ST1000 autohelm problem

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brownsox

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It worked fine last week. It's 14 years old. Today it kept reverting to C (standby). It flashes 1000 then goes onto standby. Thought it was maybe a bad connection, brief power interruption, found one loose wire in plug and fixed it, but problem not solved. We're in France (St Maxime, Med). Raymarine promised to ring back but haven't. Main issue - is it fixable or do we have to replace it? Would a new one fit ok? Don't want to waste too much time. Many thanks for any thoughts.
 
It is well out of warranty so I guess Raymarine will be looking for a local agent to effect a repair. I would open it up and have a ook to see if there is anything obviously wrong inside - dodgy connection etc. If it has been wet recently then that may be the problem - again, open it up and let the air get to any moisture. It has to be worth a try !.
 
Still sounds like a poor connection on power or ground. Either at the plug/socket for the tiller pilot or further back in the wiring - check fuses and their holders for corrosion (in-line fuse holders especially).

Andy

P.S. I assume that the battery is fully charged?
 
The St1000 and ST2000 can suffer from water ingress, if it gets to the internal circuit board you will have problems. My ST2000 stopped working in the Scilly Islands this summer. I took the circuit board out and dried it in front of a hot air stream (ebersbacher) and it worked again, only to quit completely a few days later (continuous alarm when plugged in). Raymarine at first referred me to the dealer network, then told me the circuit boards were on back order, with 15 to 20 people waiting . I picked a board up from Colm in Dunmast in Crosshaven, Cork and all was well. The damp problem is well known, and posters here have recommended making up a waterproof sleeve to keep the autopilot dry. Water can get in at the keyboard or can be pulled in by the movement of the steering rod, both near the circuit board. Colm recommended vaseline on the seal and rod, which I have done, and I will make up a canvas sleeve this winter. Easy enough to open and could be worth your while seeing if you can dry it out. Raymarine quoted £120 plus VAT for the board, plus post, and it was Euro140 in Cork.

Good luck
 
brownsox, if it is 14 years old I would bin it and buy another. I rate the autohelm as being one of the most important bits of kit on board, it saves the crew from getting totally knackered which is important on a long trip. If necessary buy it on a credit card and pay for it over 12 months.
 
I had a similar problem with my ST4000 - It was a faulty circuit breaker causing a voltage drop in the power supply. Suggest you try powering it with a set of jump leads direct from a good battery to confirm the power supply is not at fault.
 
mine too! Damp inside the ain body and corrosion in the back of the plug. Dried it all out and a bit of TLC on the plug and the back of the power socket. Back in business.
 
MrCramp said:
brownsox, if it is 14 years old I would bin it and buy another. I rate the autohelm as being one of the most important bits of kit on board, it saves the crew from getting totally knackered which is important on a long trip. If necessary buy it on a credit card and pay for it over 12 months.
Click to expand...

So what would you sentence my antique AH1000 and AH800 to then ? They being the fore-runners of the ST models ?

The most likely fault of this guys is damp has got in. If it works then faults out to STBY - then it's basically a working machine with intermittent fault - damp ...

Open up ... dry it off and close up again. I'm not in favour of wrapping the machine up in sleeve or film - you can in fact lock moisture in that way. My Lab Technician who 'dried' mine last time used vaseline around the case seal and that seems to have done the trick ... both my 800 and 1000's have been out in torrential rain etc. - with no problem since. AH / Raymarine are specific about not lubricating the push rod, they advise to keep it 'dry' to stop it dragging moisture / crud in with the lubricant.
 
Similar problem with a Autohelm (predecessor to yours), halfway over the North Sea, in the middle of the night. Ours just stopped working - no warning, and crash-gybed us, throwing me across the cockpit - just bruising and shock, luckily. It then worked again, and failed at random intervals. Like others said, it was caused by damp, but ours was probably 15 years old. We replaced it with a similar model to yours.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you can trust it. If you need to use an autohelm, you need to be able to trust it. If you are standing over it, expecting it to fail, then you might as well helm yourself - done that, got the bruises to prove it!

Thanks for posting this, though. We'll be very careful with our new one in rain, and try the vaseline treatment.
 
As well as greasing the body seal on my ST 2000+ I have had made a loose canvas cover with plastic window to see and operate the digits with. This I use when there is risk of a green one coming in. It stops most of the wet and yet still enables the Tiller pilot to breathe.
Careful not to get any vaseline, grease or other lubricants on the drive band inside.
I did put a thin smear of grease on the push rod of mine. If it keeps water out it should also seal out other dirt I reckon.
If you look at the top end of the main fixing pin where it swivels in the main body of the tiller pilot, you will see that this is a possible area for water ingress too. I put a plug of grease up there. Fingers crossed it has got me through almost 2 seasons since Raymarine replaced it near the end of the first ones warranty, and with due respect they were very helpful. I was advised by them that my boat was on the weight/size limit for the ST2000 capability, and since then I've used the Monitor as soon as I can and especially not the ST in rolling conditions where there is a risk of weather healm.
 
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