When our Autohelm 4000 Autopilot is in control of the boat and our Adler Barbour Super cold machine is starting it's cooling cycle, the Autohelm display start flashing, showing: 4001 and the autopilot disengage itself. The boat always turn to the right by 20 to 30 deg. The pilot is now in Stand by mode. One push on the Auto button will set the Autopilot back on track for anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes, until the Adler Barbour start a new cooling cycle. It took us several weeks to find out what was the problem with the Autopilot, but finally made the association with the fridge. My electrical expertise is minimal but I have checked the wiring for size and all connections, everything is OK. Electronic and Fridge are on separate and distant cuircuit breakers in the panel. House battery are new (4 group 31 with more than 450 amps) and this situation occurs even if batteries are fully charged and when the motor is running. The fluxgate compass is 8 feet away from the compresor. Any help would be greatly apreciated.
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Voltage drop
The starting current for the refrigerator can be quite high. If the wiring to the frdge is not big enough, it will pull down the voltage to the point that it will knock the Autohelm loopy. The problem may well be on the grounding side of either the fridge or the Autohelm. Check the grounds.
The starting current for the refrigerator can be quite high. If the wiring to the frdge is not big enough, it will pull down the voltage to the point that it will knock the Autohelm loopy. The problem may well be on the grounding side of either the fridge or the Autohelm. Check the grounds.
Voltage Drop
This has to be some type of voltage drop. The supply voltage to the control head is dropping very intermittently below 10V and the pilot is restarting. That is why you are seeing the 4001 as if you are just switching it on. This might be a bad ground. I am sure you will see evidence of it if you can monitor the voltage when the compressor is switching on. Connecting the autopilot to an independent power source would also confirm this suspicion and eliminate any possibility of it being related to the compass as you had suggested.
This has to be some type of voltage drop. The supply voltage to the control head is dropping very intermittently below 10V and the pilot is restarting. That is why you are seeing the 4001 as if you are just switching it on. This might be a bad ground. I am sure you will see evidence of it if you can monitor the voltage when the compressor is switching on. Connecting the autopilot to an independent power source would also confirm this suspicion and eliminate any possibility of it being related to the compass as you had suggested.
Motor Current
The conductor size on a motor circuit should be larger than the motors continuous current draw. Figure about 3.5 times more current to start the motor than continuous operation - that's what is used for submirsible pumps on water systems. The conductor length is round-trip from the device to the battery, not just the one-way distance or the distance from the panel, and all the connections need to be really good. If the conductors are not tin plated (marine grade) then they could be oxidized/corroded. A poor connector somewhere could be a problem but so could be the circuit conductors. To measure the transient startup voltage one would probably need an oscilloscope.
The conductor size on a motor circuit should be larger than the motors continuous current draw. Figure about 3.5 times more current to start the motor than continuous operation - that's what is used for submirsible pumps on water systems. The conductor length is round-trip from the device to the battery, not just the one-way distance or the distance from the panel, and all the connections need to be really good. If the conductors are not tin plated (marine grade) then they could be oxidized/corroded. A poor connector somewhere could be a problem but so could be the circuit conductors. To measure the transient startup voltage one would probably need an oscilloscope.
So Isolate Autohelm from Refridge
If you run the two off different batteries . . . you can eliminate the problem.
If you run the two off different batteries . . . you can eliminate the problem.
Find the source
The voltage drop that is causing the problem is at the circuit braeker panel. The size of the wire to the cold machine does not matter. The circuit breaker panel should not have more than a 1% drop from the battery, .12 volts for a 12 volt battery reading. Get a volt meter and set it to the 2 volt scale. Turn on all the DC loads connected to the panel. Measure from the battery to the panel bus. Measure from the battery - to the panel - bus. The reading should be the same, and be less than .1 volts. If you have higher reading, measure from the battery to each terminal point, and find out where the reading increases. Unless the wire to the panel is undersized, the problem is likely to be a bad connection. You can also get a drop across a partially melted fuse, or a breaker with bad contacts. s/v Nancy Ross '77H30
The voltage drop that is causing the problem is at the circuit braeker panel. The size of the wire to the cold machine does not matter. The circuit breaker panel should not have more than a 1% drop from the battery, .12 volts for a 12 volt battery reading. Get a volt meter and set it to the 2 volt scale. Turn on all the DC loads connected to the panel. Measure from the battery to the panel bus. Measure from the battery - to the panel - bus. The reading should be the same, and be less than .1 volts. If you have higher reading, measure from the battery to each terminal point, and find out where the reading increases. Unless the wire to the panel is undersized, the problem is likely to be a bad connection. You can also get a drop across a partially melted fuse, or a breaker with bad contacts. s/v Nancy Ross '77H30
I had this problem using SIdeband radio
I soon learned to run the moter using the Sideband as the voltage drop would disengage the autopilot (3000) and the boat would soon start to get sideways to the waves. Luckily I had inside steering!
I soon learned to run the moter using the Sideband as the voltage drop would disengage the autopilot (3000) and the boat would soon start to get sideways to the waves. Luckily I had inside steering!
Voltage Drop
I saw this on an other bulletin board. Thought I would share it, hope the author, Phill Klein, doesn't object. I had all sorts of problems with my 12v system until I replaced the negative wire leading from the battery to the negative buss bar on the panel and soldered the connections on this wire. It seems that the crimp connections were not affording good conductivity and I was getting severe voltage drops under loaded conditions. Fixing the negative also solved the problem of my autopilot quitting on me at intermittent intervals. I have a feeling that the autopilot used to shut down when the reefer started up. With the new #10 soldered negative connection, everything is much better. I didn't have to mess around with the heavier starter cable since the engine always started easily except when doing a quick restart of a very hot engine.
I saw this on an other bulletin board. Thought I would share it, hope the author, Phill Klein, doesn't object. I had all sorts of problems with my 12v system until I replaced the negative wire leading from the battery to the negative buss bar on the panel and soldered the connections on this wire. It seems that the crimp connections were not affording good conductivity and I was getting severe voltage drops under loaded conditions. Fixing the negative also solved the problem of my autopilot quitting on me at intermittent intervals. I have a feeling that the autopilot used to shut down when the reefer started up. With the new #10 soldered negative connection, everything is much better. I didn't have to mess around with the heavier starter cable since the engine always started easily except when doing a quick restart of a very hot engine.
No solder joints
Solder joints are NOT flexible, and will cause the wire to break if there is any movement.
Solder joints are NOT flexible, and will cause the wire to break if there is any movement.
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