I am adding an ST4000 wheelpilot and want to know how the factory installed it. There are already 2 breakers on my DC panel, one for "instruments" that control the ST-60 depth and speed units, and another (currently unused) labeled "autopilot". The Raymarine support site says you should not cut the red wire between the two. If you don't, they will share their power feeds. I can power them both off of one breaker, question is, which one and what did the factory do? Thanks, Gary 2001 H320 Time Bandit
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Separate
Don't know where the Raymarine support site says you should not cut the red wire between the two. I've looked and can't find any reference. Whatever they were trying to say, it wasn't about the power. Do not power them both off of one breaker. The Autopilot wants a 12A fuse; the instruments, through Sea Talk, want 5A; while you could put them together on a 15A fuse (could versus should), that defeats the purpose of the fuse. If something happens to the instruments, for instance, and it wants to draw more than 5 amps, then you want the fuse to trip. If you have the instruments wired through a 15A fuse, with the autopilot, it won't trip and you may fnd out the hard way. You have two breakers already? Then hopefully they're both used; one is a 5A for the instruments and the second one bigger for the autopilot. To Terry's advice, pull it open and let us know what you find.
Don't know where the Raymarine support site says you should not cut the red wire between the two. I've looked and can't find any reference. Whatever they were trying to say, it wasn't about the power. Do not power them both off of one breaker. The Autopilot wants a 12A fuse; the instruments, through Sea Talk, want 5A; while you could put them together on a 15A fuse (could versus should), that defeats the purpose of the fuse. If something happens to the instruments, for instance, and it wants to draw more than 5 amps, then you want the fuse to trip. If you have the instruments wired through a 15A fuse, with the autopilot, it won't trip and you may fnd out the hard way. You have two breakers already? Then hopefully they're both used; one is a 5A for the instruments and the second one bigger for the autopilot. To Terry's advice, pull it open and let us know what you find.
I have powered my ST 4000
from the instrument breaker for a number of years with no problem. if i remember correctly (don't quote me on this) there is a fuse "in line" on the power feed on the autopilot as well. So far, no adverse effects under some heavy load conditions. This year I am upgrading to a below deck pilot and plan to use the seperate breaker due to signifigantly increased power demands. if you decide to use the Instrument breaker, make sure the autopilot is the first one in line to get the power, then feed the rest of the instruments from the autopilot. Good luck.... Jeff
from the instrument breaker for a number of years with no problem. if i remember correctly (don't quote me on this) there is a fuse "in line" on the power feed on the autopilot as well. So far, no adverse effects under some heavy load conditions. This year I am upgrading to a below deck pilot and plan to use the seperate breaker due to signifigantly increased power demands. if you decide to use the Instrument breaker, make sure the autopilot is the first one in line to get the power, then feed the rest of the instruments from the autopilot. Good luck.... Jeff
I agree
I agree with you guys, that's why I ask! Until I found this info(see link attached) I was going to "cut the red wire"(well actually since I am going to make my own cabling just not include the red +12V wire). I do have 2 breakers now (been in the panel already) both of which have wires attached.. the "instruments" breaker now powers the instruments, the "autopilot breaker does have a heavy gauge wire, not sure where it goes yet, hopefully to the helm but partway would even be nice. It seems they are saying that "data integrity" is the reasoning, maybe just another pull-up or something would fix that (BTW, I am an engineer). Do you guys have both SeaTalk instruments and autopilot? If so, are your 2 breakers totally independent? That would say the red wire is non-existant between them. Gary
I agree with you guys, that's why I ask! Until I found this info(see link attached) I was going to "cut the red wire"(well actually since I am going to make my own cabling just not include the red +12V wire). I do have 2 breakers now (been in the panel already) both of which have wires attached.. the "instruments" breaker now powers the instruments, the "autopilot breaker does have a heavy gauge wire, not sure where it goes yet, hopefully to the helm but partway would even be nice. It seems they are saying that "data integrity" is the reasoning, maybe just another pull-up or something would fix that (BTW, I am an engineer). Do you guys have both SeaTalk instruments and autopilot? If so, are your 2 breakers totally independent? That would say the red wire is non-existant between them. Gary
NO
Paul, No, you can not do that.. IF you turned on just the "instruments" breaker and not the "autopilot" breaker, the autopilot would be powered from the instruments over the "red" wire(too small for the autopilot current draw). Powering the instruments over the red wire from the autopilot and its breaker is the way it has to be I guess.. But then my "instruments" breaker doesn't do anything! Despite Raymarine advice, I will probably try it without the red wire (use 2 breakers). Gary
Paul, No, you can not do that.. IF you turned on just the "instruments" breaker and not the "autopilot" breaker, the autopilot would be powered from the instruments over the "red" wire(too small for the autopilot current draw). Powering the instruments over the red wire from the autopilot and its breaker is the way it has to be I guess.. But then my "instruments" breaker doesn't do anything! Despite Raymarine advice, I will probably try it without the red wire (use 2 breakers). Gary
Sorry
Paul, I am sorry if I sounded critical of you. Your method works for you, but if you turn on just one breaker (the smaller one) and then try to run the autopilot, the small red SeaTalk wire and the small breaker will not be enough for the autopilot motor? Hopefully the breaker would just pop, but maybe the red wire in the SeaTalk cable would...? OR, maybe the ST4000 is smart enough to not run the motor IF it isn't getting power through its big power connection?? That would explain it all! I would rather have two breakers... But my original question is how does Hunter do it if you order the autopilot option? Paul, is yours Hunter wired? My install is scheduled for next week, hopefully you won't hear about a boat in Alameda burning up ;-) Gary
Paul, I am sorry if I sounded critical of you. Your method works for you, but if you turn on just one breaker (the smaller one) and then try to run the autopilot, the small red SeaTalk wire and the small breaker will not be enough for the autopilot motor? Hopefully the breaker would just pop, but maybe the red wire in the SeaTalk cable would...? OR, maybe the ST4000 is smart enough to not run the motor IF it isn't getting power through its big power connection?? That would explain it all! I would rather have two breakers... But my original question is how does Hunter do it if you order the autopilot option? Paul, is yours Hunter wired? My install is scheduled for next week, hopefully you won't hear about a boat in Alameda burning up ;-) Gary
Gary is correct ...
If you have your autopilot connected to other Raymarine instruments via SeaTalk, then you have a potential problem if the autopilot and other instruments are on separate breakers. With this setup, you MUST ALWAYS turn on the Autopilot breaker before the other instruments, and you MUST ALWAYS turn off the other instruments before shutting down the autopilot breaker. The reason is that the red wire inside the SeaTalk cable distributes power to all connected units, so if you accidentally switch on the instruments before the autopilot, the autopilot will draw power through the buss. This will exceed the current carrying capacity of the SeaTalk buss. So, if you want the autopilot and other instrument on separate breakers, then you need to slit open the SeaTalk cable between the autopilot and other instruments, and cut the red wire. This isolates the SeaTalk power connection, so you don't have to worry about which breaker you turn on/off first. My Hunter 356 has dealer installed autopilot, and it is wired so that all the autopilot, depth, speed, and wind instruments are all powered by a single 12volt breaker. The power leads from the breaker are connected to the autopilot, and the rest of the instruments draw their power from the SeaTalk buss. This works fine, and I believe this is the prefered way to connect these items together. Good luck! Pete s/v Sh'boom! (H-356)
If you have your autopilot connected to other Raymarine instruments via SeaTalk, then you have a potential problem if the autopilot and other instruments are on separate breakers. With this setup, you MUST ALWAYS turn on the Autopilot breaker before the other instruments, and you MUST ALWAYS turn off the other instruments before shutting down the autopilot breaker. The reason is that the red wire inside the SeaTalk cable distributes power to all connected units, so if you accidentally switch on the instruments before the autopilot, the autopilot will draw power through the buss. This will exceed the current carrying capacity of the SeaTalk buss. So, if you want the autopilot and other instrument on separate breakers, then you need to slit open the SeaTalk cable between the autopilot and other instruments, and cut the red wire. This isolates the SeaTalk power connection, so you don't have to worry about which breaker you turn on/off first. My Hunter 356 has dealer installed autopilot, and it is wired so that all the autopilot, depth, speed, and wind instruments are all powered by a single 12volt breaker. The power leads from the breaker are connected to the autopilot, and the rest of the instruments draw their power from the SeaTalk buss. This works fine, and I believe this is the prefered way to connect these items together. Good luck! Pete s/v Sh'boom! (H-356)
From my manual
Hunter says The breaker should be 25amp. That goes to the autopilot and the other instruments get their power thru the seatalk bus.
Hunter says The breaker should be 25amp. That goes to the autopilot and the other instruments get their power thru the seatalk bus.
Autopilot motor does draw ...
... power when first turned on. The motor cycles for a few seconds to reposition the drive belt, to assure even wear on the belt over time. This power-up cycle would probably cause damage if it draws its power through the SeaTalk buss. Pete s/v Sh'boom! (H-356)
... power when first turned on. The motor cycles for a few seconds to reposition the drive belt, to assure even wear on the belt over time. This power-up cycle would probably cause damage if it draws its power through the SeaTalk buss. Pete s/v Sh'boom! (H-356)
It's in!
Install is basically done, phew, it was a LOT of work. What I did was "cut the Red wire". The ST4000 controller has zero ohms between the big +12V lug and the Red SeaTalk connector, meaning it is not smart enough to split the connection itself. The only problem I see so far is, if I power up the Autopilot before the instruments, it shows an STLK ERROR. If I then power up the instruments, it goes away. If I don't power up the Autopilot, the instruments work just like always. So far, so good, the only caveat is that I haven't gone through calibration and sea trials yet, will let you know if the situation changes. Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Oh, BTW, Hunter DID bring Autopilot and instrument power up to the helm.. if only they brought the SeaTalk and NMEA too!! Gary H320 TimeBandit
Install is basically done, phew, it was a LOT of work. What I did was "cut the Red wire". The ST4000 controller has zero ohms between the big +12V lug and the Red SeaTalk connector, meaning it is not smart enough to split the connection itself. The only problem I see so far is, if I power up the Autopilot before the instruments, it shows an STLK ERROR. If I then power up the instruments, it goes away. If I don't power up the Autopilot, the instruments work just like always. So far, so good, the only caveat is that I haven't gone through calibration and sea trials yet, will let you know if the situation changes. Thanks everyone for your thoughts. Oh, BTW, Hunter DID bring Autopilot and instrument power up to the helm.. if only they brought the SeaTalk and NMEA too!! Gary H320 TimeBandit
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