Garmin autopilot constantly turning wheel left and right

[Tjurd]

We have a 2019 garmin autopilot computer hooked ip to our older hydraulic ram and pump.

We put her on course but find that the autopilit is very busy constantly steering the boat. Wasting a lot of electricity. We have put her on the liwest response setting with no result.

Boat: beneteau oceanis 430
Plotter abd autopilot is Garmin
Depth an gauges are Nexus NX2
AIS from Vesper marine

Who knkws how to calm out autopilit down 😊

[Sparx]

Recalibrating the autopilot is the place to start.

Our Garmin auto pilot has a calibrate function: press the button and follow the directions. You will want to be under power and moving as fast as the motor allows for this.

[Pete7]

Does the system have a rudder reference unit ?

Pete

[Tjurd]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Does the system have a rudder reference unit ?

Pete

Yes, Garmin rudder reference unit.

[Tjurd]

Just recalibrated the system through the dealer page and all seems to be working good now. Thanks!

[vpbarkley]

Hey Tjurd, Thanks for posting.

Who is the manufacturer of the older hydraulic pump?

[S D Sailor]

Sounds like you have a solution.
Just an added question/note:
...to the best of my recollection, my GHC 10/GHP 12 sensitivity settings seem counterintuitive....100% is slowest reaction-time and the lower the percentage, the more the AP fights to stay on heading....
Hope your issue is solved.
Best,
R

[SofiaB]

Calibration is not the issue. There are several settings in the Chartplotter which control power consumption, speed and response time. These often need to be changed based on conditions. For instance, highest economy mode, slow speed and slow response is best with low wind, calm seas conditions. Adjust higher as winds or seas increase.

[Captain Puget]

Calibration is important, but also verify your hydraulic steering system is fully purged of air (requires a pressurized test, multiple purges sometimes).

If you have air in the hydraulics, it will be very mushy and overactive (like you have described). You basically would then have a numatic system, not hydraulics .... I almost replaced my ram before I figured this out m

It is often a combination of pressurizing the hydraulics AND calibration. Until you have the pressurization/ bleeding done, calibration is just masking the problem. It can help, but still the underlying issue exists.

[Tjurd]

Originally Posted by vpbarkley

Hey Tjurd, Thanks for posting.

Who is the manufacturer of the older hydraulic pump?

The pump is from Octopus

[Tjurd]

Thsnks for all the comments. We had a lot of problems already due to numerous factors.

When going from Morocco to canaries we kept getting a rudder position error. We stil had a Nexus rudder sensor installed with the adapter cable from Garmin. We replaced it for a Garmin model and the Atlantic crossing was fine.

Then i changed the oil in the pump and cleaned the reservoir. Sadly the reservoir started leaking ending up getting air in the system. After re calibrating and recalibrating i finaly found out it was a leak... My bad.

Then I thought all was good but didnt get to do the sea calibration and i thought it should not mind as the settings haven't changed. So thats how she got erratic but seemingly a recalibration solved that 😊.

We do after some time often find that our compass is a bit off. Now after recalibration she is spot on. So hope she stays good as we will be crossing the atlantic soon back to europe.

I thought these autopilots were simpler and smart but i find them hard to understand and Garmin has very bad infk on how to use them.

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by Tjurd

Who knkws how to calm out autopilit down 😊

Does this happen under power or sail? If sail, it's important to get the sail plan as balanced as possible for the wind conditions and point of sail. If it takes work to hand steer, the autopilot will have to work hard too. Getting the boat balanced, or "in the groove", will make it *much* easier for the AP to keep the boat on course with minimal effort.

Regards,
David

[AKA-None]

Nothing is ready plug and play

[Tjurd]

Originally Posted by AKA-None

Nothing is ready plug and play

I didnt say plug and play ��, i installed the system myself which isnt that difficult. I am saying that there is no Garmin information be it PDF or video about how to use and configure your autopilot under diffrent sea circumstances. It doesnt say what is best for what situation ve it sail or motor. And what exactly is the "smart part" doing? No idea. And i jave to date found no information on this. Not saying im not happy with it, it has brougt us from europe to the caribbean without stopping but i was never sure and never found out if i should increase or decrease certain settings ��.

[Tjurd]

We just crossed the Atlantic and all went well, the autopilot did all the work BUT,

As we progressed the boat icon on the MFD was moving more and more slightly off. So not pointing in the right direction.

On the Garmin site is says this probably has to do with calibrating the compass again.

I have had this problem a lot in the past and i am wondering if this is normal and how to solve it as i don't expect that i need to recalibrate the compass every time i take the boat out.

p.s. we have no metal cans or so near the compass

Garmins help page:
https://support.garmin.com/ms-MY/?fa...5q4raytGo7liH6

Would love to hear if anyone knows what causes this.

P.S.
The setup is:

Garmin 922XS MFD
Nexus Wind and log + depth linked with Garmin/Nexus blackbox link thing. (nexus network to NMEA 2000)
Vespar XB8000 AIS
Garmin Autopilot (new model)