Instrumentation Problem

[Nodak7]

We have a Raymarine Electronics pack on my 2006 Hunter H41DS. It consists of an E120 and E80 MFD with the ST70 Instrument suite (speed, depth, wind and auto pilot). We just returned from an extended trip and had begun to experience some problems that I cannot identify the cause of. The first being that we would lose our speed indication. The numbers on the ST70 speed (and MFD’s) would show “-----“. The only way to get them back was to shut it all down and restart it. Then it would work fine for a while (sometimes 2 hours and sometimes just a few minutes). Additionally sometimes the Apparent Wind Speed would continue to function and at other times it would not. As the trip progressed we began to notice that the wind indication was not functioning properly either. Are these problems related? I am unsure where to begin to trouble shoot the problems. I did look at the wires to make sure none where loose and the communication lights were flashing when the system was functioning properly. Additionally, we just recently had a problem with the depth indication and had to replace the Pod for that but it worked the whole time. Has anyone had issues like this that can help me with troubleshooting the system. Since it is intermittent it is difficult to diagnose. I have sent this in to the Raymarine Customer support but thought maybe someone else might have had this same issue.

 

[navigator97]

I would suspect connector contacts that have intermittent contact. Unplug all connectors and clean all contacts and re-seat them.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Sequitur reported just that. Scroll down for photos: http://www.sailblogs.com/member/sequitur/?xjMsgID=229889

 

[Rick486]

We have a Raymarine Electronics pack on my 2006 Hunter H41DS. It consists of an E120 and E80 MFD with the ST70 Instrument suite (speed, depth, wind and auto pilot). We just returned from an extended trip and had begun to experience some problems that I cannot identify the cause of. The first being that we would lose our speed indication. The numbers on the ST70 speed (and MFD’s) would show “-----“. The only way to get them back was to shut it all down and restart it. Then it would work fine for a while (sometimes 2 hours and sometimes just a few minutes). Additionally sometimes the Apparent Wind Speed would continue to function and at other times it would not. As the trip progressed we began to notice that the wind indication was not functioning properly either. Are these problems related? I am unsure where to begin to trouble shoot the problems. I did look at the wires to make sure none where loose and the communication lights were flashing when the system was functioning properly. Additionally, we just recently had a problem with the depth indication and had to replace the Pod for that but it worked the whole time. Has anyone had issues like this that can help me with troubleshooting the system. Since it is intermittent it is difficult to diagnose. I have sent this in to the Raymarine Customer support but thought maybe someone else might have had this same issue.

I have the C120, smart pilot, and ST 60's. My wind instrument exhibits similar behavior fairly often. What happens is the instrument reads either true or apparent indications not close to reality, like on the starboard side when the wind is obviously to port. I correct this by going to "Dealer Calibration" on the wind instrument and selecting "Factory Defaults". This fixes the problem until the next time.
I often lose the speed indication but that is known to be growth jamming the paddle wheel. I fix that on my next swim. Also be aware that if you lose speed through the water you lose true wind also since it appears that boat speed is used to calculate true wind speed. In that case the wind instrument will display the same speed and direction for apparent and true. I guess my question is are you displaying true wind or apparent wind on the data bar in the MFD? If you are displaying true wind and you lose boat speed, maybe the MFD just scratches it's head and displays the bars you see.

 

[Nodak7]

I have the C120, smart pilot, and ST 60's. My wind instrument exhibits similar behavior fairly often. What happens is the instrument reads either true or apparent indications not close to reality, like on the starboard side when the wind is obviously to port. I correct this by going to "Dealer Calibration" on the wind instrument and selecting "Factory Defaults". This fixes the problem until the next time.
I often lose the speed indication but that is known to be growth jamming the paddle wheel. I fix that on my next swim. Also be aware that if you lose speed through the water you lose true wind also since it appears that boat speed is used to calculate true wind speed. In that case the wind instrument will display the same speed and direction for apparent and true. I guess my question is are you displaying true wind or apparent wind on the data bar in the MFD? If you are displaying true wind and you lose boat speed, maybe the MFD just scratches it's head and displays the bars you see.

Rick, my wind instrument does indeed display the symptoms that you are experiencing. However there are times when the AWS does continue to read on the MFD and the wind instrument. When the boat speed it showing "-----". Which surprises me because the boat speed is part of that calculation. Eventually it will stop reading as well. When the system is "reset" (turned off and on) everything seems to return. I have not tried to recalibrate the wind instrument because once it is reset everything seems to be correct.

As far as the speed I, at first, thought it was a "weed" problem but I pulled the instrument from the thru hull and it appeared to be perfectly OK. The wheel spun freely.
Yesterday I went back to the boat and pulled all the instruments in the binnacle to see if there were any loose connections. I found one suspicious connection but not certain if it would cause my problem. I also checked the connections down below and found none that I thought would have caused this issue. Still waiting to hear from Raymarine.