D
Deleted member 36384
Guest
Hello,
My very old NECO motor was working okay with the ACU400 controlling it. A couple of weekends ago it stopped working with a "Drive Stopped" message. According to my manual this is the possible issues, of which the top one, appears to be the cause as none of the other causes are apparent: -
What happens is that the auto helm is working as expected from cold. With the engine on, after about 30 minutes the error message pops up. If I power off and power on again, then set Auto, the clutch engages, and the wheel remains stationary, the heading readout remains constant as expected but the actual heading starts to change, then the error message appears and clutch is released for manual steering. I tried to adjust heading before the error message using +/- buttons but nothing happened. I think that before the error message the wheel starts moving more, as if it is over compensating. The ACU400 is very close to the motor behind the bulkhead, less about 20cm, if even that. The steering system is torque tubes via reduction bevel boxes, CV joints and drag links. If I hold one of the tubes I can easily turn the rudder with a firm grip of the tube i.e. the system is not that stiff.
This weekend I thought I would try using the auto helm after thinking it was kaput from the last event. It started to work, heading into the wind, hoisted the main, went sailing, then switched off as normal and sailed. On the Sunday, with no wind, I asked the Autohelm to steer and all was okay for 30 minutes.
My query: anything obviously wrong with the ACU400 / control head that folks may recognise (its 3 years old and I have never updated software), what about the old motor, could it start acting weird when it gets warm inside, maybe slip rings? How sensitive would it be to voltage drop, although the engine has been running each time. I am not sure if I did the circles when commissioning the unit after the harbour set up. Would this be an issue if say sailing just north or south, which is more or less what happens when I use the auto helm? On the control head the graphic bar for detecting magnetics is nearly full screen width but has never went off or
With the unit working again this weekend, I would like to try and not spend money on a new Jeffa motor, if there is something simple to fix it.
What do you think?
BlowingOldBoots
ps the ACU 400 is standalone, not connected to anything else.
My very old NECO motor was working okay with the ACU400 controlling it. A couple of weekends ago it stopped working with a "Drive Stopped" message. According to my manual this is the possible issues, of which the top one, appears to be the cause as none of the other causes are apparent: -
What happens is that the auto helm is working as expected from cold. With the engine on, after about 30 minutes the error message pops up. If I power off and power on again, then set Auto, the clutch engages, and the wheel remains stationary, the heading readout remains constant as expected but the actual heading starts to change, then the error message appears and clutch is released for manual steering. I tried to adjust heading before the error message using +/- buttons but nothing happened. I think that before the error message the wheel starts moving more, as if it is over compensating. The ACU400 is very close to the motor behind the bulkhead, less about 20cm, if even that. The steering system is torque tubes via reduction bevel boxes, CV joints and drag links. If I hold one of the tubes I can easily turn the rudder with a firm grip of the tube i.e. the system is not that stiff.
This weekend I thought I would try using the auto helm after thinking it was kaput from the last event. It started to work, heading into the wind, hoisted the main, went sailing, then switched off as normal and sailed. On the Sunday, with no wind, I asked the Autohelm to steer and all was okay for 30 minutes.
My query: anything obviously wrong with the ACU400 / control head that folks may recognise (its 3 years old and I have never updated software), what about the old motor, could it start acting weird when it gets warm inside, maybe slip rings? How sensitive would it be to voltage drop, although the engine has been running each time. I am not sure if I did the circles when commissioning the unit after the harbour set up. Would this be an issue if say sailing just north or south, which is more or less what happens when I use the auto helm? On the control head the graphic bar for detecting magnetics is nearly full screen width but has never went off or
With the unit working again this weekend, I would like to try and not spend money on a new Jeffa motor, if there is something simple to fix it.
What do you think?
BlowingOldBoots
ps the ACU 400 is standalone, not connected to anything else.