Raymarine ST60+ Wind Speed Not Registering Speed

Mike McDonald · May 20, 2015, 08:29:38 AM

Hi everyone,
I just re-connected my wind instrument wiring at the mast base, and unfortunately, the the read out at the helm is only registering the wind direction, not the speed. It worked fine last season, before hauling and taking the mast down. No visible damage to the wind vane when re-installed to top of mast. I was able to read DC voltage at each wire connection at the mast base. Has anyone run into this problem? Not sure how to troubleshoot. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
Mike....

Stu Jackson · May 20, 2015, 04:17:43 PM

Mike,

1. What manufacturer of instruments?

2. The signals usually go through the RG-58 cable. DMI (www.dmimarine.com) has a tutorial about how to check the signal wiring, it's in the FAQ section Questions & Answers: http://dmimarine.com/faq/index.html

Mike McDonald · May 21, 2015, 11:01:20 AM

Hi Stu,
The instrument appears to be made by Raymarine. The Display unit is an ST60+ Wind instrument (not the ST60+ Wind & Close Hauled instrument). The wind vane also appears to be a Raymarine Wind instument, not the Rotavecta. I have attached a few pages from the manual that illustrate what I have. It is wired as a stand alone unit, and does not use Sea Talk. The cable has 4 color coded wires + stranded shielding which are connected at the junction near the mast base. I hope this helps to identify what I have. Thanks.
Mike.....

Dave Spencer · May 21, 2015, 11:30:47 AM

Mike,
I found this information on the Raymarine site. It gives indications (but not an exact description) of the purpose of each wire and that may help you pin down where the problem lies. Hope this helps. If not, there may be other articles on the Raymarine site that may be of use. Let us know how you make out.

http://raymarine.ning.com/forum/topics/how-to-test-st60-wind-transducer

Mike McDonald · May 21, 2015, 12:25:01 PM

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the link. That looks like a great place to start. I did check the voltages on each of the wires, but had no idea what each wire related to, or what the voltages should read. I got voltages from each wire, but can't recall what they were. Hopefully I can get out to the boat over the next couple of days to test it. Thanks again.
Mike......

RobertSchuldenfrei · May 25, 2015, 10:04:36 AM

Quote from: Mike McDonald on May 20, 2015, 08:29:38 AM
Hi everyone,
I just re-connected my wind instrument wiring at the mast base, and unfortunately, the read out at the helm is only registering the wind direction, not the speed. It worked fine last season, before hauling and taking the mast down. No visible damage to the wind vane when re-installed to top of mast. I was able to read DC voltage at each wire connection at the mast base. Has anyone run into this problem? Not sure how to troubleshoot. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
Mike....

We have the same API. From time to time it shuts down. We think it has to do with voltage. Cleaning contacts and reducing corrosion on the circuit seems to bring it back. Our instrument is working right now. Good Luck. Let us know what it was when you solve the problem.

Cheers,

Bob

tonywright · May 26, 2015, 06:45:04 PM

1) Check that spider webs have not stopped the rotors from turning (you did not mention whether they were turning).
2) Check that the wires running from base of the mast to the helm instrument have not been pinched/damaged.
3) How are the connections made at the base of the mast - any chance of corrosion? (I use a waterproof mil-spec connector to keep all moisture out, with a sealed cap for each part of the connector for winter storage). You are dealing with very weak signals, so need to keep the connections in peak condition.
4) Finally open up the Navpod and check the connections on the back of the instrument. Carefully pulling off the spade connector and pushing it back on could clean any corrosion.

Tony

Mike McDonald · May 31, 2015, 11:39:55 AM

Hi all,
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I finally got it working. I stripped and soldered the wire ends for better contact in the terminal strip. Checked all voltages and all were within the prescribed range. The Yellow wire was somewhat erratic, but in the range. Still not working. I increased the screen brightness setting as suggested for potential moisture problem and somehow it reset something that allowed the wind speed to display properly. It has been working fine for a few days now. Not entirely sure of the fix, but it is working and the voltages seem correct. Thanks again for all of the help. I really appreciate the help!
Mike......