I've been troubleshooting a problem with our old
autohelm type 2
linear drive. It died again in a heavy sea, with "DRIVE STOPPED". It was really hot, so I put a fan on it and we could get it to
work for about 45 min before it would stop again. A 5-10 min break and it would be good for another 45.
When I took it apart I found a couple of issues:
1) When I replaced the dead plastic planetary gears with metal ones two years ago I installed them backwards. I figured this out when I found a better diagram online that had the warning on it.
2) The pin on the shaft that is part of the thrust bearing kit had sheared off.
When I had it apart, I cleaned the
motor out, I greased the gears to try and reduce the friction from the damage, replaced the pin, cleaned and greased the thrust bearing, and I pulled the spiraled shaft out and cleaned it and lightly greased it.
When the planetary gears go back on, the proper direction this time, it adds a lot of friction to the setup. The
motor can move it in and out just fine, and reinstalled on the
boat the
helm is easier to turn when the pilot is not on than it was before I serviced it.
When I tried the dockside calibration, when it gets to the part where the pilot moves the
helm, it starts to move it and then errors out with "values too close"
We took the
boat out yesterday and tried it, but the pilot would only run for about 5 minutes and then stop.
I did some googling on servicing the
electric motor, I might try checking that again. I just cleaned out all the loose carbon but didn't really inspect the
brushes very well.
I'm guessing we need the
gear kit and thrust bearing kit, but being in
Mexico it's always a challenge. If you have any experience that might let me know!
Linear Mode
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