St7000 or Type 300

[dazmacg]

Hi all,

Loads of fantastic info out there that I have trawled though but. still searching for my answer to a problem.

I have a raymarine Autohelm set up that came with the boat when I bought it. The boat is 20 years old so I guess the system is too.
I have an Type 300 unit with ST7000 below decks. I also have an ST6000 above deck and it all works fine most of the time.

The fault Im guessing is the computer side but before upgrading the system to a whole new set up, lets see If anyone else has had similar? All connections seem to be tight and clean.

An initial fault I had led me to discover the type 2 linear drive motor had failed. The magnets had detached from the casing and this was causing a high current draw and trip out.
A new motor fixed that and the autopilot worked fine. (I did try glueing the magnets back on but was not successful with the outcome, it still drew a high current). This also led me to discover that my batteries were done but thats a another story

The current fault is random. The autopilot responds from both control stations and responds well. Both the ST7000 and ST6000 give commands and display accordingly. +1 or +10, no issues.

Holding course no issues. but then randomly the system just goes into standby and obviously sails off course. It also does this on occasions when motoring! Finally, just sitting in standby mode, plugged into shore power alongside it also randomly gives a beep or three. It can be 10 min, or 10 hours between events.

There is no relation to time or to load that I can see or track, and as far as I am aware no alarm error, it just switches to standby.

Any ideas or previous experiences of this?

Darren

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Darren.

[dazmacg]

Thanks GordMay, I have been here a short while skulking in the reading dept.

[Pete7]

Can't help with the specifics, but the existing system is getting on a bit. Is replacing everything (less the drive) with the latest Raymarine 400 an option?

Not cheap but it is a couple of generations on from your existing system with big improvements and might be worth considering if you plan to keep the boat long term.

The old units are still fetching good money on ebay or CF, so sell them off separately to reduce the outlay of a new system.

Pete

[dazmacg]

Thanks Pete,
I am keeping the boat long term so upgrading is likely the way forward. It is an easy option to replace the system, just thought I'd check out for a solution first, also so that I know what parts to sell as fully functional and which part to sell as not so sure!

[Moontide]

Check the breakers. Had a bad one for the ram do similar things once. Although tripping off while not under load is puzzling.


Bill

[Rapanui]

Going into standby is a known thing, it happens on our ST6001 about a couple of times a week. It has been reported on this forum. Without any real proof, I put this down to a momentary voltage dip in the supply voltage which is detected by the system and triggers standby. I suspect that another consumer switching on with a high starting current coincides with a demand from the pilot. The fridge looks a likely candidate in our case.

[Over Budget]

I have found the Ray Marine tech support people very helpful. Give them a call at (603) 324-7900 or (800) 539-5539. I’d suggest you be on the boat with access to your equipment when you call. My Autohelm 4000 died on me and I bought an Evolution EV-1 et al as a replacement and they were very helpful (and patient) helping me through the installation.

[AndyEss]

I have an identical system to yours - ST6000 and ST7000 with a 300 course computer ( and linear actuator).
My system beeps when I turn off power to the 300 course computer, but while the ST6000 and ST7000 are still powered up. It is a slow beep. The fact that yours is intermittent suggests to me that you have a corroded power suppy wire/ground feeding the 300 course computor, or a bad terminal. Power to the 300 is failing at times, causing the controllers (ST6000/7000) to give their warning beep that they are connected to nothing. Your other problems are possibly cascading from this intermittent open circuit.
I'd replace or at least jumper the 300 course computer power supply circuit with a known good circuit and see if this solves your problems.
I might consult with you on your linear actuator repairs. My latest AP problem is that my AP will only work steering to port - I somehow lost the starboard side.
I do have another 300 course computer to try out to see if this solves my problem. I am also planning to add solid state relays after the 300 course computer output to offload internal steering relays.
Good luck troubleshooting.

[sailingchiro]

I agree, your voltage is intermittant or dropping too low. The ram can cause this if you have a high drain from some other source at the same time the ram takes current. I would first check the connections at the computer then all connections back to breaker. Wiggling wire connections can show problems while tied to dock. Turn on autohelm then start wiggling wire connections. Have friend watch screen. Must check black and red wires.
Boats have many electrical connections and most will fail at some point. On my boat, I have seperate breakers for the computer and control unit, I don't know why. We had a bad breaker for the computer but not the head unit. Intermittent problems caused alot of head scratching.
On a side note, instead of a new system, I purchased a complete back up system for all components because all passages the autopilot fails.

[Tillsbury]

When you say “turn on autohelm” do you mean put it on auto at the dock and look for it to trip to standby?

I have a similar setup, 7000 and 200 computer (I think). I’d like to upgrade to a 400 for better performance but am also getting occasional dropouts, perhaps once every 6-10 hours sailing. Not enough to be a serious problem but mildly annoying.

[sailingchiro]

Yeah, if you are heading in the same direction as when you turned on the autohelm, should stay in auto (at the dock). Start wiggling wires until it fails. then you have your problem. Including wiggling breaker and wires on back of control head, computer, gyro, and rudder position sensor. Plus any instruments that are attached to control head (wind, speed etc. )

[dazmacg]

Replaced the system and now have a very smooth linear drive operation. Never trips out and confidence to use autopilot restored.
Old system available if anybody wants it.

[Tillsbury]

I had a similar problem with mine which eventually ended up with "no pilot" errors, eventually traced to a dodgy st60 depth gauge in the Seatalk network. Removing that display and moving the sender to the tridata fixed it completely.

However, upgrading to a new course computer is a fabulous upgrade. Do the calculations though, as I found the new 200 would handle the drive that previously required a 400.

[druddle]

Reading your comments/problems with interest!! I am looking for a type 300 course computer. Is your system still available. By comparing my faulty one to your faulty one I hope to be able to solve the issue and make one good unit.

Thanks in advance

David