Autopilot woes...repair or replace?

[DiverChick71]

We have a 45' ketch, hydraulic steering and it came with the NX2 autopilot when we bought it in 2016, likely installed sometime around 2005 to 2008. It died on us recently and we are researching options to repair.

End of a passage, calm seas, suddenly just stopped and boat did a lovely 360. Lost heading information on all our instruments...just "---" instead of showing our heading.

We get error code E31, which states it's lost connection to the compass transducer. Unsure if this unit is able to be repaired, as Nexus was bought out by Garmin.

Anyone with experience on if any current Garmin products will still "talk" to the Nexus NX2 components? It's old and still on the NMEA 0183.

Also looking at replacing the whole damn thing, but would prefer to replace all at once when we are in a more user friendly place ( ie back in the US somewhere on the east coast). Any input on what you have, and pros and cons appreciated.

Appreciate any input. Thank you!!

[boatman61]

Had this happen with a B&G system on a brand new Bali.. everything died and the boat went wildly off course.. had to do a reboot of the system.
Dunno if you have the manual but just in case check here..
https://www.manualslib.com/products/...t-3091121.html

[DiverChick71]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Had this happen with a B&G system on a brand new Bali.. everything died and the boat went wildly off course.. had to do a reboot of the system.
Dunno if you have the manual but just in case check here..
https://www.manualslib.com/products/...t-3091121.html

Thank you, we rebooted several times. As well as other things suggested in owners manual. No luck, sadly.

[CatNewBee]

Often it is only a wiring issue, corroded wires / posts, salt water ingress, broken strains due to motion...

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by DiverChick71

Thank you, we rebooted several times. As well as other things suggested in owners manual. No luck, sadly.

In that case.. Duhh.!!! Dunno..
Hope a wiring/connections check as suggested above Solves the problem with minimum cost..

[Dockhead]

There is no problem finding compasses which speak 0183. The Airmar H2183 for example.


If the pilot otherwise works, then why replace it? This would be a good time to upgrade the compass -- the better the compass, the better the pilot will work. If I were you, and if there were no other problems with the pilot, that's what I would do.


As to doing a 360 -- there are different reasons why an autopilot might flip off. It's not all that rare. If you are sailing in conditions where that would be dangerous, you should stay near the wheel.

[Time2Go]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Had this happen with a B&G system on a brand new Bali.. everything died and the boat went wildly off course.. had to do a reboot of the system.
Dunno if you have the manual but just in case check here..
https://www.manualslib.com/products/...t-3091121.html

Hi Boaty
Had the same thing happen to me on a Brand New
B&G with Jaffa electric servo drive
Problem was in software “ Time out error”
To OP go beyond a reboot and see if there is a way
to reinstall original software or “First Birthday”
the system
Also try reverting to all factory presets
and wiping all user inputs
Has worked on other electronics for me
Cheers
Neil

[TBW]

For heading problems highly recommend satellite compass. I am furuno boat. For 0183 it is scx21.
Pg 700 is new furuno pilot.
Repair if you have to to get home.

[stormalong]

The first thing needed is to find out what interface their "compass transducer" is using. It it is a simple fluxgate compass you may not have the option to go to something more sophisticated.

Read your manual. It should tell you if that autopilot can get compass information from a different source than their supplied "transducer".

If it is a fluxgate compass it will have five wires - at least that is the case for Raymarine.

As others have said: Check for loose or corroded wires first. That is often the problem.

[philcun50]

I’m not sure if you’re aware that any nmea0183 heading sensor can be used. Nmea0183 is a type of network basically and uses a language that has universal nmea0183 messages for specific data. The transducer throws a message onto the network and any device that wants to use that information grabs it. Airman makes a heading sensor that outputs both nmea0183 and nmea2000. There are also nmea0183 to nmea2000 converters so you could start creating a nmea2000 network and still use your nmea0183 equipment.
Even though you say your electronics are ageing, they are still compatible. The new transducer may putout extra messages that your device doesn’t understand but it should do the ones your device needs.
As said previously, you need to make sure it’s not a wiring issue as this is the cheapest and easiest fix. Furthermore if you replace the sensor and it’s a wiring issue the issue will most likely still be there when you install the expensive option.
Just use a multimeter and do a continuity test between the sensor and the point where it’s cable hooks into the nmea0183 network. Your multimeter probes maybe too big to fit into the plugs so get a needle or something thin to stick in. Make sure you disconnect this wiring from the sensor and the network. You may even “fix” the problem by unplugging and replugging these plugs. I call this collateral repair in that whilst testing you may clean the offending bad connection without knowing it just by unplugging and replugging.

[Squanderbucks]

Score blaming the autopilot you need to see if the data source is actually putting out course data. If you have an onboard PC or laptop hookup the nmea from the compass and see if t sends the data to it. You would need a serial or usb connection and software to see the data but a nearby friend may be able to guide you with what you have.

Or try hooking up another device that outputs 0183 data to the autopilot. Something like a chartplotter. My autopilot can get its data from a chartplotter if my nmea 2000 goes down.

[Simi 60]

Autopilot is an essential item when cruising IMHO.

Thankfully, I managed to score a complete spare unit that a "white yacht" was upgrading .
Nothing wrong with it, just not new and shiny.
Swapped it out with our old unit and our original is now a spare.

[philcun50]

Originally Posted by Squanderbucks

Score blaming the autopilot you need to see if the data source is actually putting out course data. If you have an onboard PC or laptop hookup the nmea from the compass and see if t sends the data to it. You would need a serial or usb connection and software to see the data but a nearby friend may be able to guide you with what you have.

Or try hooking up another device that outputs 0183 data to the autopilot. Something like a chartplotter. My autopilot can get its data from a chartplotter if my nmea 2000 goes down.

Very interesting. Must make sure I have the cables and plugs to do this. What program are you using?

[Dsanduril]

The Nexus NX2 system was in many respects a predecessor to NMEA2000. It uses a 4-wire RS485+power network operating at, IIRC, 9600 baud and using Nexus proprietary message formats. It could handle up to 32 sensors on a self-organizing network.

The A1500 servo and R1600 course computer used an NX2 fluxgate compass transducer connected to either the AP servo or an NX2 server so neither an NMEA 0183 or 2000 instrument will work. The course computer did have both 0183 in and out ports and could certainly output the heading on the 0183 side. I doubt (but have never tried) that the autopilot would use heading input on the 0183 port.

The compass manual may provide a small amount of useful information on testing.