Urgent: at sea, need B&G autopilot troubleshooting

[ohthetrees]

The OP of this thread wanted to let you all know that the urgency has passed: the thread had been labeled "solved", but now a new problem has arisen. See page 5, post # 62.[moderator]

Hi, I'm the owner of a new to me Hanse 505 en-route from New Caledonia to Hawaii. The skipper just texted me with an inreach Sat communicator that he is having a problem with the autopilot. He's in the middle of nowhere.

The system is a B&G H5000 driving a Jefa DD1 actuator. If anyone is able to offer suggestions, it would be very welcome and helpful.

We have a problem with the autopilot. A few times it disengaged, or steered strangely. Now no autopilot. 1. The small autopilot controls Screen says

"Autopilot requires setup" 2 the large b&g screens say " no autopilot computer", and the red light on the switchboard switch for the nav gear (Compass rose)

Is flashing. The English b&g manual is indicates two reset options controlled from the small panel. Local reset - tried that, nothing.

The other is an installation reset, which appears to require many details we don't possess. If I listed them can you get them? We are hand. Steering in 20

25 kts 3 - 4 meter seas, forecast to die early evening, its now 1500, making good ground, too windy for the windhelm. Shall I give you the setup menu items?

My reply:

Standby, am researching. Two suggestions while I research...

1) Power cycle all electronics at main panel.

2) Check voltage at autopilot computer and at autopilot actuator

[alctel]

I have a simrad system with a DD1 - has he tried a factory reset? There should be an option to do it from the MFD, under 'installation' or similar

[ohthetrees]

Originally Posted by alctel

I have a simrad system with a DD1 - has he tried a factory reset? There should be an option to do it from the MFD, under 'installation' or similar

Thanks for your help. Would that require a full reconfigure of the whole system?

It is a fairly complicated system, with:
B&G H5000 computer
3x zeus3
2x H5000 Graphic Displays
2x Triton2 displays
1X H5000 Pilot controller


The skipper seems competent to use the system, but I'm not sure about configuring it at sea from scratch. How difficult a process would it be to get the system up and running with a factory reset?

[BugzyCan]

Check the manual perhaps?

https://ww2.bandg.com/downloads/h5000-owners-manual/
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/98...ndg-H5000.html

Looks like Page 65 is global reset

[ohthetrees]

Originally Posted by BugzyCan

Check the manual perhaps?

https://ww2.bandg.com/downloads/h5000-owners-manual/
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/98...ndg-H5000.html

Looks like Page 65 is global reset

Yes, I've been looking through the manual. It doesn't look too bad, but I'm sitting here on land. I guess he has nothing to lose, he has no working autopilot anyway. I'm not very hopeful that a system that was working fine for 2 weeks would suddenly need a hard reset, then continue happily on it's way. Seems likely something underlying going on. When they have calm weather, hopefully tomorrow, I'll advice them to try the reset and reconfiguration if no experts pop up to help.

Thanks for your input.

[mglonnro]

the red light on the switchboard switch for the nav gear (Compass rose)
Is flashing.

This is the DC panel inside, right? It might indicate a fuse has blown.

Will check into this a bit more, and get back.

[CharlesKerr]

Yep, if the small screen is saying no autopilot computer it does sound as though there is either a break in communications to the control unit or there is no power to the control unit, possibly caused by a blown fuse or again a corroded wire / break in the wire.
First step in troubleshooting, check all connections before trying to reprogram anything

[mglonnro]

Yes,

To signalize an error (e.g. a defect fuse) the LED flashes.

Here's a link to a Hanse 505 DC panel manual, including wiring diagram: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wc0tu2c6yx...Panel.pdf?dl=0

(The attached screenshot is from my 388 manual.)

[sailingforfun]

Originally Posted by mglonnro

This is the DC panel inside, right? It might indicate a fuse has blown.

Will check into this a bit more, and get back.

While crossing the Atlantic we lost our B&G autopilot. After 12 hours of trouble shooting and hand steering we located a 2v fuse that had blown. We located a 2v fuse in the stereo system and replaced the blown fuse and everything worked. Never had a problem after that.

[NewportGuy]

Have you contacted the B&G tech help line or website? It’s time for B&G to support a good customer with a significant investment in their gear.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by ohthetrees

Hi, I'm the owner of a new to me Hanse 505 en-route from New Caledonia to Hawaii. The skipper just texted me with an inreach Sat communicator that he is having a problem with the autopilot. He's in the middle of nowhere.

The system is a B&G H5000 driving a Jefa DD1 actuator. If anyone is able to offer suggestions, it would be very welcome and helpful.

My reply:

He should just switch to his windvane...he does have a windvane doesn't he?

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[ohthetrees]

Originally Posted by mglonnro

Yes,



Here's a link to a Hanse 505 DC panel manual, including wiring diagram: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wc0tu2c6yx...Panel.pdf?dl=0

(The attached screenshot is from my 388 manual.)

I think you might be on to something with the fuse. When he was talking about the "compass rose" I was automatically thinking that he was talking about the chart plotter, but you are right, he must be talking about the DC panel. A blinking red there couldn't be a misconfiguration. It must be a fuse, or other electrical interruption.

Originally Posted by sailingforfun

While crossing the Atlantic we lost our B&G autopilot. After 12 hours of trouble shooting and hand steering we located a 2v fuse that had blown. We located a 2v fuse in the stereo system and replaced the blown fuse and everything worked. Never had a problem after that.

Was this fuse found in the in the CPU/Black box or in the actuator?

Originally Posted by NewportGuy

Have you contacted the B&G tech help line or website? It’s time for B&G to support a good customer with a significant investment in their gear.

Yes I have. Waiting to hear back.

Originally Posted by MJH

He should just switch to his windvane...he does have a windvane doesn't he?

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

Yes, the boat is equipped with a wind pilot. Yesterday they ran into 10 brief squalls, with periods of intermittent wind and dead wind. Also doing some motor sailing. In such conditions wind pilot is cumbersome and they've been hand steering. They report with steady wind the wind pilot is working well, but I prefer they have multiple self steering options.


I have a few questions for everyone....
1) I'm still pretty unfamiliar with my own boat, as I just bought it. I have a diagram (attached to this post) of our B&G installation I downloaded from the Hanse owner's site. The diagram depicts two black box/cpus. One is labeled "H5000 CPU Pilot" in the stbd cockpit locker. The other is "H5000 Hydra CPU", in the nav station. I don't understand why there are two of these boxes. In autopilot configurations I'm familiar with, there there is a combination autopilot computer/relay box that the actuator (ram, DD1, etc) is hooked up to. Why do I have two cpus? Do I have two?

2) What are the most likely places for the fuse to have gone do you think? I'm going to advise skipper to look blown fuses on cpu in stbd cockpit locker, another behind nav, and on DD1 actuator itself. Will these fuses be inside these devices, or adjacent in the wiring loom?

I'm trying to figure out many of these questions myself via downloading manuals, but some are hundreds of pages long, and the wiring diagram of the boat is 27 pages long, and I'm not well trained to read it. So any help is appreciated.

[mglonnro]

Originally Posted by ohthetrees

I think you might be on to something with the fuse. When he was talking about the "compass rose" I was automatically thinking that he was talking about the chart plotter, but you are right, he must be talking about the DC panel. A blinking red there couldn't be a misconfiguration. It must be a fuse, or other electrical interruption.

Yes! The "icon" for navigation instruments is indeed a compass rose, so that's the place.

1) I'm still pretty unfamiliar with my own boat, as I just bought it. I have a diagram (attached to this post) of our B&G installation I downloaded from the Hanse owner's site. The diagram depicts two black box/cpus. One is labeled "H5000 CPU Pilot" in the stbd cockpit locker. The other is "H5000 Hydra CPU", in the nav station. I don't understand why there are two of these boxes. In autopilot configurations I'm familiar with, there there is a combination autopilot computer/relay box that the actuator (ram, DD1, etc) is hooked up to. Why do I have two cpus? Do I have two?

The Hydra CPU is the brains for instrument data processing (and other stuff). The other CPU is indeed a separate computer for the autopilot.

2) What are the most likely places for the fuse to have gone do you think? I'm going to advise skipper to look blown fuses on cpu in stbd cockpit locker, another behind nav, and on DD1 actuator itself. Will these fuses be inside these devices, or adjacent in the wiring loom?

I think on myhanse.com there might be several 505 owners who have exact information about this. I'll check if I can find something. On the 388 there are fuses behind the DC panel and _below_ the DC panel on the main powerboard.

[alctel]

Originally Posted by ohthetrees

Thanks for your help. Would that require a full reconfigure of the whole system?

It is a fairly complicated system, with:
B&G H5000 computer
3x zeus3
2x H5000 Graphic Displays
2x Triton2 displays
1X H5000 Pilot controller


The skipper seems competent to use the system, but I'm not sure about configuring it at sea from scratch. How difficult a process would it be to get the system up and running with a factory reset?

Oof, that's a lot more complicated than mine - I don't feel comfortable giving advice.

I will say on mine it's possible to factory reset the autopilot through the MFD - it doesn't change anything else, just resets the AP to defaults. It's under the installation menu on the autopilot settings page.

[mglonnro]

First pic is the diagram of the BACKSIDE of the default Wurth panel in a 505. See the three Navigation 15A fuses there.

Second pic is from my newer model Wurth panel popped out. The fuses on my panel are marked with a red circle. The logic is probably the same on the 505 panel (if it's still using the default one).

There might be other fuses, elsewhere, but at least there are these