Auto pilot disengages

[CampDavid]

I have a Raymarine linear drive auto pilot, ST6000 control and Core pack control. It works flawlessly except for at any unexpected time it will go from engaged to standby.

Never know when nor why, often it will go engaged for three or four hours then go to standby with no warning.

No rhym or reason.

ANy thoughts on where to start troouble shooting.

Fletch

[bstreep]

Fletch,

How are your batteries? Raymarine equipment does not like low voltages, or voltage spikes. Like when something 12v that uses a lot of power kicks on. This was the sign (that we missed) that our old batteries were going bad.

Do you have a rudder position sensor? If not, I'd recommend one.

[DeepFrz]

It works flawlessly except for at any unexpected time it will go from engaged to standby.

Is this an oxymoron?

[alaskadog]

Voltage spikes will cause the Raymarine 6000 to disengage. Transmitting from my single side band radio will cause the autopilot to disengage. Consequently, when I am at sea I must hand steer my vessel when using my Icom SSB. It isn't much of a big deal when I am motoring but when I am at full sail it causes a lot of excitement with crew(and the cap'n. too).

[CampDavid]

Yes I stand corrected, it works flawlessly with the exception of this problem.

Mia a Culpa

[CampDavid]

I believe the battery bank is in good shape, this is not a new problem, has been doing this since we bought the boat and installed new battery's. Yes, I do have a rudder sensor.
Recently I motored for four hours with the mast down, The things with electric draw were the auto pilot, speed, depth, C80 and the LED running lights.
The engine alternator was charging well ( 100 amp Balmar) and it still went to standby twice. I do not believe the voltage level was under 13.2 +/- volts

[JayH]

My ST6000 does this, too. New batteries, no SSB. S2 corepack, hydraulic drive, rudder sensor.

Now, I do get LOW BATT warnings from time to time. Of course my batteries are fine, so I think there is a voltage drop somewhere, probably from a bad connection. That may be contributing to the Auto/Standby problem, but it isn't really an excuse.

Low voltage or not, silently going to Standby is a serious problem in an autopilot IMO.

[DeepFrz]

Very serious. This happens way to often in ray autopilots.

[goboatingnow]

In my experience the following causes dropout to standby

Low voltage - warning given
No response to linear arm - warming
Nav data heading errors. - some warnings
Loss of waypoint - warning

Power spikes - no warning ( essentially a reset)
Software bugs. - no warnings

Check you have the latest software.

Dave

[colemj]

If the drive is hydraulic, make sure the connections to the locking solenoid are good, and that the solenoid is OK.

Mark

[AnchorageGuy]

CD, With the Raymarine, there are only a few things you can troubleshoot. Go through the system and check every connection, don't neglect any, including the Seatalk wiring. Look for anything loose or corroded. Once done, do a complete factory rest on the unit. You will need to recalibrate it again. If that does not help, you will need to send the Course Computer or drive motor back to Raymarine. This is a common problem even if the Raymarine Techs tell you it is something they have not heard before. If the issue is not a bad connection or low voltage, be sure and check all grounds too, then you will need to send the computer or motor back. Chuck

[Pblais]

Shorts will cause this easily and there may be nothing wrong except a shorting wire. Any wire that can flop about or a bad crimp. I would agree with Chuck you need to check all the wires and connections. Any wire that can flop a little bit could be the culprit. Signal ground or power will do this.

[senormechanico]

We had a similar problem on our previous boat equipped with an Autohelm 5000.
The problem turned out to be a Standby/Duty/Vane switch which had gotten wet with salt on the connectors, thus fooling the autopilot.

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

In my experience the following causes dropout to standby

Low voltage - warning given
No response to linear arm - warming
Nav data heading errors. - some warnings
Loss of waypoint - warning

Power spikes - no warning ( essentially a reset)
Software bugs. - no warnings

Check you have the latest software.

Dave

Gee--Six ways to make you hand steer, or would the off-course cut-out make seven??

Is this the same Dave that was extolling the virtues of Raymarine autopilots over Simrad?? http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ine-60964.html

[RDW]

I am about as low tech as you can get but I have had the same problem that I have not figured out, with Ray Marine E80 chart plotter, GPS, AIS, radar, autopilot all hooked together. I have read that there is a type of occurance screen on your E80 that you can call up to look for errors that happen during the time that you have run the system. It will not store anything so you can not turn it off and look later. You could leave your system on at the lock and try to pull up this screen to see if it will help you identify the problem. Remember, if I were all that smart I would have figured out my system!!!
rdw