Wedge stuck and not working properly

[pablo]

The wedge seems to be getting stuck and the gauge isn't working very well either. It was stuck in the down position and took me a long time to finally get it back into the up position.

I hardly ever use the wedge so it's not really crucial, but any ideas what might be wrong? I tried driving different speeds but it didn't help at all

[68Slalom]

What year is your boat?

[pablo]

What year is your boat?

it's an 08 247 lsv with about 60 hours. Really not any other issues other than a little vibration in the steering wheel up over 30 mph.

I might have to take it in to the dealer when the season slows down a bit. I don't use the wedge very often often but occasionally I like to use it to steepen the wake

[BaBaLoO]

I just had my wedge act up today as well, same year boat, worked fine in the morning and in the afternoon I couldnt deploy it anymore, yet the gauge says that it is, when I took the boat out i could actually shake one of the hydrolics on the wedge, seems like something snapped in the middle, not sure if you have checked yours yet or if anyone else has had a problem like this. Going to take it off tonight and see whats wrong.

[BaBaLoO]

hydros looked fine, where is the fuse for the wedge?

[pablo]

I just had my wedge act up today as well, same year boat, worked fine in the morning and in the afternoon I couldnt deploy it anymore, yet the gauge says that it is, when I took the boat out i could actually shake one of the hydrolics on the wedge, seems like something snapped in the middle, not sure if you have checked yours yet or if anyone else has had a problem like this. Going to take it off tonight and see whats wrong.

I had the same problem. Everythin was working fine the day before and then it started to have a bunch of issues.

[pablo]

hydros looked fine, where is the fuse for the wedge?

I'm not sure. Is your wedge moving at all or is it just an issue with the gauge. I was having an issue with both. Gauge was reading in the down position but it wasn't all the way in the down position. Then I couldn't get the wedge to respond at all. Luckily I finally got it up in the up position and didn't touch I the rest of the day.

[Bobby Light]

hydros looked fine, where is the fuse for the wedge?

Under the dash in the fuse panel. Box says Medallion on the cover.

[martinarcher]

Just to make sure, you guys are moving when trying to bring the wedge back up right? The Bu's Power Wedge has to have the paddlewheel spinning to bring the wedge up. I think it's around 9-10mph and you can pull it up.

[Bobby Light]

Just to make sure, you guys are moving when trying to bring the wedge back up right? The Bu's Power Wedge has to have the paddlewheel spinning to bring the wedge up. I think it's around 9-10mph and you can pull it up.

I know you meant to say 1-2 mph, no worries bud I got your back. I owe you one.

[pablo]

I know you meant to say 1-2 mph, no worries bud I got your back. I owe you one.

Ya I've tried it from 2-17 mph with sparratic results. Sometimes it would work and sometimes it won't?

Could it be low on hydraulic fluid?

[Bobby Light]

Ya I've tried it from 2-17 mph with sparratic results. Sometimes it would work and sometimes it won't?

Could it be low on hydraulic fluid?

Only if the rams blew a seal. There is no external reservior on them. Maybe your paddlewheel is messed up or something?

[pablo]

Only if the rams blew a seal. There is no external reservior on them. Maybe your paddlewheel is messed up or something?

I don't think it's an issue with the paddlewheel because the cruise control works fine and it seems to read an accurate speed.

[martinarcher]

I know you meant to say 1-2 mph, no worries bud I got your back. I owe you one.

Thanks bro. I knew a V-Drive expert would be along to help out of I hose the speed.

[BaBaLoO]

yes I tried depolying while moving even tho im pretty sure i never had to before, The thing thats funny is that it worked fine 30 min before i tried to use it again. I hit deploy, the gauge moved all the way down, when I pulled the rider I could tell that It wasnt down, when i checked it was still in the full upright position. When I go over 30mph the wedge warning comes up on the dash. hopefully its just the fuse. Ill be able to check tomorrow. One more thing WHen I took it out of the water I took a look at the actuators looked fine, only concern was that I could very slightly shake one while the other was snug. I was told this is normal but still not sure.

[pablo]

Only if the rams blew a seal. There is no external reservior on them. Maybe your paddlewheel is messed up or something?

took a look at it today on the trailer and it hopefully was just the one actuator. The one actuator was hanging down as the cotter pin somehow had fallen out. I went and bought a new cotter pin and hooked everything back up and it appears to be working fine. Kind of strange. Anyone ever see this happen before? How much do these actuators cost and is it pretty expensive to have new ones installed and wired in? Talked to a mechanic who said the actuators are notorious for having problems and seizing up. Hopefully that's not the case.

[pablo]

Forgot to ask how to calbrate the wedge. It is now fully in the up psition but gauge is not showing it in the full up position like it used to. Close but not all the way up

[Bobby Light]

took a look at it today on the trailer and it hopefully was just the one actuator. The one actuator was hanging down as the cotter pin somehow had fallen out. I went and bought a new cotter pin and hooked everything back up and it appears to be working fine. Kind of strange. Anyone ever see this happen before? How much do these actuators cost and is it pretty expensive to have new ones installed and wired in? Talked to a mechanic who said the actuators are notorious for having problems and seizing up. Hopefully that's not the case.

A new actuator is over $250. The manufacturer fixed the issue in 08' I believe.

[BaBaLoO]

One my question that might help me, before I had no control of my wedge, a couple days back while I was riding I could tell that the wedge had moved from my original setting. I could tell by the shape of the wake, is this common? Once I got the driver to move it back it was fine. Heading out on the water tomorrow so hopefully its something simple, other wise i might just buy a fat sac to help over the weekend.

[BaBaLoO]

For an 08 lsv would the wedge fuse be resettable or would it be a regular 30A fuse? the only fuse I see some what beside were the wedge is connected is a 30amp fuse but cannot tell that if it has tripped or not, it has a metal casing. Is the fuse somewhere else or did i find it? Its weird because I can hear the wedge when I press the up button but I cannot deploy it. Is one actuator meant for putting the wedge down or both go up and down????? Thanks.

Edited August 2, 2010 by BaBaLoO

[RIPP52VLX]

I am going through wedge issues as well. Here are my findings on my 08 VLX power wedge.

The fuse is the metal cased fuse you are describing and will reset once it cools. When I was operating my wedge with both rams in place, it would trip after a 3 or 4 second attempt and you could hear a slight click come from the fuse box.

After testing the rams with them disconnected from the wedge, I found one was seized and the other working horribly with a lot of noise. These rams are electric,(no hydraulics) with small motors within the ram itself. I removed the electrical connection cap from the siezed ram and found water had entered and seized the motor, also disasembled the poorly working ram with the same findings. This is very discouraging as our local dealer indicated these run around $350ish canadian each. They have replaced over 30 of these thus far this season, so this is not an uncommon occurrance either. I was informed these would be covered under warranty, but we will see.

I am still waiting for the next shipment of rams to come in to replace mine. Hopefully the new rams are of a better design. Not looking forward to doing this every year or two!

[08154XP]

I am going through wedge issues as well. Here are my findings on my 08 VLX power wedge.

The fuse is the metal cased fuse you are describing and will reset once it cools. When I was operating my wedge with both rams in place, it would trip after a 3 or 4 second attempt and you could hear a slight click come from the fuse box.

After testing the rams with them disconnected from the wedge, I found one was seized and the other working horribly with a lot of noise. These rams are electric,(no hydraulics) with small motors within the ram itself. I removed the electrical connection cap from the siezed ram and found water had entered and seized the motor, also disasembled the poorly working ram with the same findings. This is very discouraging as our local dealer indicated these run around $350ish canadian each. They have replaced over 30 of these thus far this season, so this is not an uncommon occurrance either. I was informed these would be covered under warranty, but we will see.

I am still waiting for the next shipment of rams to come in to replace mine. Hopefully the new rams are of a better design. Not looking forward to doing this every year or two!

I have a 2010 VTX and am experiencing power wedge issues as well. This past weekend the wedge stopped working and is stuck in the down position and the gauge does not work either. The gauge has never worked from new but it is now in the shop and should be covered under warranty. Hopefully I will not have to wait around for parts as I would like to be back in the water by the weekend.

[BaBaLoO]

I am going through wedge issues as well. Here are my findings on my 08 VLX power wedge.

The fuse is the metal cased fuse you are describing and will reset once it cools. When I was operating my wedge with both rams in place, it would trip after a 3 or 4 second attempt and you could hear a slight click come from the fuse box.

After testing the rams with them disconnected from the wedge, I found one was seized and the other working horribly with a lot of noise. These rams are electric,(no hydraulics) with small motors within the ram itself. I removed the electrical connection cap from the siezed ram and found water had entered and seized the motor, also disasembled the poorly working ram with the same findings. This is very discouraging as our local dealer indicated these run around $350ish canadian each. They have replaced over 30 of these thus far this season, so this is not an uncommon occurrance either. I was informed these would be covered under warranty, but we will see.

I am still waiting for the next shipment of rams to come in to replace mine. Hopefully the new rams are of a better design. Not looking forward to doing this every year or two!

Are you positive that this is still under warranty for an 08? I am having problems with my closest dealer, since I didnt buy the boat from them they say it is not covered. Can anyone else answer this? What is still covered on the 08 models?

[pablo]

Are you positive that this is still under warranty for an 08? I am having problems with my closest dealer, since I didnt buy the boat from them they say it is not covered. Can anyone else answer this? What is still covered on the 08 models?

I had the same problem a couple months ago with my mux switches and a warranty issue. The warranty follows the boat for three years from the original owners purchase date. If it hasn't been three years than Malibu will take care of it under warranty. My dealer tried to tell me it wasn't under warranty. I had to make a few phone calls but eventually they took care of it.

Good luck

Edited August 4, 2010 by pablo

[BaBaLoO]

cool. does anyone know the lenco actuator model for the wedge?