My new-to-me boat, an Elite 324, has an Autohelm 4000 autopilot. On sea trial it performed fine for a brief test. In real sailing, it will sometimes stop steering, and need to be set to standby and back to auto to resume functioning. In one known situation, when the electric spotlight is turned on, that will cause it every time, but it also happens other times with no other electronics being run. Any suggestions where to start to fix that? Skip
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Electrical problems
It sounds to me that you are having electrical problems. To be exact a voltage drop at the auto helm. You need to check that the size wire leading to the unit is of adequate size. If that is okay you need to check for Poor or partially broken connections. Corrosion at a connection, broken or frayed wires, If the problem can't be found at the connections, I have found old wire to be corroded inside the shield. The wire will appear dark or black in color. The way I would start would be to check the voltage at the auto pilot with the auto pilot on and start some electrical items and see if you have a voltage drop. If you do, it appears that you do have a voltage drop resulting in a loss of auto pilot. If there is no significant voltage drop, the auto pilot itself could be malfunctioning. You would need to send it in for repair. Hope this helps. Sorry for rambling on, It's been a hard day. Don
It sounds to me that you are having electrical problems. To be exact a voltage drop at the auto helm. You need to check that the size wire leading to the unit is of adequate size. If that is okay you need to check for Poor or partially broken connections. Corrosion at a connection, broken or frayed wires, If the problem can't be found at the connections, I have found old wire to be corroded inside the shield. The wire will appear dark or black in color. The way I would start would be to check the voltage at the auto pilot with the auto pilot on and start some electrical items and see if you have a voltage drop. If you do, it appears that you do have a voltage drop resulting in a loss of auto pilot. If there is no significant voltage drop, the auto pilot itself could be malfunctioning. You would need to send it in for repair. Hope this helps. Sorry for rambling on, It's been a hard day. Don
Agree w/ Low Voltage
I agree with the low voltage being the likely culprit and checking the things Don mentioned should be the first things on the list. What a lot of people don't realize is most new boats are shipped with minimal batteries, battery cables, and conductors to the main pannel. Many manufacturers used un-tined non-marine grade wires which quickly degrade with time. By the time the boat is equipped with refrigeration, forced air heat, etc., there is a lot of demand on the electrical system over wires which were small to begin with and have become old and corroded. I had a problem with starting - the motor cranked over slowly - it was the engine to battery ground wire, bad terminal and automotive (un-tined) wiring. I had an Autohelm problem where it would unexpectedly go into a hard-over turn, problem was a slightly loose screw with the hot jumper wire from the breaker bank it was wired to to the main pannel breaker switch. Another problem that caused this was the inverter - whenever it kicked on the Autohelm went hard-over. From what you're describing, though, it really sounds like low voltage: corroded conductors or terminals, undersized wires, low battery voltage, etc. Because it's really easy to check for loose connections this is the first thing I'd check.
I agree with the low voltage being the likely culprit and checking the things Don mentioned should be the first things on the list. What a lot of people don't realize is most new boats are shipped with minimal batteries, battery cables, and conductors to the main pannel. Many manufacturers used un-tined non-marine grade wires which quickly degrade with time. By the time the boat is equipped with refrigeration, forced air heat, etc., there is a lot of demand on the electrical system over wires which were small to begin with and have become old and corroded. I had a problem with starting - the motor cranked over slowly - it was the engine to battery ground wire, bad terminal and automotive (un-tined) wiring. I had an Autohelm problem where it would unexpectedly go into a hard-over turn, problem was a slightly loose screw with the hot jumper wire from the breaker bank it was wired to to the main pannel breaker switch. Another problem that caused this was the inverter - whenever it kicked on the Autohelm went hard-over. From what you're describing, though, it really sounds like low voltage: corroded conductors or terminals, undersized wires, low battery voltage, etc. Because it's really easy to check for loose connections this is the first thing I'd check.
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