Raymarine Auto pilot dropping out

[diwdiw]

Anyone heard of a raymarine ST2 90 autopilot turning itself to standby in a random manner.
There is now error message or sound, its like someone has pushed the standby button.
Voltage is fine, I have not reset to factory defaults or recalibrate, wanted to see if anyone else had heard of the problem.
Doug

 

[earlybird]

The most obvious suspect is low voltage, <10 volts will cause the ap to go into standby. Did you check with the system under load?
A DVM across the supply with little current being drawn will not show a true picture if the circuit includes, say, a poor connection, or inadequate conductor cross section.

 

[pathfinder]

I have the st6000g,installed in 2008 iirc it has done what you described about 3 or 4 times.On each occasion I simply put it back on auto and it works perfectly can't find any issue with wiring or connections nor were conditions demanding at the time.It hasn't happened in the last 2 yrs but I still keep an eye on it just in case.

 

[Talulah]

Worth checking the load on the rudder has increased dramatically over the years.
i.e. Rudder bearing seizing up.
Try operating the rudder with the emergency tiller and see how hard it is.

 

[Richard10002]

What kind of drive is attached. On my linear drive, the plastic internal helical gears wore away at 12 years old. Replaced them with metal gears, (the right way up), and all was fine.

 

[lpdsn]

You also have to take into account the voltage drop over the wires to the auto pilot itself. Try fitting a cheap LED voltmeter that you can monitor whilst in the cockpit (even just temporary wiring so the voltmeter is visible under the spray hood rather than a permanent arrangement). It'll have to take the voltage at the autopilot, not elsewhere.

 

[diwdiw]

Thanks all,
It does look like a voltage problem, the power supply is fine, new battery circa 13 volts at the time of failure, which points to a connection or cable.
One of those faults that happen once in two days of sailing for less than a second. Damn
Doug