Navico WP300CX slipping?

[Rafi]

I just got back from a long trip with my H31 and experienced problems with the WP300CX autohelm which was working fine for over 2 years now. It did not hold the course, and it seems to me that the clutch is slipping (wheel turns almost freely with autohelm on & clutch engaged). Does this model has a belt that can/need to be replaced? I tried to adjust the belt tension (screw under the clutch lever) but it did not help. Does anybody have a clue? Where can I get replacement parts for it?

 

[R. Young]

Yes, it does have a belt

When you engage the lever, you are connecting the wheel to the wp300 motor turning mechanism via the internal belt. You can access the internals by disassembling the outer cover and the whole internal will be exposed. Its a fairly simply layout and you should be able to spot the problem by inspection - if its free moving as you describe then it is most likely a broken belt, or the "belt engagement" is not engaging. A new belt will run you about 60-70 bucks from SIMRAD. One Caveat: Putting things back requires some dexterity - for what its worth I know this from replacing the belt 2 years ago when it started to "thread" apart.RogerDestiny (Hunter 37)"Committing solecisms that society will never pardon"