Raymarine ST60 wind direction indicator

[GILow]

Hello Cruisers. Before I climb my mast to do the obvious thing I thought I would check here for ideas.

We are having a problem where our ST60 will accurately indicate wind speed but only shows wind direction on the starboard tack. If the wind is from the port side the direction indicator points straight ahead. A visual inspection from deck level shows that the sensor vane is moving freely through the whole 360 degrees and a check of the wiring revealed no obvious faults. We tried the calibration procedure of performing a couple of complete circles after powering on the device but could not get to the bit where it beeps to tell you it has recalibrated. This does not seem all that strange given that the sensor vane only appears to send half of a circle.

So, before I head up the mast ( with a whole list of things to attend to) I thought I should check to see if this a known fault with an easy fix and also, if it is just the sensor vane sender, if anyone knows of replacement parts for just the vane rather than the whole masthead unit, which is all I have been able to find.
Matt

[CaptNemoO2]

My friend has the same problem, but points to the port side. I have narrowed down the problem to the sensor itself or the wiring. I hooked up his display to my sensor and it worked, so it does not seem like a software or calibration problem. When his boat goes back into the water, I'm taking a trip up the mast to bring down the sensor and check it with a voltmeter.

[toddbrsd]

Capt. Nemo,

What is the procedure to check out the wiring/unit? My boat is on the hard for another week and I had to splice the wire at the mast head. I bought it from a CF member and that's how it came. Would like to test my splices to make sure they have continuity. Electrical stuff like that is just above my knowledge base.

I have the ST60 as well, so color codes would be helpful if you know them.


Thanks

[GILow]

Originally Posted by CaptNemoO2

My friend has the same problem, but points to the port side. I have narrowed down the problem to the sensor itself or the wiring. I hooked up his display to my sensor and it worked, so it does not seem like a software or calibration problem. When his boat goes back into the water, I'm taking a trip up the mast to bring down the sensor and check it with a voltmeter.

Thanks CaptNemo02, that was a neat lateral solution to isolating the fault.

I am pulling mine down in a week or so, if I can find/fix the problem I will post back here. Hopefully all will be clear when I get my hands on the sender.

Matt

[DotDun]

This might help.

I also have the new(er) wind vane service manual, but it's too big to post. PM me and I send it via email.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by DotDun

This might help.

I also have the new(er) wind vane service manual, but it's too big to post. PM me and I send it via email.

Thanks DotDun, I will PM you for that one.

Matt

[CaptNemoO2]

Originally Posted by DotDun

This might help.

I also have the new(er) wind vane service manual, but it's too big to post. PM me and I send it via email.

Thanks, that's exactly what I have but in a nicer presentation!

[knot smart]

i replaced mine with a unit from this company
The Service Centre, Marine Electronic Service, repair and service of equipment

nice unit , bought it on ebay

[CaptNemoO2]

I forgot to post an update, but it was definitely the masthead unit. Replaced it and all was good.

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[GILow]

Well this is bizarre. I have just come back to this thread to update my findings after 10 months, which is how long it took me to get around to climbing the mast and I see it has just been updated.

In our case I took the sender unit from the top of the mast yesterday, brought it home and tested it with the multimeter, only to find it tested fine. So then I went back to boat today and grabbed the display unit, brought it home and connected it directly to the sender expecting to find we had a wiring fault all along. But to my surprise, and concern, the fault remained, suggesting the problem was in the display unit.

I was about to give up and look for a replacement when it occurred to me to try one of the various calibration routines again, which I had already tried while on the boat. So I found the manual and tried the routines, no luck. Then I noticed the dealer install procedure which is a bit more involved, for a start it takes holding the two buttons down for 12 seconds, not four to get the device into the correct mode. I went through the options and noticed a reset to factory default option. What the heck, give it a go I thought. And hey presto, problem solved. Full direction indication through 360 degrees, plus I noticed some interesting extra settings for response rate which I will play with when I am next out sailing.

So, for anyone searching on the fault who finds this thread, you should probably try the factory reset before climbing the mast, even when the calibration modes have all failed to fix the fault.

Matt


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