Auto pilots

frogdoc58 · July 28, 2016, 05:41:59 PM

Hi All,

Does anyone out there have any experience in trouble shooting Raymarine autohelms? Mine is stuck on the same heading, 348 to 352, no matter what direction I'm heading, east west south etc.

Any idea what to do or replace?

Thanks in advance,

Paul

Jim Hardesty · July 29, 2016, 04:25:29 AM

Paul,
It would help if you said what model number wheel pilot you have. The place I would check is the flux gate compass and it's wiring. Did you move something iron or magnetic near it?
Jim

Dave Spencer · July 29, 2016, 08:50:41 AM

Hi Paul,
Other than the display showing 348 – 352, does your autopilot work otherwise? i.e. #1, Can you set it to head south and it will hold a course south but the display shows you're heading 348 - 352? Or, #2, if you try to hold a course south, does the autopilot bring you around to head 348 - 352? Or, #3, does it not work at all. Has it worked recently and doesn't work now or has it never worked properly for you? Jim is right about checking the autopilot compass to ensure there isn't any large metallic object skewing your results although I've never seen a magnetic interference result in a relatively steady course no matter what your actual heading. If it's #1, it's "only" a display issue and you may be able to live with it until you can find the boat bucks for a replacement. If it's #2 or 3, I would reset / recalibrate all settings, check for magnetic interference and check all connections. Raymarine has a fairly decent forum on their website and it would be worth checking there or posting your problem and see if anyone has an answer. Model number would help.
Good luck – let us know how you make out.

frogdoc58 · August 12, 2016, 04:25:27 PM

Hi, to all those who responded to my Raymarine Auto pilot (ST4000+) problem and thank you. I was recently out sailing with it and still unable to use the Auto Pilot. Here's what I tried. Rotated 360 to get the display to change. It did but, just gave random numbers. When I engaged the helm drive the autopilot would not hold course. No matter what direction I tried.

In the manual it describes how to check the ohms on the wires to the control head. 4 ohms and 8 ohms depending on which two wires were touched. All the readings I got were just a closed circuit. 0 ohms. So, I am at a loss now as to what to do next. Send the whole unit to Raymarine to be checked out?

The Fluxgate compass is located in a suggested location and there isn't any metal near it. I believe the previous owner of my boat was having some problems since I found some paper work suggesting various solutions to the Autohelm not working. I might give him a call.

Cheers everyone,

Paul

Mick Laver · August 12, 2016, 08:47:49 PM

Paul
Do you see the same behavior if other SeaTalk devices (wind, depth etc) are disconnected? If the fluxgate is disconnected? I'm just trying to localize the problem, but it sounds like your control head has gone south. Raymarine has a flat rate repair ($275 for my ST4000+ back in March, 2013) that's not too horrible. You might also try the Raymarine support forum at http://forum.raymarine.com. Like this forum it can be overwhelming sometimes, but there's a good search function.

Mick Laver · August 12, 2016, 09:07:25 PM

I should have mentioned: The "original" Raymarine tech forum is at http://raymarine.ning.com/. The postings and responses are still there, but the info was not ported to the new forum AFAIK. You can still find a lot related to the 4000+ on the old forum.

Stu Jackson · August 15, 2016, 01:45:53 PM

Paul,

On our way up the coast, our old ST3000 autopilot started behaving just like yours. The night before I was literally fumbling around in the dark, and after careful analysis, which also included RTFM, I determined that I had "instructed" the control head to believe that the motor was mounted backwards. All it took was RTFM and holding down the +1 -1 buttons for a length of time to switch back to normal and all was well.

I hope it's something as simple as that for you.

RTFM again and again........

Jim Hardesty · August 16, 2016, 04:39:36 AM

This is a little off the track, excuse me for that. I've never been happy with my st4000+ I've tried many things, got some improvement. So, I've decided to upgrade to the new evolution series. Next season. That is unless something better comes around or I get talked out of it. I would like to hear some comments on that.
Jim

jkar · August 16, 2016, 08:16:03 AM

replaced the 4000 with an evolution and love it. Super quiet compared to the 4000 I had. Once I downloaded the correct manual, it took 45 minutes to install. Wait for Defender to have the sale in the spring and get one. I was able to couple with another rebate and got another couple hundred off, which was nice.