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Old 24-05-2015, 12:53   #1
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HELP! Looking for B&G technician in Brazil

We are stuck in Cabedelo, Brazil and our B&G Hydra 2000 autopilot system is giving us all sort of problems - now showing error 115 and will not engage. We are looking for a good B&G technician in Brazil who can check out the system. Your help/advise/recommendations of who we can contact will be highly appreciated.
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Old 25-05-2015, 11:58   #2
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Re: HELP! Looking for B&G technician in Brazil

Quote:
Originally Posted by Revelations View Post
We are stuck in Cabedelo, Brazil and our B&G Hydra 2000 autopilot system is giving us all sort of problems - now showing error 115 and will not engage. We are looking for a good B&G technician in Brazil who can check out the system. Your help/advise/recommendations of who we can contact will be highly appreciated.
Are you looking for free warranty service or prepared to pay for someone who will fly in at your expense?

I would not very hopeful about the former; I say that the experience of having spent days waiting in various ports for "warranty technicians" to show up for work no one will pay on equipment they did not sell. When I call the shots in a situation like this I do the work myself with help with the manufacturer.

If there is someone in Brazil who is reasonable knowledgeable about those units the odds are that they will be based in Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro. That will be price though. Let me know if you want me to help you find someone with good references.
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Old 25-05-2015, 12:53   #3
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Re: HELP! Looking for B&G technician in Brazil

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Originally Posted by svlamorocha View Post
Are you looking for free warranty service or prepared to pay for someone who will fly in at your expense?

I would not very hopeful about the former; I say that the experience of having spent days waiting in various ports for "warranty technicians" to show up for work no one will pay on equipment they did not sell. When I call the shots in a situation like this I do the work myself with help with the manufacturer.

If there is someone in Brazil who is reasonable knowledgeable about those units the odds are that they will be based in Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro. That will be price though. Let me know if you want me to help you find someone with good references.
The existing and faulty B&G Hydra 2000 system is out of warranty. As such, we are willing to pay for a qualified technician to come and sort out the problems here in Cabedelo, Brazil.

In addition, we are now seriously considering buying and installing a second autopilot - preferably a new B&G H5000 system.
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Old 25-05-2015, 13:20   #4
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Re: HELP! Looking for B&G technician in Brazil

Just to make sure, what kind of debugging have you done so far?

The H2000 pilot manual says about fault 115:

Quote:
Fault 115 – Drive Communications Failure
Fault Description
The pilot microprocessor is unable to communicate with
the drive PCB.
Remedy
Check to ensure the high current supply is present or is
not too low.
The newer H3000 manual is a bit more explicit:
Quote:
Fault 115 – Drive Power Failure: Check Supply
Fault Description
The Pilot processor PCB is unable to communicate with the drive PCB.
Remedial Action
Check to ensure the high current drive supply is present and is of the correct voltage. It is normal for the drive supply to be on a separate circuit breaker to the rest of the Pilot electronics, ensure this breaker (if present) is switched on.
Our H2000 pilot has a separate breaker, as described above. make sure you have 12V going all the way into the ACP "DRIVE IN SUPPLY":

Dirk

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Old 25-05-2015, 14:25   #5
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Re: HELP! Looking for B&G technician in Brazil

Quote:
Originally Posted by Revelations View Post
The existing and faulty B&G Hydra 2000 system is out of warranty. As such, we are willing to pay for a qualified technician to come and sort out the problems here in Cabedelo, Brazil.

In addition, we are now seriously considering buying and installing a second autopilot - preferably a new B&G H5000 system.
I will be in my home office (not Brazil) this week and can work with you in organizing onsite help if required. You will have seen the email message to BG&G USA; we will see what they say. B&G has no presence in Brazil and Customs is a nightmare over there so first of all you need to figure out if you need parts sent in. If you can get a Brazilian cell SIM card to take incoming calls I can also work with you over the phone. I am not an expert in B&G pilots but have experience in similar units from Raymarine and Furuno.

In the meantime, can you please look at post #4 and check that you have 12V between the two terminals labelled "DRIVE SUPPLY IN"? This is not the power that supplies the autopilot displays and computer, but the one that actually supplies the motor that makes the rudder move. If you do not have 12V you may be able to find a tripped breaker or blown inline fuse.

Those fuses typically blow when the physical rudder limits of the rudder are tighter than what the autopilot thinks (from the relevant configuraton screen) they are. Same thing happened to me not far from Cabedelo a couple of years ago!

Can you also tell us how long has the autopilot been used and what happened before it stopped working?
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Old 26-05-2015, 06:18   #6
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Re: HELP! Looking for B&G technician in Brazil

Quote:
Originally Posted by Revelations View Post
The existing and faulty B&G Hydra 2000 system is out of warranty. As such, we are willing to pay for a qualified technician to come and sort out the problems here in Cabedelo, Brazil.

In addition, we are now seriously considering buying and installing a second autopilot - preferably a new B&G H5000 system.
If you want to pay for someone to fly into Cabedelo your best bet is to talk to Walter at North Sails in Ilhabela (state of sao Paulo). They are the only listed B&G dealer in Brazil and given their location (sailing capital of Brazil) they should be good or as good as it gets. Email address is walter at northsails dot com dot br. Phone number is +55 12 3895 8754 or 0xx1238958754 from a Brazilian phone, with xx being your long distance operator code.

I would still try a couple of things before flying someone in (you get this from someone who gets paid to fly in to work on someone else´s boat!) , such as what is suggested in post #4.

Cheers

C
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Old 26-05-2015, 16:02   #7
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Re: HELP! Looking for B&G technician in Brazil

Thank you for all your advice and suggestions.
I will certainly checked the voltage (ours is 24 volts) in the ACP unit.
I opened the unit today and found sloppy wiring done by the marine electrician - see red circles in image. Some wires are exposed, frayed and might make contact with other surrounding terminals. I am now busy sorting this out.
Also already exchanged emails with Walter - he referred me to Mr. Stelli in Salvador who does B&G installations.
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