[C320-list] Repairs for Legacy Autopilots

[Robert Sloat]

Mates-I just had my ST 4000+ wheel autopilot control head which Raymarine no longer services repaired by Dan Gerhardt who was mentioned a few months ago by a fellow C320 owner on this site. Costs vary with the amount of work and my repair was a lot less than what Raymarine charged the last time this unit was repaired 6 years ago. He turned it around in a few days and it is running fine with all the original settings intact. His contact info is c2...@mydurango.net. He is out of that great sailing community of Durango CO! He also buys and sells autopilots and services autopilots from Raymarine, Raytheon and Autohelm. He told me he has done other instrument repair but with varied success. Advise dropping him a note if you have an autopilot repair need for cost and shipping information. I don’t know if he does autopilot repairs for units that Raymarine still services.

I am not Gerhardt’s agent nor is he related. I am just delighted to get the repair done quickly in the middle of the season and saving me a lot of angst over spending a lot of money for an upgrade replacement and the hassle of installation a control computer along with the instrument display or taking a chance on buying a used control head over eBay..

If your legacy autopilot control head breaks down, the alternative if you cant’t get it repaired could be well over a $1000 for a new display and control computer or looking on eBay for a used control head which would be cheaper. Most of the ST 4000 + control heads on eBay when I last looked were used and cost well over twice my $150 repair cost which included including return shipping if prepaid. While the upgraded Raymarine autopilot is very good looking, it doesn't match the 2002 area ST60 + instruments I have on the Nav Pod.

One thing I learned about the Raymarine ST 4000+ is that both the display and the control computer are in the control head which is the instrument itself. This apparently was a poor design as this is the second time it has been repaired over 13 seasons. STKL FAIL error message is bad news on the instrument. The newer wheel autopilots have a separate instrument and course computer, the latter installed some where else on the boat. And you might have to get a separate drive motor which may not be a direct replacement for the drive motor for the 4000 + possibly requiring more holes to drill in the Edson pedestal and maybe moving the engine instrument box a little.

Bob Sloat
Savannah 894 (2002)
Waukegan Harbor, IL

[Rod Boer]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the timely information. I am having problems with calibrating
"Audrey", which is my affectionate name for the auto pilot when she is
operating properly. I will contact Dan and see if it needs service or if
there is a way to get everything working by a pressing and ordered sequence
of buttons. Thanks again.

Rod

[Robert Sloat]

Rod-If you can’t get the autopilot into calibration mode, then you may have a problem with the control head. Mine would not respond to any input and also gave the dreaded STLK FAIL message. Even when the autopilot was on with the error message, you could not get true wind on the wind instrument. The main processor interfered with the wind instrument. When the autopilot was depowered and all Seatalk cables disconnected from it did the wind instrument work fine. The fluxgate compass inputs to the autopilot were on spec so the diagnosis was a faulty autopilot. I don’t have the autopilot settings for C320s handy but they have been floated around over the last year and may be on the C320 site archives. Sometimes the fluxgate compass can cause troubles for the autopilot. There are spec resistance settings for the various fluxgate connections. Again I don’t have those handy but did find them on Raymarine support.

Bob Sloat

[Warren]

Bob, true wind is only available with a good speed through the water (STW)
signal from the speed transducer that connects into the speed display. From
there, the STW is output to the Sea Talk network in Sea Talk protocol. When
that is available and there is a wind speed from the masthead transducer
the wind instrument can calculate true wind. I'm not sure the autopilot,
working or not, should have any affect on the wind instrument. There really
isn't any "main processor" in the ST50/60 Sea Talk system.

[Robert Sloat]

Warren-On my hull 894 (2002), the Sea Talk cables are daisy chained and a faulty main processor in the autopilot instrument caused interference with the true wind reading on the wind instrument. Numerous times over a week of sailing when the autopilot Sea Talk cables were disconnected from the other instruments, true wind was displayed. When the autopilot was connected via Sea Talk, no true wind reading was available, so there was a correlation. I bet on it as a causation also. The ST 4000 + will control the boat heading to apparent wind angle as an option so there is some interplay between the wind instrument and the autopilot and the faulty main processor in the autopilot must have been the reason for no true wind. Anyway, the autopilot is working and true wind is available again.

[Warren Updike]

Thanks, Bob. I'm sure you are right. Never too old to learn something.
Warren

[Tony Murphy]

Robert,

I have a similar problem with my boat (hull 886). When I bought the boat 3 yrs ago, the broker told me the wind instrument wasn’t working properly, so we sent off just that module to RayMarine for repair/inspection along with the windex and wind speed device from the top of the mast. This was at the PO’s expense.

Raymarine returned it saying everything checked out ok during their diagnostics. However, I still can’t get true/apparent wind from that console on the navpod.

I will try disconnecting the autopilot sea talk cable as you mentioned to see if I have a similar correlation/causation that you mentioned. If so, I will probably end up sending off to Dan as you mentioned earlier.

I will note that we have absolutely no error messages on our autopilot console.

Tony
Bella Sol #886

[clb...@gmail.com]

Tony,

There is little that I detest more than changing parts to diagnose a problem, and with that, I’ll share my experience for you to draw your own conclusions. Our ST-60 wind instrument quit working properly but the AP was ok. I could not get it to take calibration though you could tell it was reading wind speed and showing a drifting, inconsistent direction. I sent the head unit and the vane (separately) to Raymarine for testing, both passed and they recommended that I check the cable… we ran a borrowed cable up outside the mast, no joy. I searched every internet posting on the subject and found nothing really objective or useful to me.


Then, a seagull broke my vane, so I found a replacement at Defender. Now it works perfectly…but the motor locked up on the AP. One of our OZ list mates sent me his and it works manually, but now the head won’t work…some days you get the bear, some days the bear gets you 😉.






Fair Winds
Chris Burti
Commitment
Catalina 320, #867

[Robert Sloat]

Tony-Without an error message on the AP it sounds like it is OK, but the disconnect is easy and might indicate something. One thing to check is the Sea Talk cables inside the Nav Pod. With a VOM check continuity for each of the Sea Talk cables. Some times they have a wire that is broken. Also check all the Sea Talk cables for good connections to the various instruments. If all else fails, the problem may be in the connection between the instrument and the wind device at the top of the mast since you get no true or apparent reading. Good luck.

[Warren Updike]

When my ST50 GPS stopped I found a short in the cable connecting it to the
NavData instrument. Also, there is on the 320 web site a procedure for
testing the signals from the mast-top wind instrument. To do this, I cut the
cable in the cabin under the settee and rejoined it in a proper connection
box. From there I could easily check the signals from the mast.
After 20 years, it's time to look for new instruments.

Warren and Pattie Updike
1994 C320 "Warr de Mar" #62

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Sloat [mailto:res...@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2014 5:44 PM
To: C320...@Catalina320.com

[Robert Sloat]

On my hull 894 (2002) with ST 60 wind instruments, you can check the wind instrument by measuring the voltages across the various connections on the back of the instrument. If you have a junction box in the boat connecting the mast wiring to the instrument wining, you can measure there. The specs for the ST 60 wind instrument from Raymarine support site are:

Port side wind direction: black to blue connection 2-6 volts depending on wind direction
Starboard side wind direction: black to green connection 2-6 volts depending on wind direction
Wind speed: black to yellow connection 0-5 volts depending on wind speed
Black to red connection: constant 8 volts. This is the masthead vane’s power supply.

Black is often referred to as shield by Raymarine.

These measurements are done with the wind instrument powered up. Look at the wind vane at the top of your mast and measure these voltages to see if they are in range for varying wind speeds and directions over time. If not then you have either a problem with the vane or the connection from it to you instrument.