also what Bennett suggested.