Posted by Judith Spang (judith@…>)
The autopilot on our recently-bought Freedom 32 doesn’t work right. It is a Raymarine ST 4000+.
We depress the clamp on the steering wheel;
then hit “auto” (tried hitting it twice, but made no difference);
The compass setting on the autopilot is correct, BUT
the boat doesn’t hold its course.
When it goes off course, the “off course” alarm beeps.
If we hit the " -10" button, it heads off to port. But there is no change with the “+10” button.
Has anyone run into this problem? I understand the previous owner had difficulties with the autopilot and consulted this site, and then was able to fiddle with it to make it work. But his wife doesn’t remember any details.
Judith,
ESPRIT
Have
you tried initializing the wheelpilot? There are instructions in the
manual (available online) for setting up the compass and the electronics the
first time it is used. I believe you can do it again. I would do
that before doing anything else. Raymarine has a flat rate repair service;
they will charge $200 to repair the control head, if that is the problem.
The autopilot on our recently-bought Freedom 32 doesn’t work
right. It is a Raymarine ST 4000+.
We depress the clamp on the
steering wheel;
then hit “auto” (tried hitting it twice, but
made no difference);
The compass setting on the
autopilot is correct, BUT
the boat doesn’t hold its course.
When it goes off course, the “off
course” alarm beeps.
\
If we hit the " -10" button, it heads off to port.
But there is no change with the “+10” button.
Has anyone run into this
problem? I understand the previous owner had difficulties with the
autopilot and consulted this site, and then was able to fiddle with it to make
it work. But his wife doesn’t remember any details.
I had the same problem. It turned out that my control unit had some water
egress. When
turning to port it was OK, However when the boat turned to starboard the
autopilot
started beeping frantically. because of a faulty clutch I have descided to
upgrade the unit.
If you want to play with the settings the calibration is in a pdf on the
raymarine website
under discontinued models.
The autopilot on our recently-bought Freedom 32 doesn’t work right. It is a
Raymarine ST 4000+.
We depress the clamp on the steering wheel;
then hit “auto” (tried hitting it twice, but made no difference);
The compass setting on the autopilot is correct, BUT
the boat doesn’t hold its course.
When it goes off course, the “off course” alarm beeps.
If we hit the " -10" button, it heads off to port. But there is no change
with the “+10” button.
Has anyone run into this problem? I understand the previous owner had
difficulties with the autopilot and consulted this site, and then was able
to fiddle with it to make it work. But his wife doesn’t remember any
details.
Judith, ESPRIT
The lever that engages/disengages the unit sometimes pops open, and
the boat goes auto pilotless.
Despite adjusting the gain, the auto pilot does not hold a setting
well. The boat wanders more than 10 degrees to either side of the
setting, and is constantly correcting.
Any help in fixing these conditions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Lou
F35 #23 ‘Ripple Effect’
Does anyone still use the Raymarine
Autohelm 3000? If so I have a bag of parts, belts, motor, control unit, etc actually
I believe the whole darn system. For the price of a couple bottles of rum and
winch….that’s a repair….it could be yours. The winch part
would be nice but I am only kidding……
I had the same problem. It turned out that my control
unit had some water egress. When
turning to port it was OK, However when the boat turned to starboard the
autopilot
started beeping frantically. because of a faulty clutch I have descided to
upgrade the unit.
If you want to play with the settings the calibration is in a pdf on the
raymarine website
under discontinued models.
The autopilot on our recently-bought Freedom 32 doesn’t work right. It is
a
Raymarine ST 4000+.
We depress the clamp on the steering wheel;
then hit “auto” (tried hitting it twice, but made no
difference);
The compass setting on the autopilot is correct, BUT
the boat doesn’t hold its course.
When it goes off course, the “off course” alarm beeps.
If we hit the " -10" button, it heads off to port. But there is
no change
with the “+10” button.
Has anyone run into this problem? I understand the previous owner had
difficulties with the autopilot and consulted this site, and then was able
to fiddle with it to make it work. But his wife doesn’t remember any
details.
Judith, ESPRIT
I had a similar disengage problem and Raytheon (now Raymarine) provided a
“repair kit” which included a new cam device and belt, worked great after
installing the kit. I think this was a known problem as they had kits
ready.
It’s always tricky getting the autopilot to steer a straight course. First
try to get the sails balanced such that the boat will steer a straight
course under sail with very little helm. This is tough to do in the F35 as
it likes to turn into the wind quickly but get it the best you can. Then
start working with the autopilot gains and response settings. Try to pick a
flat sea day to do this as well. Do the set up recommended in the manual
first to get a base line then tweak one setting at a time. Remember that
the unit can learn sea state and correct for it over time as well.
The lever that engages/disengages the unit sometimes pops open, and
the boat goes auto pilotless.
Despite adjusting the gain, the auto pilot does not hold a setting
well. The boat wanders more than 10 degrees to either side of the
setting, and is constantly correcting.
Any help in fixing these conditions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Lou
F35 #23 ‘Ripple Effect’