Autopilot Raymarine ST6000+

[Rastarea]

Hi,

My autopilot has a strange behavior...Let say, I put it in auto at 350deg and it run ok for periods of 10 to 20 minutes, and my mag compass (the bubble with oil in it!) says the same thing 350deg...then suddently the compass on my auto shift to 005deg !!! So it steers the boat to go back at 350deg, but now my real heading on the mag compass is now 335deg...

To resume, it shift back and forth by 15deg by period of 10 to 15 minutes.

For the record: I am traveling north on the ICW and I am currently anchored near the bridge in CocoaBeach for the night.

Sylvain

[roger.waite]

Is the voltage of your DC system remaining reasonably high? Had a similar issue once where (in my case) it seemed to be due to voltage drop, i.e. well charged house batteries could not keep up with total power drain of lights, autopilot, radios, etc.

[Rastarea]

Voltage is ok because yhis happens with engine running.

[MarkJ]

Check there is nothing metal near, or in the cupboard next to, the fluxgate compass.


A friend of mine put his spare alternator in the cupboard next to the fluxgate compass and wondered why he kept sailing in circles........

[Rastarea]

thank, I will try to locate this fluxgate compas, somebody can post a picture?

[Rastarea]

....and where is it usualy located?

[MarkJ]

Click on the photo below to blow it up.

It will often be in an aft cabin screwed into the wall of a hanging locker.

[Strygaldwir]

I had some interesting issues with my Raymarine autopilot a while back. After much hair pulling, it turned out to be corrosion on the power lines going to the drive unit of all places. I thought it was corrosion on the power lines going to the corepack. It seems that the additional draw from the drive would cause an under current condition in the corepack and generated very interesting issues periodically. This was even though my engines were on and putting out 13.5 volts or so. Worth a check.

[scotte]

Originally Posted by Rastarea

....and where is it usualy located?

It's always located at the end of the wires from the autopilot computer, so I would start there and trace them. As it's location depends entirely on who installed it, it could be pretty much anywhere.

[Rastarea]

Ok the device has been located, but looks ok, no shafe wires or visual damages. I will have to try the calibration procedure.

[Paolo]

We could find no instructions in the supplied installation guide on how to calibrate the compass.

There is no owner's manual available in print either, just a CD.

In any case, there are no calibrating instructions in this manual either, although it is recommended to follow Raymarine 'commissioning' instructions.

The fluxgate compass seems to be reasonably distant from other magnetic fields, but will have this checked.

Raymarine Australia have promised they will identify the problem and rectify it. They were so far quite competent and willing.

Will let you know.

Regards

[scotte]

I don't know if your model is available there, but Raymarine has lots of manuals at their website - which I've found really useful. While I've got paper manuals for everything, I downloaded the PDF documents for everything aboard onto the computer for easy reference.

On my autopilot (which is a different model than yours), there's a setup mode and I drive the boat in slow circles until the thing calibrates itself.

[Paolo]

Thanks, Scotte.
Indeed, I found now manuals online and Raymarine Australia have sent me a PDF copy of the commissioning manual.
Hopefully, all will be sorted out.
Regards

[mfeene01]

Paolo,

I had a very similar experience with my Raymarine 6002 last year. After working with their help desk for a week or so, they assignrd me a tech to work wiih. We tried many things, including 3 different computers and fluxgate compasses, but it turned out to be a simple solution that, for some reason, is not on their help desk's check list.

The location of the computer. The Computer was located too close to other instruments even though it had been installed by a Raymarine master tech. The solution was to move the computer as far away from other instruments as the cables would allow but, a minimum of 3 feet.

Hope this helps

Mike....

[Paolo]

Will show also this message to the good people at Raymarine Australia.

I am sure the problem will be sorted out.

Thanks!