[C320-list] Raymarine Autopilot failure

[Len]

The MKII is out of production---Raymarine now has S1 wheel pilot, much
superior to problem-prone 4000+MkII.

Len
Aqua5  #1070


On 7/21/06, Ben Waltuck <benw at sun.com> wrote:
>
> Has anyone replaced their raymarine ST4000 with the newer MKII wheel
> drive?
>
> I send my unit in to raymarine for repair, and they said that both the
> control unit and drive unit were broken.. and that it would be $299 to
> replace my old drive unit or $439 to get the newer MKII drive unit (on
> top of $199 to repair the control head). I decided to go ahead for the
> newer MKII unit, but I seem to recall a post sometime back where someone
> mentioned that they were not able to fit the MKII unit without moving
> the engine control pod down..
> So my question is.. has anyone successfully replaced the ST4000 with the
> newer MKII wheel drive?
> AND, did you have to lower your engine control panel?  Is that as
> difficult as it looks?
>
> My fear is that lowering the control panel might be a bit of a project
> if I have to drill a new screw hole because I'd first need to get all of
> the wires out of the pedestal.. and that could be a bit of a pain.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Ben Waltuck wrote:
>
> > The autopilot is one of my favorite toys on the boat since it allows
> > me to move around and play with my other toys on the boat.
> > (raymarine st6000 wheel drive)
> > I was out for a sail this morning, and my autopilot will not turn to
> > the right.
> > I can engage the unit, and it will make steering corrections to the
> > left, but never turns the wheel back clockwise, so I eventually get
> > far enough off course that it alarms.
> > Given that it does turn left and is aware of going off-course, it
> > seems that the control unit is good and the drive unit is bad.
> >
> > Do the drive motors have a limited lifespan?  I ask because West
> > Marine sells a replacement motor drive:
> >
> http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product/10001/-1/10001/68043/10001/734/628/3
> >
> > Has anyone else had their motor burn out, and did it burn out in one
> > direction only?
> > Is this the kind of thing worth sending to raymarine for
> > out-of-warranty repair?  A new drive unit is $500, so replacing it
> > wouldn't be the end of the world, and I'd rather not be without the
> > unit for several weeks while they fix it..
> >
> > What's most puzzling to me is that there are 2 wires that connect to
> > the motor drive unit on the wheel.. so I assume that it's just reverse
> > polarity to turn different directions.  Based on that assumption, it
> > makes no sense to me how a motor can function in direction but not the
> > other.
> > With the power to the unit off, I can engage the unit and spin it both
> > ways against the friction of the motor.. so I think I've ruled out a
> > mechanical blockage.
> >
> > Has anyone had the drive unit fail on their autopilot, and did it fail
> > in only one direction?
> >
> > I did get the "low batt" error message once when I was far off course,
> > so I'm wondering if that means that it was "trying" to turn right..
> >
> > Any advice would be greatly appreciated..
> >
> > Thanks
> >
>
>