[C320-list] Instruments gone awry

[Brad]

I have a newer setup (St60s) but was having similar issues.  I opened the instrument box (mine are clustered next to each other at the helm) and cleaned each and every contact with contact cleaner.  My issues cleared up after doing so.  Your results may vary.    My wind is still wonky, but I feel it’s more about adjustment than functionality. 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

From: William Russell
Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2019 12:22 PM
To: c320-list at lists.catalina320.com
Subject: [C320-list] Instruments gone awry

On my 1998 C320 (#545) I have ST40 Plus instruments (speed, wind, depth,
autopilot).  They've always worked fine in previous years.  This year, I'm
getting very unreliable (or non-existent) performance from them.  Speed
seems to work, but I've not checked it against a GPS to see how accurate it
is.  Wind direction doesn't work at all, until partly through a race it
starts to read, though not consistently or accurately compared to the
Windex.  Wind speed reads, but again, I can't tell how accurately, and it
often seems way off. Depth is completely inaccurate - sitting at the dock
in 6-7 feet of water, it showed 14-16 feet, and changed minute by minute
even though we weren't moving.  The compass on the autopilot reads 20-30
degrees differently than the binnacle compass, and the "wind" setting on
the autopilot won't work without an accurate apparent wind direction.
I can't figure why I would get such variable and unreliable performance
from all of the instruments at once.  They were installed by the (very
knowledgeable) previous owner, so I don't really know where to start to
troubleshoot.
Any suggestions?
Bill Russell
"Little Wing," 1998 C320, #545
Cayuga Lake
Ithaca, NY