Raymarine electrics crash yesterday

[cdogg]

Despite the wet weather I went out for a sail yesterday only to find that my Raymarine C70 Chart-plotter would only display squiggly lines across the screen, I tried a couple of restarts but it remained the same. The ST60 Wind and Close Hauled wind instrument also played up with the direction needle flicking about randomly and the display showing a mixture of broken up letters. As if that wasn't enough, the ST4000+ auto-helm, when engaged, cycles continually from full starboard helm to full port with and occasional unexpected 360deg spot turn. The rudder position indicator dots along the bottom of the ST4000 screen show the rudder approx. 15 degrees to starboard when in fact it is centred.

What is going on?

It was a very wet day, but most days are when I choose to sail in Scotland!

Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[daveyw]

You could try Guitarrich, he's a Raymarine expert. http://www.richandrews.co.uk/

 

[nigelmercier]

Had any lightning?

 

[cdogg]

Lightning

Had any lightning?

No lightning.

I have also posted the problem on the FREE Bavaria forum.

I can't believe the volume of response so far. Surely I can't be in such a minority with this problem.

PLEASE, if you have any experience of this problem and its cure let me know.

Thanks
cdogg

 

[nigelmercier]

No lightning.

I have also posted the problem on the FREE Bavaria forum.

The fact that the displays are malfunctioning looks like a catastrophic failure, unless there is a problem with the power source. If your engine wasn't running, the latter is unlikely.

 

[lw395]

Where possible, I would try disconnecting the data network and seeing if anything functions as stand alone.

Personally, I have reservations about the wisdom of connecting everything together such that one fault can take out all your instruments.

 

[wotayottie]

I had a failure of the plotter a couple of years ago ( £450 to repair!!! ) but that left the instruments in the daisy chain working OK. Highly unlikely that everything on your boat has failed at the same time, which makes me think you have some issue with the Seatalk bus, either water in a connection or one instrument failed which is sending duff signals to the others..

With the boat on battery only ( that eliminates the alternator as an issue) disconnect the autohelm and then the plotter and see if the instruments still work. If you still have the problem then disconnect the instruments one by one to see if one of them is faulty.

I am assuming everything has independant power supplies. If they dont have such power supplies them jury rig them.

 

[wizard]

Despite the wet weather I went out for a sail yesterday only to find that my Raymarine C70 Chart-plotter would only display squiggly lines across the screen, I tried a couple of restarts but it remained the same. The ST60 Wind and Close Hauled wind instrument also played up with the direction needle flicking about randomly and the display showing a mixture of broken up letters. As if that wasn't enough, the ST4000+ auto-helm, when engaged, cycles continually from full starboard helm to full port with and occasional unexpected 360deg spot turn. The rudder position indicator dots along the bottom of the ST4000 screen show the rudder approx. 15 degrees to starboard when in fact it is centred.

What is going on?

It was a very wet day, but most days are when I choose to sail in Scotland!

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Had a similar thing a couple of years ago. Took the unit home reloaded the software and it rebooted ok. Also as a first check couls also try removing the cf card and carefully replace it and ensure it is firmly in position. Also check you are getting the correct voltage at the point where the C70 is positioned. If all this fails it is back to Raymarine for checkover and estimate for repair!

 

[cdogg]

On the mend - I hope

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on my instrument problems. A very kind marina manager went on-board today in my absence (I live 200+ miles from the boat). On noticing that the instruments were all very wet despite being under the pedestal cover, he removed the chart plotter from the pedestal and other instrument electrical plugs/connectors dried them off and re-connected. All now appears to be working again although the chart plotter itself did have another few moments of squiggle lines, but then appeared to work as per normal. His recommendation is to take the chart plotter home for a few days to properly dry out then test for any damage that may have been caused. I may also do a factory reboot, but I'll think about that one a bit more.
Cheers
cdogg

 

[jwilson]

Despite the wet weather I went out for a sail yesterday only to find that my Raymarine C70 Chart-plotter would only display squiggly lines across the screen, I tried a couple of restarts but it remained the same. The ST60 Wind and Close Hauled wind instrument also played up with the direction needle flicking about randomly and the display showing a mixture of broken up letters. As if that wasn't enough, the ST4000+ auto-helm, when engaged, cycles continually from full starboard helm to full port with and occasional unexpected 360deg spot turn. The rudder position indicator dots along the bottom of the ST4000 screen show the rudder approx. 15 degrees to starboard when in fact it is centred.

What is going on?

It was a very wet day, but most days are when I choose to sail in Scotland!

Any ideas would be appreciated.

My C70 had the screen go squiggly-lines first very intermittently and then all the time. After some research including old posts on this forum I carefully took it apart (fiddly), undid and reconnected the LCD screen ribbon connector, and so far it has been fine. Though this did not affect the other Raymarine instruments, which continued to work OK - so your problem may be different.

 

[dulcibella]

Odd idea to make marine electronics so water-vulnerable - clearly the designers spend too much time indoors and not enough at sea. However, full marks to your marina manager for identifying the problem and taking effective action.

 

[stuartwineberg]

Only waterproof at the front

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on my instrument problems. A very kind marina manager went on-board today in my absence (I live 200+ miles from the boat). On noticing that the instruments were all very wet despite being under the pedestal cover, he removed the chart plotter from the pedestal and other instrument electrical plugs/connectors dried them off and re-connected. All now appears to be working again although the chart plotter itself did have another few moments of squiggle lines, but then appeared to work as per normal. His recommendation is to take the chart plotter home for a few days to properly dry out then test for any damage that may have been caused. I may also do a factory reboot, but I'll think about that one a bit more.
Cheers
cdogg

I think part of the problem is that the gear is only waterproof on the front face. Sounds stupid I know but it means you have to be really careful that your unit is completely sealed onto the binnacle. Once water can get round the back you are cream crackered becasue the sockets etc don't seem to be at all waterproof. I had this problem because the builder had cut the hole slightly too large for my flybridge plotter on the mobo. I had to make sure I never let a hose go over it all when i was washing down.

 

[nigelmercier]

I have also posted the problem on the FREE Bavaria forum...

Could you also post the outcome on the Bavaria Forum when you get a moment.

I think you may have two separate problems: water in the chart-plotter causing the display to crash, and water in the data connection causing the erratic instrument readings. Of course, the latter could also be water in the plotter, but it would be wise to dry everything out then seal it all up.

Water ingress didn't occur to me, as my plotter is below decks

 

[cdogg]

"Could you also post the outcome on the Bavaria Forum when you get a moment. "

Consider it done.

 

[wotayottie]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on my instrument problems. A very kind marina manager went on-board today in my absence (I live 200+ miles from the boat). On noticing that the instruments were all very wet despite being under the pedestal cover, he removed the chart plotter from the pedestal and other instrument electrical plugs/connectors dried them off and re-connected.

If the manager is that helpful, it would be nice to mention the name of the marina. We get lots of moans about bad service but very few posts about good service like this case.

 

[nigelmercier]

"Could you also post the outcome on the Bavaria Forum when you get a moment. "

Consider it done.

Thank you, always good to build on the information on the new site.

 

[cdogg]

If the manager is that helpful, it would be nice to mention the name of the marina. We get lots of moans about bad service but very few posts about good service like this case.

Absolutely right. I am normally very keen to mention the marina and its staff as they are second to none and I am delighted to be based there. It is Portavadie Marina on Loch Fyne (West coast of Scotland - for any overseas forum members). see: www.portavadiemarina.com If you are cruising in the area, make it a 'must' stop. The whole team are always ready and willing to help. In this instance, it was Craig who stepped on board.
Thanks again Craig

 

[TonyS]

My C70 had the screen go squiggly-lines first very intermittently and then all the time. After some research including old posts on this forum I carefully took it apart (fiddly), undid and reconnected the LCD screen ribbon connector, and so far it has been fine. Though this did not affect the other Raymarine instruments, which continued to work OK - so your problem may be different.

I have had the same problem 3 times in the last 2 years while on our 10 week summer cruise. The first time I was so annoyed I bashed the top of the display with my fist. Surprisingly, it burst back into life. I have done the same on the last 2 occasions with the same success. I believe that the ribbon cable depends on contact pressure which drops as the unit gets older. Do you have any detailed instructions for doing a more permanent repair?

 

[cdogg]

I have had the same problem 3 times in the last 2 years while on our 10 week summer cruise. The first time I was so annoyed I bashed the top of the display with my fist. Surprisingly, it burst back into life. I have done the same on the last 2 occasions with the same success. I believe that the ribbon cable depends on contact pressure which drops as the unit gets older. Do you have any detailed instructions for doing a more permanent repair?

I appreciate your question is really for JWILSON and I will be interested in his reply. What I'm personally concluding from this is so far and of course I may be wrong, is that apart from drying the whole unit out including the plugs/connectors, the unit needs to be properly sealed where it fits around the binnacle as mentioned earlier. The ribbon connectors may indeed suffer from age, I wouldn't really know, but the main culprit seems to be dampness. A tip in one of the forums suggested placing your thumbs on both edges of the screen and sliding them down the edges pressing them back into the plotter, so that may be another solution. I have also been advised by a Raymarine specialist that the plotter should be shipped back for overhaul (cost £400ish plus shipping and probably plus VAT), but whilst that may be needed, it may not stop the dampness causing the same problem again.

I use an iPad with the Navionics app as a backup, so I am happy to try the cheaper solutions first.

Cheers
cdogg

 

[jwilson]

I have had the same problem 3 times in the last 2 years while on our 10 week summer cruise. The first time I was so annoyed I bashed the top of the display with my fist. Surprisingly, it burst back into life. I have done the same on the last 2 occasions with the same success. I believe that the ribbon cable depends on contact pressure which drops as the unit gets older. Do you have any detailed instructions for doing a more permanent repair?

Can't remember the exact sequence: lots of small screws to get the back unfastened then a definite click off (details of this in the full owners manual as there is a specific way round the snapfix lugs go). Once you have the innards out the rearmost circuit board had to be unfastened by removing one ribbon connection, and bending plastic tabs to release the board. That let you get at the screen ribbon connector. I spent an hour doing it, and I am fairly confident about taking computers to bits. The ribbon connectors are frighteningly flimsy, and not very positive.

I worked on the principle that it was long out of warranty and as long as I didn't damage anything I could always take a box of bits to Raymarine next time I was in Portsmouth. As it happens it worked properly on reassembly, and has done so for several months since (cue fault next time I'm on the boat !!)