WayneTuttle wrote:
There is a possibility it is just stuck at the end of its travel. If so, you can probably fix it easily. Sinply disconnect the actuator from the surfgate. Then you can rotate the end of the actuator to screw it "out and in" (I would have said "in and out", but it is already stuck fully "in"). Once you have moved the actuator to a position that is known "free", re-connect it to the gate and run the surf gate diagnostics that will re-establish its home and full stroke positions and it should work again.
Of course it is never a bad idea to verify that you have power to the actuator. It is not as easy as you might think since you need to see if it is being powered when it is supposed to move, but you can run them from the dashboard while the boat is on the trailer. The reason to check is that the in-line fuse on mine has gotten corrosion and become flakey a couple of times. It was hard to find the dang thing, but if you follow the wires from the relay module on the inside of the transom you can find it. But if you have power to the relay modules and to the actuator you can quickly diagnose many issues.
I have replaced 1 actuator since 2014. It was from leakage of water getting past the seals. I bought a new actuator a second time, but fixed the problem with cleaned up electrical stuff at the fuse. After that I tore apart the previously replaced actuator and verified that it was a water leak that took it out.
Pretty sure you are thinking about the older Lenco actuators. Doesn't apply to the newer hydraulic actuators.
