Autopilot lost...

solar

solar

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Hi,

After trying the Bav forum I'm trying my luck at the BIG forum...

2008 Bav 38 Cruiser.
4 years old Raymarine SPX 10 control unit,ST6002 controler,Lewmar A/P drive 1/8Hp 12v
A/P worked fine for 3 seasons.A few months ago suddenly stoped.
The drive electric motor is turning when getting orders from the controler (+10-10/+1-1) but clutch not connecting so the ruder is not moving.
The tech person sent the drive back to UK Lewmar plant that after tests said it's working fine and sent it back.
My Batts are fine +13v at drive motor & clutch at the panel & end contacts
A Raymarine tech person on the phone said that they know? that this combination of Raymarine A/P and Lewmar drive is problematic sometimes...
Where would you go from here?
Thanks for any input.
 
The clutch get power when the AP is put into "pilot mode" and stay engaged as long as the AP is steering the boat.

Don't know what "A Raymarine tech person on the phone said that they know? that this combination of Raymarine A/P and Lewmar drive is problematic sometimes..." means - but.
I know that some drive units require more current than the AP give to operate the clutch. If the combination of these two units are marginal when new installed it could be that a increased drop can cause this. The fix for this would be to install a relay operated by the AP that give more current to the drive unit

Powering the clutch directly was my first thought also.
*Disconnect the clutch cables from the AP unit and connect 12v directly to the clutch cable
-Working -> something wrong with the AP or connection or related to the description above.
-Not working - next step

*Connect 12v as close as you can to the drive unit
-Working -> indicate a voltage drop in the cable
-Still not working - you must check the voltage on the drive unit end of the cable run, check connections.
 
The fix for this would be to install a relay operated by the AP that give more current to the drive unit...
As wrote the drive unit works fine only not connecting the clutch when turning.
Can you please explain what kind of a relay? where to buy? how to connect? and how a relay can give more power to the drive/cluch?
Will it also work if connected to the A/P to clutch contacts?
 
Don't know,will be at the boat only in 4 weeks,will try that.
But even if it will...I think cluch should be connected only by A/P controler orders not all the time?
 
solar said:
Don't know,will be at the boat only in 4 weeks,will try that.
But even if it will...I think cluch should be connected only by A/P controler orders not all the time?
Click to expand...
Connecting 12 v directly is only to find out what is the cause of this problem - not a permanent thing.

Normally it works like this.
When the AP is in standby mode the clutch is disengaged and the AP is not steering.

When you put the AP in pilot mode (or whatever Raymarine is calling it) two thing happen.
1) The AP opens for a countionous 12v current to close/engage the clutch.
2) The AP starts to send 12v to the drive unit motor when it need to move the rudder

When you turn the AP back into standby or turn it off or the power is lost - the clutch disengages
 
solar said:
The fix for this would be to install a relay operated by the AP that give more current to the drive unit...
As wrote the drive unit works fine only not connecting the clutch when turning.
Can you please explain what kind of a relay? where to buy? how to connect? and how a relay can give more power to the drive/cluch?
Will it also work if connected to the A/P to clutch contacts?
Click to expand...
As we don't know what kind of problem Raymarine is referring to we have to speculate.

If the SPX for some reason is unable to give sufficient current to engage the clutch installing a relay can be a viable fix.

If you already have contacted a "tech person" it might be an idea to talk to him/her again a discuss the input from this thread.

Here is a link to a detailed documentation from another drive unit manufacturer regarding the SPX 10
ftp://ftp.jefa.com/steering/installation-guides/Raymarine_Smartpilot_X10_instructions.pdf

Snip from this document.
The SmartPilot X-10 Corepack autopilot can be used in combination with the Jefa Direct Drive
type 1 and the 12 volt transmission and sprocket drives. There is an issue on the clutch control:
The maximum allowed clutch power is 1,2 Amps and the required power is 1,4 Amps. To
overcome this, a car contactor (relais) between the clutch ports and the clutch of the drive unit has
to be installed.
Click to expand...
 
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