Limped back on one motor—starboard bucket stuck closed

[Joshua Miller]

Tried to back into a spot on a sandbar and found out that it was an oyster shell bottom. Pulled away but my starboard bucket is closed with a corresponding check engine light. Pulled the boat out of the water and no noticeable signs of damage but bucket won’t move. 2022 252XE. Any suggestions?

 

[sunbyrned]

Any debris stuck between bucket and pump keeping it from moving?

 

[Joshua Miller]

Any debris stuck between bucket and pump keeping it from moving?

None that I can see.

 

[Joshua Miller]

False alarm. Hard battery reset in the driveway, engine light cleared, and bucket operates as per norm.

 

[Julian]

False alarm. Hard battery reset in the driveway, engine light cleared, and bucket operates as per norm.

You almost certainly had debris in the bucket mechanism. This makes the bucket hard to move, so the servos that move them have an over ride to prevent them from burning out. Dealers should (none do) show you how to disconnect the bucket from the cable on the pump so you can manually wiggle the reverse gate and clear the debris out of it. Trailering the boat will do the same thing (bounce it around and get the debris out).

My post on how to replace the reverse gate cables has photos of the spring clip on the reverse gate- you can look at those to see how the mechanism works. So next time this happens you:

1. get in the water behind the boat
2. unclip the gate and move it around by hand to free it up
3. reconnect the reverse gate spring clip
4. reset the boat by turning off the batteries and turning them back on (clears the over ride error on the reverse gate servos)

 

[Joshua Miller]

You almost certainly had debris in the bucket mechanism. This makes the bucket hard to move, so the servos that move them have an over ride to prevent them from burning out. Dealers should (none do) show you how to disconnect the bucket from the cable on the pump so you can manually wiggle the reverse gate and clear the debris out of it. Trailering the boat will do the same thing (bounce it around and get the debris out).

My post on how to replace the reverse gate cables has photos of the spring clip on the reverse gate- you can look at those to see how the mechanism works. So next time this happens you:

1. get in the water behind the boat
2. unclip the gate and move it around by hand to free it up
3. reconnect the reverse gate spring clip
4. reset the boat by turning off the batteries and turning them back on (clears the over ride error on the reverse gate servos)

Thanks @Julian. I did trailer it home about 20 min so maybe that did the trick. I actually got in the water and tried to manually move the bucket but it wouldn’t budge. I was so relieved when it worked after resetting the battery.

 

[Julian]

Thanks @Julian. I did trailer it home about 20 min so maybe that did the trick. I actually got in the water and tried to manually move the bucket but it wouldn’t budge. I was so relieved when it worked after resetting the battery.

I plan on doing a video of the bucket quick release as its something no one knows how to work....or that it even exists!

 

[Cambo]

Another way to release is at the servo if you reach in there you can flip a lever and the reverse gate can be moved. I leave mine released in the winter and grab the gates each month and pivot them up and down to keep the cables from gauling up from corrosion.