Raymarine Hydraulic Autopilot Engineer - Solent

[Tomaret]

I’d be grateful if anybody could recommend a good engineer around the Solent who could have a look at the hydraulic autopilot on my boat. The controls are Raymarine (ST6000) but the drive doesn’t look like anything Raymarine I can find. I’ve lost hydraulic pressure but the drive unit still seems to function (it makes the usual sound when it’s trying to get the boat back onto a heading) but the wheel turns freely. This is the unit that takes signals from the computer and sends pressure to a hydraulic ram to steer the boat when autopilot is engaged.

Thanks

Mark

 

[harvey38]

You do have fluid in the system I assume?

I had a similar problem, turns out there was a leak in the help pump and not enough fluid to operate the system

 

[westernman]

Usually a hydraulic system will have a valve in it to disable the hydraulics for using an emergency tiller.
Check that the valve is in the right position, otherwise the autopilot pump can pump away for all it likes to no effect.

 

[PaulRainbow]

I’d be grateful if anybody could recommend a good engineer around the Solent who could have a look at the hydraulic autopilot on my boat. The controls are Raymarine (ST6000) but the drive doesn’t look like anything Raymarine I can find. I’ve lost hydraulic pressure but the drive unit still seems to function (it makes the usual sound when it’s trying to get the boat back onto a heading) but the wheel turns freely. This is the unit that takes signals from the computer and sends pressure to a hydraulic ram to steer the boat when autopilot is engaged.

Thanks

MarkView attachment 155428

The pump does not have to be Raymarine, it can be pretty much any hydraulic autopilot pump, it's just a reservable pump.

Does the boat steer from the wheel ?

Check the hydraulic steering fluid.

 

[Tomaret]

Usually a hydraulic system will have a valve in it to disable the hydraulics for using an emergency tiller.
Check that the valve is in the right position, otherwise the autopilot pump can pump away for all it likes to no effect.

Thanks - I’ll check tomorrow.

 

[Tomaret]

The pump does not have to be Raymarine, it can be pretty much any hydraulic autopilot pump, it's just a reservable pump.

Does the boat steer from the wheel ?

Check the hydraulic steering fluid.

Thanks - the boat does have wheel steering - rod from a Whitlock column - and that’s fine.

 

[Tomaret]

You do have fluid in the system I assume?

I had a similar problem, turns out there was a leak in the help pump and not enough fluid to operate the system

Thanks - if there’s a leak it’s in the steering ram or the hoses at that end - the drive unit is dry around and underneath.