Autopilot 3000 drives me in circles

[Les Murray]

Bill,I have an old Autopilot 3000 that came with my boat ('86 Catalina 36). I believe it is original to the boat. Anyway, when I first used the autopilot at the beginning of the season, it worked great. Now, however, it does not hold course and instead wanders off track. Using the /- keys just cause the helm to turn in that direction and hold that level of turn, not correct the course. There is no screen on this model, just a red LED indicator that flashes all the time.I assume that the compass needs to be realigned. What is the proceedure on this model? I have been told to put in on standby, make three large circles (more than 2 minutes per circle), then reengage the autopilot on a northerly heading. The manual makes no reference to how to align the AP. Can you help me out? Is it even worth it to bother with this or should I just get a new ST4000?Thanks,Les Murrays/v Ceilidh86 C-36 #560

 

[Bill]

I've got one

Les, at the risk of stating the obvious, if the red LED is flashing all the time, the Autohelm is not controlling your helm--it's in standby. At least that's what it means on my Autohelm 3000. Mine jumped to standby all the time on account of inadequate power to the unit. Good luck with it.

 

[Bill Boudreau]

Sounds like a compass problem

If the autohelm 3000 is wandering off course (not correcting) when switched to auto, and it continues to wander when you make a course corrections in the direction you commanded, then this would indicate a problem with its internal compass. It is only steering by its compass and has not other inputs. When it sees the compass going to the left it should try and correct to the right. This older autopilot does not have a heading display to confirm this. If it did, I would expect you to have the heading fixed at one number. When you are making a course correction to starboard, it never realizes that the new heading has been reached. This older AH3000 does not have a linearization and alignment procedure like the newer ones. Unfortunately, you will have to have a technician take a look at the autopilot for you. Visit www.raymarine.com for a complete list of their dealers and service contact information.

 

[Dakota Jim Russell]

Contact Ray Marine

Why not just ship it back to Ray Marine (formerly Ratheon) and have them check it. I think you will find that it won't cost anything until you authorize them to fix it.They have a guest forum on this website now . . . why not drop a note to them with this question.

 

[Jim WIllis]

I once had that problem

THe Autohelm 3000 is a great workhorse and got me all the way fron SF to HI.However, I do remember having the "circling" problem once in the Esturary betwen Oakland and Alameda.I took the unit to be checked over and there was nothing wrong. Eventually, it turned out that I had set the "sea state" setting wrong. I guess if it is rough the correction to the wheel has to be more. The estuary is smooth. You can see this just manually, moving the compass part of teh unit back and forth. In smooth water, I suppose that the motion of the rudder is so severe that you think the boat is about to circle.Just a suggestion!Jim Willis