B & G Zeus 3 intermittently powering down

Nov 24, 2010
91
Seafarer 26 Ruskin
I have NMEA 183, NMEA 2000, and Seatalk all wired together. All of a sudden it just lowers down Which of course has my auto pilot loose Where it is going. Any idea? I checked the software and it is up to date.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,321
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Check all the connections to make certain they are good.

A drop in voltage can cause electronics to power down. This an happen if there is a sudden increase in the load as well as if the batteries are old or in a low SOC.

You can contact B&G tech support, but they will probably blame it on the Seatakbridge.
 
Nov 24, 2010
91
Seafarer 26 Ruskin
Check all the connections to make certain they are good.

A drop in voltage can cause electronics to power down. This an happen if there is a sudden increase in the load as well as if the batteries are old or in a low SOC.

You can contact B&G tech support, but they will probably blame it on the Seatakbridge.
Thanks. Batteries are fairly new and solar keeps them up. I am concerned with the converted seatalk that provides power and the NMEA 2000 bridge that only allows one power source. Of course it all works most of the time. I also have every,thing wired to a single 15amp breaker but they are only pulling 3 amps.
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,321
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
The voltage drop can be the result of seemingly random events. For example the AP engages at the same time the refrigerator starts up, while some transmits on the VHF. Or if the batteries are small like Group 24s without much reserve capacity. Does this happen more towards the end of a sail or at the beginning? How large are the solar panels? When the AP motor engages the current draw will be much higher, I’d guess more like 7 amps. Those 7 amps will be intermittent but could be enough to drop the voltage low enough to cause the problem.
 
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Nov 24, 2010
91
Seafarer 26 Ruskin
Hey,

Power TO the Zeus should be provided on the dedicated power port. The Zeus does not get power from the NMEA 2000 bus.

View attachment 199305
Thanks. I am going to move the power for the Zeus to it’s own connection rather then shared with all the other instruments and see what happens. The only other thing I can think of is overheating, but it does power back on.
 
Nov 24, 2010
91
Seafarer 26 Ruskin
Thanks for the responses. I am going to move power to a dedicated breaker and see if this gets resolved.
 
May 8, 2016
1
Hunter Passage 420 Whangaroa
I have NMEA 183, NMEA 2000, and Seatalk all wired together. All of a sudden it just lowers down Which of course has my auto pilot loose Where it is going. Any idea? I checked the software and it is up to date.
Hi. This has started happening to me as well. I have rewired the power supply and tested the voltage and there is no evidence of a voltage drop. I have a Triton 2 on the same circuit that does not power down when the zeus3 does. Did you find out what was causing this?
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,044
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Hey,

Power TO the Zeus should be provided on the dedicated power port. The Zeus does not get power from the NMEA 2000 bus.
Absolutely correct ... instructions are abundantly clear about this. The autopilot computer should also have its own power lead. There should be separate power leads for the NMEA 2000 network that has the instruments, a separate lead for the Zeus, and a separate lead for the autopilot. I put each of these 3 leads on a separate breaker switch on the panel. My VHF power lead is on the same breaker with the Zeus because I can independently turn them on and off at the instrument buttons.
 
Jan 2, 2023
1
Lagoon 52F Delaware
Hi. This has started happening to me as well. I have rewired the power supply and tested the voltage and there is no evidence of a voltage drop. I have a Triton 2 on the same circuit that does not power down when the zeus3 does. Did you find out what was causing this?
I have experience now with 2 of these MFDs going bad (both Zeus3 Glass Helm 16 - one was on a charter boat). In addition to the autopilot dying often enough for no reason (with errors like “No active autopilot control unit,” “AP Heading data missing,” “AP Rudder data missing,” “No autopilot computer"), the other symptom was constantly getting a "Low CAN bus voltage" error on the screen. The Navico technician spent weeks trying to figure out the problems and it turned out the MFD was bad (i.e., it wasn't a power connection problem). Navico replaced it with a 3S and haven't had a problem since.