Switchblade Wake

[Anson 0]

Does anyone know anything about these things? Was told today that the actuators are no longer available and they are proprietary. If anyone has any info or ideas, please let me know.

[Packrat 13]

Did you contact Switchbladewake.com directly? Do you have 1st or second generation Switchblade? They have owners manual on that website. I think the actuators were made for Switchblade by Bennett but not sure.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Packrat
Edit

[Packrat 13]

Now I remember, the actuators

were made by Lenco hope that helps.

[Packrat 13]

Also if you need other centurion boat parts there are a lot of them on greatlakesskipper.com

[7.5unlimited 3]

On 1/21/2019 at 5:39 PM, Anson said:

Does anyone know anything about these things? Was told today that the actuators are no longer available and they are proprietary. If anyone has any info or ideas, please let me know.

Any updates on finding new ones? Mine went out last year and trying to decide if I am going to pull the system or replace the rams.

[Anson 0]

It’s a bad deal.  Actuators are proprietary and Lenco will not work with you on replacements. It’s a Switchblade Wake company problem.  The sucky part is the gen 1’s are not compatible with gen 2 or gen 3 so the whole thing is completely unsupported by the company (Switchblade Wake). If that wasn’t enough the Switchblade computers are unavailable as well (also haves a Lenco sticker on it) and yes, there are gen1, gen2 and gen3 versions.  Switchblade sells a bypass switch and does away with the need for a computer, but now I’ve got 3 holes in my dash to deal with, awesome. 

 

On a semi happy note, I bought lenco motors off Ebay and rebuilt the actuators for about 100.00 so for now it works, but when it fails and it will fail I’m ripping it out.  Without any support from the manufacturer I would stay away from these guys.  What absolutely suuucks, is Before I bought this boat i called them and checked on support for it and was told parts are,always available. It’s just not true.  

 

Sorry to ramble, but I have never seem a 5k+ system that is completely unsupported by the manufacture and with no upgrade path or some kind of parts pool or anything.  It’s not a shock that these things aren’t on everything. 

[DrPringle 10]

I had the same problem when my switchblade quit

it ended up being the computer which is discontinued 

[Anson 0]

I hate to keep rambling about this thing, but I got on the water today with the new Switchblade Wake Co. bypass switch. Let’s the system work without the Lenco computer. It’s kinda low tech, but OK (my 14yr old could make a better wiring diagram). It has four wires, power, ground and two for the Lenco actuators.  It tested OK out of the water, but it consistently blows the 30amp fuse in the water. As soon as there is a load (water) on this thing it blows the fuse. Awesome, can’t wait to get this thing off my boat. It’s almost heavy enough to be an OK anchor. 

[beau t 8]

Have you checked to see if water is getting into the actuator when in the water? just spitballing ideas, i haven't had the opportunity to work on any yet so i may be replying for no good reason. I'm assuming it has a motor/gearbox that drives a acme shaft?

[Anson 0]

I though that was a possibility, but I don’t think so.  I pulled them off and ran them while connected directly to a battery fully submerged (Switchblade said to do this to check if computer was bad) they work fine. Not sure if it’s the weight of the actual blade itself or what. Appreciate the response, whatever I get from you guys is a lot better than anything I’ve heard from Switchblade Wake. Don’t think they have anyone on staff that even understands what this thing even does. 

[beau t 8]

Does it pop the fuse if you move them with the boat stopped in the water? Have you put a amp meter on it to see what kind of load is being applied? Does it have any kind of sticker on it stating what the amp load max is? Im going to assume it either has limit switches or a encoder are you going past the mechanical limits before it blows the fuse as in its in a  mechanical bind. Like i stated previously i have never worked on these but this would be what I'm checking. Side note if the computer that originally ran it is not operational can you find a local shop that rebuilds lets say instrument clusters for cars to see if they could repair it ?  I do industrial maintenance and we have a local to us guy that repairs our motor drives that may be another avenue to investigate.

Edited April 23, 2019 by beau t
adding ideas

[Anson 0]

Switchblade Wake sells a pre wired rocker switch that does away with the need for a computer, not really sure what it did anyway.  The Lenco actuators don’t have a limit, they freewheel when they get to full travel (extended and retracted). Not sure when the fuse blew, but I think it’s when it was extended and under a water, I must have retracted it and maybe It’s too much for the actuators. Going out on the water in the morning and plan on testing to find out when it blows.  The Lenco actuators are really easy to rebuild, but Lenco doesn’t support them. Got to go to EBay and not really sure if the new O rings are the right size or not.  I do know that the are dry inside because I took them apart for the four time to check. Wish this Switchblade was a little heavier, it would make a good anchor. If anyone is interested in buying this thing, please let me know. 

[DrPringle 10]

I did the rocker thing for a while wasn’t the greatest missed the gauge 

[centurionsv230 0]

On 19/04/2019 at 4:47 AM, Anson said:

It’s a bad deal.  Actuators are proprietary and Lenco will not work with you on replacements. It’s a Switchblade Wake company problem.  The sucky part is the gen 1’s are not compatible with gen 2 or gen 3 so the whole thing is completely unsupported by the company (Switchblade Wake). If that wasn’t enough the Switchblade computers are unavailable as well (also haves a Lenco sticker on it) and yes, there are gen1, gen2 and gen3 versions.  Switchblade sells a bypass switch and does away with the need for a computer, but now I’ve got 3 holes in my dash to deal with, awesome. 

 

On a semi happy note, I bought lenco motors off Ebay and rebuilt the actuators for about 100.00 so for now it works, but when it fails and it will fail I’m ripping it out.  Without any support from the manufacturer I would stay away from these guys.  What absolutely suuucks, is Before I bought this boat i called them and checked on support for it and was told parts are,always available. It’s just not true.  

 

Sorry to ramble, but I have never seem a 5k+ system that is completely unsupported by the manufacture and with no upgrade path or some kind of parts pool or anything.  It’s not a shock that these things aren’t on everything. 

Which Lenco actuators did you use to rebuild your original actuators.?