Raymarine Autopilot

Steve Dion · Aug 12, 2010

John:

Have you tried emailing RayMarine? They are usually good at replying to these types of inquires.

DanG · Aug 12, 2010

What is the model of the autopilot. When you "hear the motor spin", is it moving the rudder?

First, check all the electrical connections, especially to the compass and rudder reference.

Buck420 · Aug 12, 2010

John6212 said:
I have a 2006 Hunter 45CC and the Raymarine Autopilot works intermittently. It will work for a while and then I hear the motor spin until I get a "Drivestop" error. This occurs under motor or sail, and in very light conditions.

Has anyone had a similar experience, and what was the resolution. The dealer/boatyard says they need to check it with the boat in the water.

Thanks.

I'm not sure how the autopilots on 45's are set up, but .... if it's like the arrangement on my 420, ... ie,
Is your drive motor located directly under the pedestal ?.. and does it drive a chain from the drive motor sprocket up to a (second) sprocket at the wheel??
If so, your problem may be that the bolts holding the drive motor to it's support bracket have loosened, allowing the motor to move, causing the chain to fail to properly engage the drive motor sprocket.

kloudie1 · Aug 12, 2010

Is it a hydraulic unit?? s the pump running (Motor spinning) and not making pressure..?? Low hydraulic fluid level?

Buck420 · Aug 12, 2010

John6212 said:
Buck, it sounds like you may be on to something. I need to do some more exploring to find the drive motor. If there is a chain to the wheel, it is covered by the pedestal housing.

Thanks

Yes, the chain is inside the pedestal housing. If your steering wheel turns when the autopilot is engaged, (as you imply from your earlier post), then we almost certainly have the same type of autopilot installation. Your autopilot drive motor should be located directly under your pedestal... mine is in my generator compartment which is under the pedestal/cockpit; (and above the engine).
You will probably find 2 large bolts holding the drive motor to it's support bracket... and that the motor has moved up just enough that the chain only barely engages the drive sprocket.
If this is the case you will need to use a large screw driver or small "tire iron" to lever the drive motor back down and hold it while you re-tighten the bolts...
However, I would recommend that you remove the bolts and put lock-tight on them before re-tightening or (as I found out more than once) they will work loose again.
Hope this helps.

Buck

Don12364 · Aug 12, 2010

Rotary Drive Key Fallen Out?

Sounds like a rotary drive and the key which connects between the drive output shaft and the small chain sprocket has fallen out.
This happened to me one fine day when I was en route from The Solent to Holland.
I made a new steel key which had a projection on one end which the Raymarine key does not. This sits between the drive casing and the sprocket side so the key cannot become dislodged should the grub screw come loose.

Sketch attached should you need it.

Steve Dion · Aug 12, 2010

John:

I like Donalex's idea. I assume you have a rotary drive. There is a key-way in the steering shaft. This is where the sprocket attach. There is also a key-way or set screw on the drive motor sprocket. I would start with trying to disconnect the drive power and see if you can move either sprocket by hand.

Steve Dion · Aug 12, 2010

John:

I think you will find that the sprockets are at the opposite ends of the wheel shaft. I just looked at the installation instructions and the rotary drive has a keyway & a set (grub) screw. This is the small sprocket.

The larger sprocket is on the wheel shaft and has a similar setup. You can check out the drawing and see what size key material you may need.

We have a friend that did a delivery from SF Bay to Hi. They lost the key in the drive shaft about 500+ miles off the coast of Monterey. They had to sail the entire distance after it let loose. They were able to run the engine to charge the batteries, but no prop action.

Buck420 · Aug 13, 2010

Steve Dion said:
John:

I think you will find that the sprockets are at the opposite ends of the wheel shaft. I just looked at the installation instructions and the rotary drive has a keyway & a set (grub) screw. This is the small sprocket.

The larger sprocket is on the wheel shaft and has a similar setup. You can check out the drawing and see what size key material you may need.

We have a friend that did a delivery from SF Bay to Hi. They lost the key in the drive shaft about 500+ miles off the coast of Monterey. They had to sail the entire distance after it let loose. They were able to run the engine to charge the batteries, but no prop action.

Of course, we aren't able to look at the boat, and I may be completely wrong, but
If the sprockets are held by keys or set screws, and a key was lost or a set screw backed out, then the sprocket should spin freely and there should be no autopilot engagement at all, but John states ...
"Occasionally, if I try to turn the wheel, the autopilot will engage and take over steering. ".
Occasional engagement wouldn't occur if either sprocket spins freely.

timvg · Aug 14, 2010

We have a RayMarine 6001 autopilot that we installed in around 2005. One day we found that the autopilot would not engage and we got the "drivestop" error. We eventually sent our rotaty drive back to RayMarine and they found that the clutch had broken. Not sure why, because we had not had the boat in heavy weather since installing the autopilot.

I believe it was around a $600 repair.

Raymarine Autopilot

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