Windlass Operation

[Oceanis 440 NY]

Ahoy again mates, 

Hope your nearing ready for the season. I have some upgrades and maintenance so hope to be in by Memorial Day. 

With reference to the subject of this converstation, which many of you have opined on in the past, would appreciate any further light you can shed on the operation of the windlass for the mid 90s (Marion, SC built) beneteaus. 

I determined the make and model to be Horizon Express made by Simpson Lawrence. I have the wiring diagram supplied The wiring coroded up and inside the outer shield in the anchor locker and was replaced. The solenoid was replaced and the handheld remote male/female adapter were also replaced at the bow. We tested at the end of fall and it was working. 

Went to test and finalize and there was no turnover or signal from handheld. The only factor is that the engine was not on, Battery Banks were on and as well as the switch for the windlass, the breaker was also on. My understanding is that to test, the engine is not needed, but is to run it. Will test again when I have engine breakers on. 

My question is whether there is another relay along the way some where that I may be missing? 

Thank you,

Jon

OC  440

[Alvis]

I have a different windlass and my 423 was built in France, but I think all Beneteaus were wired the same way.

You definitely need the windlass breaker on, but there is also a small relay in the control circuit that only provides power to the controllers when the engine is running and the alternator is charging. In my boat it is located near the breaker in the quarter berth. It is a common automotive type, square with a mounting tab.

Cheers

[wewag...@gmail.com]

Yes, engine must be running

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 5, 2026, at 5:00 AM, Alvis <stuartm...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have a different windlass and my 423 was built in France, but I think all Beneteaus were wired the same way.

--
Largest Beneteau group, over **1500** members and growing.
 
To post to this group, send email to Benetea...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to Beneteau-Owne...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Beneteau-Owners
Contact beno...@gmail.com if you have a list management question
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Beneteau Owners" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to beneteau-owne...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beneteau-owners/a8389384-3d8f-482e-8a3f-e9a13e9f3be7n%40googlegroups.com.

[b sch]

I have the same for my 393. does anyone have a fix or bypass for this? I am worried that this may be a real problem if i have engine failure and need to anchor. any details would be great.

[William Eurbin]

Rewiring my 423 to have two seperate banks, a lifpo4 house bank and an AGM bank to run the main starter, genset starter, windlass, and bowthruster. Main Alternator will go to the AGM bank. Here is what I am going to do to remove the switch.

AGM starter battery wired to a battery switch, from switch to a busbar. From the busbar run wires to the starter, windlass, and bowthruster in my case. Alternator direcly to the battery.  Everything will be properly fused. Remove the switch.

When the battery switch is turned on it will then energize the systems. This will allow the windlass and bowthruster to be turned on/off with the switch, along with the starter. The systems can run without the engine running. Sailing from anchor without starting the main become an option. 

If you have a boat that has the house bank and starting bank tied together, this won't work....the house bank will energize the systems which is not good.

The windlass (and bowthruster) also use a lot of juice. Windlass is around 1kw, bowthruster is 5kw. Batteries will be run down fast without the alternator helping out. I am installing a second starter battery to help out with the load.

Still finalizing the system, so if folks see an issue I would love feedback.

--

Largest Beneteau group, over **1500** members and growing.
 
To post to this group, send email to Benetea...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to Beneteau-Owne...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Beneteau-Owners
Contact beno...@gmail.com if you have a list management question
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Beneteau Owners" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to beneteau-owne...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beneteau-owners/ed7d4a4f-f65f-4f7a-b092-2807c274a4f3n%40googlegroups.com.

[Mark J Wilme]

You can create a jumper and bypass the alternator feed but only for an emergency. It will draw your batteries down pretty fast 

You could even wire in an emergency bypass switch if you wanted. Might need a relay for it those windlasses can draw a lot of amps.

On Sun, Apr 5, 2026, 1:56 PM 'b sch' via Beneteau Owners <benetea...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

--

[Mark Melvin]

I think (I had a '99 461 then my current is a '08 54) that the ignition needs to be "on" for the windlass to run, that needed to energize the control circuitry, but it does not need the engine to be actually be running for the windlass to operate.

The windlass is a huge power draw and it is best to have the engine running and turning the alternator to replenish some of the power, but you should be able to operate the windlass in an emergency with the engine "ignition" simple turned on. 

---

From: 'b sch' via Beneteau Owners <benetea...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, April 6, 2026 12:56 AM
To: Beneteau Owners <benetea...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: {Beneteau Owners} Re: Windlass Operation

 

--

[Jon Schultz]

Bill we scrapped the Perkins and installed a a beta, I’m hoping the mechanics somehow did not screw up the wiring.

On Apr 5, 2026, at 1:29 PM, wewag...@gmail.com wrote:

Yes, engine must be running

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beneteau-owners/933C5DC0-D289-4334-A708-DFA9EB4DFC6C%40gmail.com.

[Jon Schultz]

Will try that. Thanks Mark. When are we going sailing again?

Schultzy 

On Apr 5, 2026, at 6:56 PM, Mark Melvin <markd...@hotmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beneteau-owners/BY1PR84MB3939F94F51653E2B6C5489B5AB5CA%40BY1PR84MB3939.NAMPRD84.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM.

[allendick]

The reason for that interlock is to prevent running the battery down to where the engine won't start. The windlass'll work perfectly fine as long as the battery's fully charged without running the engine, but it's wise to have the engine running before you raise your anchor. 

The catch 22 is that if the engine won't start and you need to raise the anchor, you need to defeat the interlock. Does simply turning the key on allow the windlass to be used even if the engine is not running? If so, this solves the problem. If, however, this interlock requires alternator output, then some convenient method of jumping the interlock would be prudent.

Assuming that the battery is in reasonably good condition and fully charged, it should recover the anchor several times before running, down to the point where it won't start the engine. But that depends on a number of factors. At any rate, in such a situation you probably want to get the anchor up quickly, so knowing that the engine won't start, you're not worried about running the battery down, and you certainly don't want to be pulling all that chain in by hand. Also, you may be able to use some of the house battery charge, assuming you haven't already run that down while at anchor.

[Alvis]

I have Lithium house batteries (400Ah) and SLA Engine battery. The engine battery starts the engine and nothing else, so it can't be accidentally drained. The house batteries supply the anchor windlass and the cabin top electric winch (which Beneteau refer to as a 'mooring winch'). 

The boat originally came with lead-acid house batteries as well, and I think the interlock on the anchor windlass is as much about limiting the max current drain on the batteries as about protecting them from going flat. Both windlass and winch have 80A circuit breakers which trip occasionally. Deep cycle house batteries don't like heavy discharge on a regular basis, so it is good to have the alternator carrying some of the load. Of course, if you can't start the engine, you still want to be able to get the anchor up, even if it is hard on the batteries.

I have bypassed the interlock relay now that I have Lithium batteries that can handle the current. I also found it annoying at times when I wanted to let a bit more chain out at night when the wind got up. I knew the current would not be too much just letting chain out, but I still had to start the engine to do it.

In my boat, the little relay just provides a ground (-ve) for the control circuit, so you can do that up forward near the windlass or at the relay itself by shifting the wire to the coil ground. 

As someone else suggested, you could have a switch so this is only activated when you want to over-ride the system.

[Jon Schultz]

Many thanks to all for the details that they don’t put in manuals. Once again this group proves its knowledge is invaluable.