Simrad wp32 autopilot problem

[soling42]

Other sailors with a Simrad wp32 AP having problems with drive belts hanging up? I've gotten two brand new wp32s in the last week that failed to rotate freely with the clutch disengaged. They are the latest revision and IMHO I don't think a belt jamming the steering at an inopportune time is acceptable for a new(or old) product. The first was useless right from the box. The second one seemed fine so I completely installed it and it and failed within a few minutes of use.There are a number of possible problems but I suspect the (high bias, very tight) belt may retain a memory when it lays idle across the smaller motor shaft, combined with the release on the redesigned clutch having a very short throw, barely giving the belt any slack. The casting on the inside of the wheel ring is rather coarse along with a few screws dragging on its interior compiling the issue. All fixable I suppose but I'm not sure if it's worth the seemingly endless effort.PS Simrad cust service does answer the phone but the kicker is they're also holding a $1300 CC credit for up to 6wks for my cross shipped defective replacement that I promptly returned and was confirmed defective. It took 2mins to charge but "It can take 4wks for credit in accounting" I've been told(never mind that the second one is defective too). Nearly done trying with Simrad, Michael

 

[Shippy]

Only 1/4 season of use so far - no problems yet

Only had teh boat for about a month and half in the water. The PO added the WP32. It worked fine for the times I used it. I'll be interested to hear what others have to offer.

 

[Windwalker]

Sticky belt

I have the Simrad WP 30, which is essentially the older version of the WP32. It sticks from time to time when it sits for a long time (after the first year of trouble free use). Simrad was aware of the issue & I thought it had been fixed in the new model. If you want to fix it yourself, here are the three options you have:1) there is a belt tension screw under the lever that engages the belt. you can loosen the belt tension to help with the sticking.2) usually the belt is simply "stuck" to the wheel pully (for lack of a more imformed term) if you turn the unit on & manually tell it to turn the wheel enough to get a different part of the suspect belt to contact the pully, it will free up the belt as well.3) buy a replacement belt & hope it doesn't stick. I suggest first doing #1, then use #2 as needed. This only happens to me when the boat sits unused for long periods, so if you are actively using your wheel, there is little to no chance of it sticking (never has for me when in use). If it ever were to stick when in use (emergency planning, right?)I'd simply have to use the autopilot all the way to my destiantion.

 

[Donald6441]

Ive had 3 APs and all 3 of them have failed.

My first one was a Raymarine ST2000+, its piston spit out. Raymarine replaced it. The 2nd one was a WP30, its main board failed. Simrad fixed it and replaced the drive mechs, charged me 300$ as i couldn't find my original invoice. My 3rd failure was with a Raymarine ST3000, raymarine tried to dodge the warranty but West Marine put pressure on them and they fixed it no charge. I now keep the ST3000 and the WP30 on-board, primary using the WP30 as its more compact and easier to use, but i am prepared to switch them out in the event of a failure.. I was recently on a boat that the newly installed below decks pilot broke, Suffice to say, I'm NOT impressed with the quality of the current offerings. I understand that this is one of the harshest environments for electro-mechanical devices, but come on, a little quality would be nice! These things are not cheap!

 

[Nice N Easy]

Hate to hear that

That doesn't sound good, and I hate to hear it. Am going to purchase a new auto pilot in the next few weeks, and had about decided on the WP32. Have an autohelm ST3000 on my previous boat, and Raymarine changes and deletes models constantly. Then you can't get any parts or pieces. I need the little plastic mounting bracket for the control head on the autohelm, and guess what. Now may have to rethink things. Anyone else have an opinion concerning these two different brands?

 

[HAL]

WP32

WP32I installed a SIMRAD 32on my 260 spring 2006.Lightly used so far and not integrated with other electronics yet. Have not had any problems so far. The pedestal kind of jumps around ,from the torque I guess, when it steers.

 

[Don]

WP32

I have a WP30 that occationally sticks. Reducing tention on the belt did not help. Sometimes, I can hit the port or stb button with lever disconnected and that will free the belt. Also, the unit must be perfectly centered on the wheel. I am very dissapointed with the unit. It does not hold a course nearly as good as my old Autohelm 4000. It has been back to Simrad two times and has not gotten any better. Next one will be a RayMarine.

 

[soling42]

Another Simrad wp32 fix

I shopped hard before buying and was pretty sure this was a fairly reliable choice but I guess they all have issues. The hanging belt was serious last week when docking in 25-30mph cross wind while a gremlin in the AP had the wheel and wouldn't readily let go!! Freaky at best.I dismantled the AP after tech support said to take a look inside. Filed 1/10" off all 6 of the wheel support roller screws and a sheet metal screw point found dragging on the inside of the wheel ring. Reassembled and found when retightening the 6 outer rollers that they were binding the wheel ring when fully tightened. Backed each one off a 1/4 turn and the wheel spins free with the clutch released. When engaged it seems to behave now.This doesn't fix the belt jamming issue but I couln't get it to bind again so I'll give it another sea trial. I noticed how shallow and square cut the track inside the wheel ring was which may allow the belt to bind if its trying to ride out of the track. A deeper track with a slightly angled entry to feed a poorly aligned belt would fix that possibility.The AP course corrections I obsevered are definatly overly harsh. A simple circuitry/software change could ease an impluse without it being such a stark on/off correction shaking the whole pedistal. It's starting to sound like a product still in R&D with need of a little TLC ASAP. Such is life sometimes Still hoping to get it right as I fine tune the setup config and clean up the rough edges. Happy to share my findings/mods/success/failures.Thanks for all the great input. Michael and KelliMainesail, did the C310 sell? Loved the web page, certainly a beautiful boat rigged to the nines.

 

[Windwalker]

WP30/32 Course corrections

A couple folks mentioned that they experienced course corrections that were more exaggerated than they preferred. If you haven't done this yet, you may need to adjust the "gain" function on your autopilot. That function controls the "severety" involved in course corrections. I turned it all the way down as it tends to save wear & tear on the unit as well as associated amps... There is also a related function known as "seastate" The best setting here is "auto", if you have it manually set, it may contribute to the excessive corrections... Good luck!

 

[soling42]

Adjusted the seastate and gain

Got back out and tweaked the items windwalker reccommended. Solved most of my concern. The AP and I are getting better aquainted so I'm on the right track. Simrad also fast tracked my cc refund so I'm happy again. Good cust serv. AP seems to be working just fine now.Thanks again for the input.Michael