Raymarine auto pilot rudder bar indicator

[ksutton]

My ST 6000 auto pilot control head has the rudder position indicator at the bottom of the display, Raymarine refer to it as the rudder bar indicator. It was installed 2003 and has performed faultlessly for 11 years, a great autopilot.
However recently when I switch on the nav equipment the rudder bar has disappeared from the screen. I have to go into the calibration mode and reselect (turn on) the rudder bar indication and save it. It does this every time now, disappears when the nav power is turned off and has to be reselected again in the cal mode when turned on again. Its a bit like memory loss, other than that it works perfectly. Anybody experienced this and what to do to fix it.

 

[temptress]

Sounds like the control head cmos battery has failed and it's resetting to default when you power on each time. Send the unit to raymarine who will replace the battery for you.

 

[ksutton]

Sounds like the control head cmos battery has failed and it's resetting to default when you power on each time. Send the unit to raymarine who will replace the battery for you.

Thank you temptress, thats good advice, will do that.

 

[oldvarnish]

Oh!! Is there a battery in all these control heads. It's the first I've heard of it.

 

[prv]

Oh!! Is there a battery in all these control heads. It's the first I've heard of it.

News to me too, though I'm not saying there isn't.

Pete

 

[Gypsy]

It is also possible the battery is in the Computer unit, rather than the control head. Hopefully the OP will get some guidance from RM before he decides what to send to them.

 

[prv]

It is also possible the battery is in the Computer unit, rather than the control head. Hopefully the OP will get some guidance from RM before he decides what to send to them.

As I understand it, most of the autopilot settings are stored in the course computer, with only a couple of display-specific ones stored in the controller. Rudder bar is one of the latter (you might have it displayed on a controller at the helm, but not the one at the chart table, for instance) so it makes sense that a controller battery failing would cause this (though, as I say, I've never heard of the memory in these devices being battery-backed before). If the computer was losing its settings, you'd need to go through the whole sea trial and compass calibration process every time, so I think we can rule that out.

Pete

 

[ksutton]

Thank you all for your inputs.

I have put an email on RM web site customer support questions explaining the fault and if its a battery how much do they charge to replace it.

Its interesting that this does seem to be a rare fault occurrence, not a common one.

 

[skenn_ie]

Most computers have a small Lithium battery to retain basic configuration info. It may be incorporated into a memory chip, "real-time-clock" module, soldered onto the main board, or a button type as in P.C.s. Was the instrument unused (power removed) for an extended time ? Is there a clock, and if so, is that still maintaining the time after the instrument has been switched off. Some devices have a separate power input to maintain settings too. That could have got disconnected, or have a blown fuse.

 

[prv]

Is there a clock

No.

Some devices have a separate power input to maintain settings too.

Raymarine ST60s don't, though.

Pete

 

[ianj99]

My Raymarine gear will not display the rudder bar indicator if the signal from the rudder transducer is out of range. Maybe you have a bad connection or worn sensor.
Try leaving the rudder at different angles to see if the bar appears when you power it up.

 

[ksutton]

Thanks for this observation, will try this next week.