Raymarine Autopilot.

[Ian_Rob]

Our Raymarine autopilot has performed flawlessly for 17 seasons but yesterday I noticed slippage between the L1 linear drive and wheel. I could hear the drive working but the wheel was very slow to respond. It progressively worsened to the point where it wouldn’t hold a heading. By the time we got back it felt as though there was almost a complete disconnect between the linear drive and wheel. The response time settings haven’t been touched. Any suggestions as to what the problem will be?

 

[SY Amalie]

I have had a similar problem on my linear drive. It started making noises first and then it had almost the same symptoms you describe. I took it apart and found that the magnetic clutch and the plate it «connects» to, had a thin layer of grease on it that prevented friction.
I just cleaned both with break cleaner and the problem was solved.
The grease comes from inside the arm that does the steering and for a long-term solution I will have to check why it came out in the first place. For now I have re-mounted the base higher so the arm points down ever so slightly, hope it holds until en of season. For now it works like normal.
Mine never stopped working completely, and I hand steered from the moment I noticed the problem, so my fix might not work for you.
Best of luck!