Raymarine ST7001 autopilot- trips out

[Paul.holden]

Hi all,
Anyone have problems with their autopilot going to standby due to supply low voltage...?
Ours trips out when the electric head is used, but batteries etc still show 11 volts.
The manual say the operating voltage is 10 to 15 volts DC.


Any help would be appreciated.
Paul

[Peregrine1983]

If your batteries really are at 11 volts, they are very dead. The autopilot will dip the voltage even below that when the arm moves. This is likely why it's going into standby.

[Peregrine1983]

Assuming you have standard lead acid batteries -

[Paul.holden]

Thanks P,
No thats just the dip when the auto pilot trips out.
Typically they are at 12.5 +.
Its not a problem when the donk is running as they are being topped up.

[Paul.holden]

No GMS batteries...sailing boat cat 2

[Peregrine1983]

I still think your batteries are shot given the info provided. Do they maintain 12.5V+ for long after they stop being charged?

[Paul.holden]

Yes they do

[Shanachie]

In my experience, batteries plunge like that when there is a bad ground connection trying to handle a large load.


I would monitor the batteries while flushing at electric head at anchor. If the voltage plunges to 11, that's where the bad connection is. That's awful low for an electric pump's draw.



If the voltage plunges to 11 whenever any large load is placed on the battery, it's either a problem with the system ground or the batteries are shot.

[Paul.holden]

Thanks I'll check them and the heads pump out

[Searles]

Have you checked that the rudder is free to move,disconnect the auto pilot drive check ram for movement and load ,while you are at it check rudder movement must be easy to turn full travel .⛵️⚓️

[Rapanui]

I have the ST6001 and it drops out into standby once every couple of days. Its annoying but I can live with it. Many people on the forum have reported this with their older Raymarine pilots. Almost certainly its the course computer triggering it. It our case, we have a lot of solar so the batteries are definitely close to fully charged. It has even tripped under motor while being charged by the alternator. Therefore, I deduce that it is not lack of volts which leaves either:
- a momentary voltage dip caused by something turning on at the wrong moment. Maybe the fridge? If so a large capacitor across the power input to the course computer should help.

- a spike generated by another equipment that triggers an over voltage detected by the course computer. A low pass filter should help.
- high frequency conducted interference which the computer does not like. A low pass filter and ferrite beads on the power leads should help.
If it happened to us more frequently, I would be motivated to fix it. For now it sits below our immediate must do maintenance tasks.