Raymarine ST60 wind speed not working

BobsFolly

BobsFolly

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Hello all,
I'm looking for some pointers into how I've managed to break my wind speed indicator.

I have a raymarine ST60 wind transducer, original I believe to the boat, a 1999 Bavaria. The wind vane had broken off so I ordered a replacement set of cups and a vane.
Replaced the vane and cups, now I have wind direction working but no wind speed. Replaced the new cups back to the original ones and still no joy. The wind speed mostly reads 0.0 but strangely yesterday was indicating 3 kts in approx a 15kt breeze.

Anyone have any idea what I've done, bearing in mind the wind speed was working fine until I went near it !
I have read some.previous threads on here that mention replacing the bearings but they were working fine till I got my hands on it.

Bob.
 
Did you remove the arm with the 5 pin connector at the end? It sounds as if there is now some dirt on either the pins or the sockets and you are not getting a good connection. Even if you didn't unscrew the arm, it sounds as if you've dislodged the connector. You need to remove the arm and clean all the pins and their sockets with contact cleaner or similar and then reseat it and remove it several times before doing anything more involved.

Richard
 
RichardS said:
Did you remove the arm with the 5 pin connector at the end? It sounds as if there is now some dirt on either the pins or the sockets and you are not getting a good connection. Even if you didn't unscrew the arm, it sounds as if you've dislodged the connector. You need to remove the arm and clean all the pins and their sockets with contact cleaner or similar and then reseat it and remove it several times before doing anything more involved.

Richard
Click to expand...
Thanks for the prompt response.

Yes I had removed the unit, just down from the top of the mast.
I suspected connection issues so gave everything a liberal spray of electrical contact cleaner. Still no speed, just displaying 0.0 kts. I'm wondering is there anything else worth trying before I have to think of replacing the whole unit, which I'd like to avoid!

Bob
 
BobsFolly said:
Thanks for the prompt response.

Yes I had removed the unit, just down from the top of the mast.
I suspected connection issues so gave everything a liberal spray of electrical contact cleaner. Still no speed, just displaying 0.0 kts. I'm wondering is there anything else worth trying before I have to think of replacing the whole unit, which I'd like to avoid!

Bob
Click to expand...
You could certainly check the voltages at the connector at the bottom of the mast/inside the boat. Raymarine Masthead Wind Transducer Test

If those voltages are OK then you know that it's the display and/or its connections.

If the Yellow - Shield is 0V and it's not simply a bad connection then it sounds as if the circuit board has gone. You can replace that for £100.

Raymarine ST60 wind transducer refurb. problem, with photo

Richard
 
Are the cups rotating freely? In my experience, the bearings seem to go sticky after a short time then the wind speed under-reads a lot.
 
cpedw said:
Are the cups rotating freely? In my experience, the bearings seem to go sticky after a short time then the wind speed under-reads a lot.
Click to expand...
Yes, cups are spinning freely. Whether they are gripping the 'axle ' underneath may be another story! When up the mast today I spun the spindle with the cups removed and there was no speed registering on the the instrument.
 
RichardS said:
You could certainly check the voltages at the connector at the bottom of the mast/inside the boat. Raymarine Masthead Wind Transducer Test

If those voltages are OK then you know that it's the display and/or its connections.

If the Yellow - Shield is 0V and it's not simply a bad connection then it sounds as if the circuit board has gone. You can replace that for £100.

Raymarine ST60 wind transducer refurb. problem, with photo

Richard
Click to expand...
Thanks for the link and detailed breakdown of the unit. I'll test the connections tomorrow at deck level. Failing that I think I'll remove the unit and try some more detailed investigation. The price of a replacement masthead unit is almost half the cost of a whole new system!!

Bob
 
BobsFolly said:
Yes, cups are spinning freely. Whether they are gripping the 'axle ' underneath may be another story! When up the mast today I spun the spindle with the cups removed and there was no speed registering on the the instrument.
Click to expand...
You did tighten up the little allen screw on the cups and vane didn't you?
 
Laysula said:
You did tighten up the little allen screw on the cups and vane didn't you?
Click to expand...
I did. But a fair question! I was afraid of overtightening the first time I installed the new caps. I tightened it up more today up the mast, I found though if I over tightened it it stopped the cups from spinning freely.

Bob
 
RichardS said:
You could certainly check the voltages at the connector at the bottom of the mast/inside the boat. Raymarine Masthead Wind Transducer Test

If those voltages are OK then you know that it's the display and/or its connections.

If the Yellow - Shield is 0V and it's not simply a bad connection then it sounds as if the circuit board has gone. You can replace that for £100.

Raymarine ST60 wind transducer refurb. problem, with photo

Richard
Click to expand...
Just in follow up to this, I have tested the voltages at the junction box and yellow to shield is showing 7.88V, almost identical to Red to shield at 7.84V.
This seems well above the expected range and is a constant reading. I must have done some damage to the unit upon removal or the installation.
Can anyone recommend a good source of a second hand mast head unit ?
Other option is to buy replacement PCB's but the cost would not he too dissimilar I think.

Thanks
Bob.
 
BobsFolly said:
Just in follow up to this, I have tested the voltages at the junction box and yellow to shield is showing 7.88V, almost identical to Red to shield at 7.84V.
This seems well above the expected range and is a constant reading. I must have done some damage to the unit upon removal or the installation.
Can anyone recommend a good source of a second hand mast head unit ?
Other option is to buy replacement PCB's but the cost would not he too dissimilar I think.

Thanks
Bob.
Click to expand...
I have not seen many complete MHU for sale second hand but I'm sure they come on eBay occasionally.

The advantage with buying the PCB and new bearings is that you, in effect, will have a brand new unit for £100. If you buy second hand you will probably pay that much but might well have another unit with limited life. Just a thought.

Richard
 
BobsFolly said:
It looks like second hand st60 masthead units are not easy to come by!
With the summer cruise fast approaching I am considering replacing with a newer version if the masthead unit.
This :

Raymarine Short Arm Wind Masthead Transducer R28170

Has anyone done this and is it a straight swap? Can I plug it straight into the existing cable in the mast?

Thanks
Bob.
Click to expand...
The R28170 was a direct swap for my 2008 short -arm unit and just plugged straight into the 5 pin DIN connector at the masthead.

Richard
 
Did you manage to fix your wind speed ? I just wondered what the problem might be and if you bought a new transducer or if any repair is possible. I have to go up mast to ours but really thinking through options.
 
ashtead said:
Did you manage to fix your wind speed ? I just wondered what the problem might be and if you bought a new transducer or if any repair is possible. I have to go up mast to ours but really thinking through options.
Click to expand...

Short answer is no, I didn't manage to fix the existing unit. With the summer cruise fast approaching last year I ordered the newer model replacement transducer arm:

Raymarine Short Arm Wind Transducer - Vane Only - R28170

It was a straight swap. The older unit is still in the shed awaiting its fate!
The newer model tends to overread windspeed compared to the older transducer when coupled with the existing ST60 wind instrument. You can 'detune' it during calibration but I feel it still slightly overreads.

Bob.
 
Thank you Bob - I have this fear a trip up the mast will only confirm my fears but I am slightly putting off as the transducer reads the direction just not speed.it’s only 6 years old as well . I might try a spray with we 40 first though.
 
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