Servicing/repairing Raymarine Autohelm ST2000

[webcraft]

.
I asked before about the Ebay fixed price ads for this . . . was warned off.

My ST2000 exhibits a variety of faults - mostly either going onto standby or suddenly extending all the way.

Is there anywhere reliable that I could send it to to have it assessed and a repair quoted for?

Otherwise I may have to just bite the bullet and buy a TP22

- W

 

[peteK]

Going in to standby can be caused by faulty power supply.

 

[vic008]

Simple enough to open yourself and have a look for anything out of place.Lots on here about faulty autohelms and how to repair

 

[Channel Sailor]

As Peter said, one very common fault is poor connections in the power supply, even a dying battery.

 

[Sealong]

I have this problem too.
I carried out these tests to find out if the malfunction was due to a connection problem, something inside the unit itself, too much friction in the rudder bearings or a combination of some of these.

I think the following logic is correct.

1) Disconnect the autohelm from the tiller, hold it level in your hand and go through the process of switching it on.
With the autohelm in your hand move around a bit (simulating going off course) and watch the response of the rod. Does it compensate normally ?
If not, then there is either a problem with the unit or with the connection to it (do Test 3 to determine which).
If it does compensate normally, there is likely to be too much stiffness in your rudder bearings and possibly a connection problem too (do Test 2). So, when the unit is connected to the tiller the current drain is large and this causes a drop in the supply voltage and the unit will not function correctly.

2) If you have a shore power connection, then hook that up as this will guarantee a healthy voltage across the autohelm unit.
Now try this test:
Connect the autohelm to the tiller and move the boat around a bit with the mooring ropes. Does it compensate normally ?
If No, then the rudder bearings are likely to be too stiff;
If Yes, then it is likely to be a connection problem.

3) Repeat Test 1 with the shore power connected and as before with the autohelm in your hand move around.
If it now works normally, then the problem is in the connection.
If it still does not, then the problem is inside the unit.