Raymarine Wheel Pilot

[trapezeartist]

There is a sticker on my wheel pilot saying that it should be flushed with fresh water after every use. I have always assumed that is to wash out any salt water so have never done it, because my boat doesn't ship that much water in any conditions I have ever been out in.

Over the last few weeks the autopilot has gone from slightly cantankerous to completely useless. It started slipping in heavy conditions and has now gone on to slipping in even the most benign conditions. Somewhat belately I gave it a heavy flush-through with the hose before going for a sail today, but it didn't help.

I'll have to pull it apart, but how? Presumably I have to take the wheel off, which will require a puller. Then what? Also, I've noticed a square plastic "nut" on the drive ring near the motor. Is that some sort of belt adjustment? Maybe I just need to tweak that up a notch. Or perhaps I should look inside anyway to assess the condition of the belt. Any advice?

 

[Tranona]

Follow the instructions in the operators manual on how to adjust the belt. It is probably worn, but adjustment should improve it. If not replace the belt - and adjust it correctly.

 

[trapezeartist]

The operators manual is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard. The main unit is invariably illustrated as a single piece with no indication of how it comes apart. The troubleshooting section just says to contact a service centre if it slips. Really I'm just hoping to get an idea in advance of what I'll find when I disassemble it. And whether I will encounter any unexpected problems like deviously hidden fixings.

 

[Rigger]

The square nut is indeed a belt tensioner so would be a good place to start. Can be a bit tricky to turn (clockwise I think to increase tension) ,you'l need to get a spanner on it. You probably should check the condition of the belt however as they can suddenly go,often when the pilot is working hard. You should have a spare onboard (IIRC £30 ish from Raymarine!!)
The unit comes apart pretty easily when off the wheel,there are no additional bits to undo once the wheel clamps are off. I seem to remember there is a mark on the cover that rotates which you line up with a mark on the other half, the whole thing just pulls apart then.
Agree with the bit about fresh water flushing ,certainly never did it after "every use" just as part on a general cockpit spray down.

 

[Tranona]

The operators manual is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard. The main unit is invariably illustrated as a single piece with no indication of how it comes apart. The troubleshooting section just says to contact a service centre if it slips. Really I'm just hoping to get an idea in advance of what I'll find when I disassemble it. And whether I will encounter any unexpected problems like deviously hidden fixings.

Well, the instructions on how to adjust the belt are there. Once you have discovered it, very straightforward.

 

[jwilson]

Both of mine went back to Raymarine for the same problem whilst they were in warranty. The other problem they suffer is the clutch lever disengaging itself, which is why many boats have a bit of shockcord tied on to hold the lever in position. After the warranty expired I took them to bits, cleaned thoroughly, put a new belt in if needed, and reassembled with a trace of McLube dry lubricant inside the plastic rollers. The manual says not to lubricate them, but I find it greatly helps avoid the self-declutching issue. I would not use oil though.

The tension adjustment is the big plastic nut - loosen an allen key in the middle and you can turn it slightly by hand - no need for a spanner if it is a Mk II - don't know about the older ones. This may well fix your problem - for a while.

Why do I have two - one to take to bits and one to have fitted. It's a five minute job to remove and refit mine, but can take much longer to clean up and adjust till working properly. They are pretty horribly made.

 

[johnphilip]

Both of mine went back to Raymarine for the same problem whilst they were in warranty. The other problem they suffer is the clutch lever disengaging itself, which is why many boats have a bit of shockcord tied on to hold the lever in position. After the warranty expired I took them to bits, cleaned thoroughly, put a new belt in if needed, and reassembled with a trace of McLube dry lubricant inside the plastic rollers. The manual says not to lubricate them, but I find it greatly helps avoid the self-declutching issue. I would not use oil though.

The tension adjustment is the big plastic nut - loosen an allen key in the middle and you can turn it slightly by hand - no need for a spanner if it is a Mk II - don't know about the older ones. This may well fix your problem - for a while.

Why do I have two - one to take to bits and one to have fitted. It's a five minute job to remove and refit mine, but can take much longer to clean up and adjust till working properly. They are pretty horribly made.

I do indeed sail with a piece of shockcord tied around the binnacle ready to hook over the handle to prevent the drive disengaging. Compared to the tiller pilot on the previous boat the 4000 Wheelpilot is really good but it certainly has issues.
When disengaged the belt drags so that the feel on the helm is sometimes lost. I dismantled and cut away part of the stop so the adjustment could be moved further and looser, some help but still sometimes snags. A kettle full of warm water poured through the wheel also seems to work. I don't know why as we rarely get a salt water dousing in the cockpit.
Where do you apply the silicone spray? is it generally around the mechanism or just at the tensioning wheel?

 

[trapezeartist]

Mmmm, that humble pie tastes good. Yes, the handbook on the boat did indeed include instructions on belt tensioning. Unfortunately the pdf version I had on my computer at home didn't. I was assuming they were both the same.

I've now dismantled it all and had a look. On an old-fashioned skinny wheel pedestal it would be possible to adjust the belt in situ but on mine the adjusting screw is close up against the binnacle assembly. I adjusted the belt and re-assembled it all, but I found it is so horribly noisy that I will dismantle it again to put some dry lube on it in the hope that it will quieten the rollers. I'm not wildly confident in the adjusting process because I could only get on one or two clicks before it all locked solid, yet it was slipping very badly before. I'll find out next weekend if I have solved everything.

Thanks to all for their contributions.

 

[jwilson]

the only place I put McLube is on the inner bearing surfaces of the two small - maybe 30mm dia - plastic rollers. Friction there is what seems to cause the lever to disengage itself. Note that this is contrary to the makers instructions not to lubricate anything - do at your own risk. If the design had decent low-friction bearings there instead of two bits of moulded plastic rubbing against each other it would be greatly improved. Add a slightly better cam tension adjustment, and it might even be quite a good product for what it is - a low cost alternative to an inboard ram type drive.

 

[trapezeartist]

.... I'm not wildly confident in the adjusting process because I could only get on one or two clicks before it all locked solid, yet it was slipping very badly before. I'll find out next weekend if I have solved everything.

Thanks to all for their contributions.

As you can see from the dates, I have been without my autopilot for over 6 months. I have taken it off, cleaned it, adjusted it and fiddled with it numerous times without success. Finally last weekend, I took the cover off and reassembled it so I could see the innards working (or not working, in my case). At this point I discovered that the problem wasn't belt slip but the motor pinion wasn't moving when the motor was. A further strip-down and I found that the spindle was rotating inside the plastic pinion. So I have just ordered a new pinion from Raymarine and I have high hopes that that will finally cure the problem.

 

[Avalon]

My advice to anyone with a 4000 drive unit would be to scrap it, and fit a 3000 drive instead. You can often get them cheaply on Ebay. Buy two if you can and carry one as a spare. You will probably not need it, but if you do the drive can be swapped in minutes. Here is one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Autohelm-...tEquipment_Accessories_SM&hash=item417ea3c671

You can use it with your 4000 head unit and this will give you a robust and reliable wheel drive.

The 4000 drive is a poorly designed and engineered piece of kit and a sad triumph of form over function.

 

[trapezeartist]

I ordered the new pinion yesterday afternoon and it came in the post this morning. PDQ, though with a charge of sick squid for P&P it jolly well should be quick.

The new pinion is now fitted, with a little loctite to help it along. (May or may not help, but can't do any harm.) I'm giving the loctite a few hours to cure before final tightening up of everything and adjusting the belt. Then down to the boat to fit it all.

I agree that the whole Wheelpilot is a bit unsatisfactory but I certainly wouldn't swap it for a much older model. If I were ever to throw it out, I'd change to an underdeck ram.

 

[Mrnotming]

Well done so far Trapezeartist,
when my 4000+ emits a shriek, its the little plastic (some bronze) clusters of pinions inside the gearbox.I was given a few spare ones by my local dealer many years ago and replacing any toothless ones repairs the drive in my case.
Its an ornament now as I brewed up an octopus cable drive (shortened cable in my case 48" no bends) which has an inbuilt rudder reference unit and is driven by the existing 4000+ head unit.This unit has a radiospares obtainable motor.Tim Bell of Octopus Europe was most helpful.The 4000+ drive is still on the wheel but I think I shall remove it soon whilst it is not too bedraggled.

 

[trapezeartist]

I refitted the autopilot and found it still didn't work. I had removed the motor from the end of the gearbox and when I screwed it back on that caused another problem. I had forgotten about this thread so started another one (http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?392815-Raymarine-Wheel-Pilot&highlight= which tells the rest of the tale.

Paulclan, that's interesting that you were able to get hold of replacement gears. Raymarine told me they were not available.