ST2000 tiller pilot dead?

[mattonthesea]

Been one of those days. The tiller pilot got upset with a light wind and a sloppy swell, couldn't keep up with the constant change of course and have up the ghost. I can't find anything in the manual to help. Wondering if an electrical bottom here knows of there is a way of reviving it? Happy taking it apart but wanted to ask here before I do so.

TIA

 

[ridgy]

Is it definitely dead? Have you got 12.5V + at the socket to eliminate fuse, wiring, or battery issues?

 

[bikedaft]

I thought ours was dead, 12.5V at the supply - but the cables were rotten and would not allow sufficient amps to flow

 

[Plum]

Been one of those days. The tiller pilot got upset with a light wind and a sloppy swell, couldn't keep up with the constant change of course and have up the ghost. I can't find anything in the manual to help. Wondering if an electrical bottom here knows of there is a way of reviving it? Happy taking it apart but wanted to ask here before I do so.

TIA

If you have not already got one, here is the service manual Autohelm st1 & 2000 service manual.pdf

In my limited experience they either fail due to a bad 12v supply as others said, or due to water ingress.

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[garymalmgren]

This is how Simon deals with that problem.

 

[LittleSister]

In my limited experience they either fail due to a bad 12v supply as others said, or due to water ingress.

I've had really good service from various Autohelm tiller pilots over the years, and was surprised when I read on here some years ago of numerous others having water ingress problems. It was only after that the one of mine failed early into a rainy trip, leaving me on the helm for about 15 hours (had to divert part way through shorter planned trip from France straight to home port because of newly forecast adverse weather approaching).

Following advice on here I put the Autohelm in the airing cupboard for a week or two, and its been right as, er, rain ever since.

 

[Refueler]

I've had really good service from various Autohelm tiller pilots over the years, and was surprised when I read on here some years ago of numerous others having water ingress problems. It was only after that the one of mine failed early into a rainy trip, leaving me on the helm for about 15 hours (had to divert part way through shorter planned trip straight to home port because of newly forecast adverse weather approaching).

Following advice on here I put the Autohelm in the airing cupboard for a week or two, and its been right as, er, rain ever since.

I have the older Nautech AH800 and AH1000 .. both have provided sterling service for so many years that I wonder if they will ever fail !! I did have a 'pot' blow on the 1000 about 5 yrs or so ago ... I got hold of a Spares / Repair failed unit of eBay and pal of mine diagnosed / swapped out the 'pot' and all's been great since.

They have been out in the rain .. and never glitched at all .... but I did have a problem occasionally with the wired remote ... it did not like the heat of summer and sit in the sun. Also the multi-pin socket they used failed .. so my pal fitted a Belgen (?) socket / plug to both units and again - all good.

My 38 had the 2000 arm + remote compass unit ... works well - but I started using my 1000 on the boat as its much easier to use - just press button instead of the compass dial on the 2000. Fact that the 38 is bigger than the stated range of the 1000 doesn't seem to mean any lack of performance ...

 

[Refueler]

When anyone asks me about repairs to these older AH / ST units - I answer by suggesting buying a Spares / Repair unit ... as dealers now really don't want to have them on their bench ... and costs of their service far outstrips buying another unit !

When the pot failed on my 1000 - I did call Dealer - who referred me back to RM ... who wanted 70 quid deposit before I could send it to them ... that was after they initially said they were not interested to look.

 

[WoodyP]

If you have not already got one, here is the service manual Autohelm st1 & 2000 service manual.pdf

In my limited experience they either fail due to a bad 12v supply as others said, or due to water ingress.

www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

Thanks for that. I have a unit with a dodgy display as a spare which doesn't really matter as I tend to set the course from the boats compass but I think I should be able to get full functionality now.

 

[mattonthesea]

No it's not the power supply. It gave out a little quiet note before giving up. Thanks for the manual. I'll have a butchers and see if there's anything I can do

 

[mattonthesea]

The manual didn't help.
However, I took it apart and no apparent damage to circuits. Then I shorted all the capacitors and went to test for internal power supply. As I plugged it in it fired up as normal!

 

[LittleSister]

The manual didn't help.
However, I took it apart and no apparent damage to circuits. Then I shorted all the capacitors and went to test for internal power supply. As I plugged it in it fired up as normal!

Ah, typical of all things mechanical and electrical - attention-seeking behaviour!

 

[Daverw]

Have you got some sort of dry joint on the board?

 

[ProDave]

Or badly corroded contacts in the plug? Perhaps all it needed was a good wiggle?

 

[mattonthesea]

Or badly corroded contacts in the plug? Perhaps all it needed was a good wiggle?

Most likely secondary cause. Primary was inability to cope with yawing

 

[mattonthesea]

The saga continues. Today it worked fine for an hour and then started its little whine alarm again. Turned off, turned on and worked. Repeat. Sometimes pressing the Standby button reset it.

I wonder: the plug and socket are both slightly corroded and it has recently not liked being tightened up but adjusted without fixing. Secondly, the PO ran speaker type flex for power. If this has resulted in low voltage or intermittent power, then would this cause this sort of problem?

Tomorrow I will clean everything up and run power directly from the battery. But in the meantime so any electrical engineers have any other ideas?

TIA

M

 

[Daverw]

I recall from when I had one the power supply is critical and cable sizing to stop voltage drop important

 

[Buck Turgidson]

My TP32 gave up last month. Opened it up for the first time as it’s out of warranty now. Rusted to hell. They offered me a discount on a new one but I’m going to try something different. Ordered a NAC-2 and a pcnautic ram.

 

[littledancersadhu]

Been one of those days. The tiller pilot got upset with a light wind and a sloppy swell, couldn't keep up with the constant change of course and have up the ghost. I can't find anything in the manual to help. Wondering if an electrical bottom here knows of there is a way of reviving it? Happy taking it apart but wanted to ask here before I do so.

TIA

I have a tiller pilot 100 and am on my 3rd one, quite easy to take apart and diagnose.
check
Belt condition.
PCB for obvious blown components.
12v at the PCB
Main plug condition and connection.
Main female plug (in BOAT) condition and connection 12v and bright copper cable NOT BLACK,
Spacer/worm drive lubricated that runs up the pushrod/pipe.unscrew the endcap off and put oil down there.

 

[mattonthesea]

I have a tiller pilot 100 and am on my 3rd one, quite easy to take apart and diagnose.
check
Belt condition.
PCB for obvious blown components.
12v at the PCB
Main plug condition and connection.
Main female plug (in BOAT) condition and connection 12v and bright copper cable NOT BLACK,
Spacer/worm drive lubricated that runs up the pushrod/pipe.unscrew the endcap off and put oil down there.

Thanks, yes taken apart many times. Cleaned the boards with a mild acetic acid solution around any corroded areas and the plugs and everything has worked fine ever since.

Back story: st2000 started misbehaving 3 years ago. Tried to clean and reset but to no avail. Bought a 1000 and with the instructions from a member of this parish (forgotten who but thanks) placed the new board in the2000 and vice versa.

Now, with all this cleaning we have two working tiller pilots.
Luxury

M