Now I'm pretty sure the fluxgate compass is too close to the steering pedestal so I think it should be moved. For those who haven't read my previous posts, the compass is located at the back of the rear berth under the cockpit floor. Checked with a local electronics firm and they are more than willing to do it for $75/hour with a minimum of 2 hours! For $150 I think I can figure this out. Can anyone with a Hunter 37.5 and a ST4000 Auto pilot tell me where they located the fluxgate compass? I think it would be best positioned under the galley counter maybe, as this would be near the center of the boat. Frank, John, Joe any suggestions?
Still having Autohelm problems
- Thread starter texastom
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I have a '92 Legend 37.5 ST4000
I have the identical setup as you. My fluxgate compass is in the main bilge in the main cabin. The autopilot has worked great since it was installed in 1992. If our cabin layouts are the same, the compass is mounted on the rear wall of the main bilge, right in front of the door to the little spice rack, or nick-nack cupboard. The cupboard is right in front of you when you come down the steps, or across from the nav station. If you wish, I can take a picture of it and post it here.
I have the identical setup as you. My fluxgate compass is in the main bilge in the main cabin. The autopilot has worked great since it was installed in 1992. If our cabin layouts are the same, the compass is mounted on the rear wall of the main bilge, right in front of the door to the little spice rack, or nick-nack cupboard. The cupboard is right in front of you when you come down the steps, or across from the nav station. If you wish, I can take a picture of it and post it here.
Battery Charger/Inverter Location?
As I recall, don't the 37.5s have a battery charger near where you located the fluxgate compass? If so, that could easily be enough to affect it. The fluxgate compass does NOT like competition with other magnetic fields.
As I recall, don't the 37.5s have a battery charger near where you located the fluxgate compass? If so, that could easily be enough to affect it. The fluxgate compass does NOT like competition with other magnetic fields.
Charger under the nav station seat
On mine, the battery charger is under the nav station seat. However, during the boat's commissioning, I installed a charger/invertor in the battery locker, which is in the starboard cockpit locker. I left the original battery charger under the seat for future whatever. By the way, texastom, I assume you have calibrated it with the fluxgate compass in the current mounting location.
On mine, the battery charger is under the nav station seat. However, during the boat's commissioning, I installed a charger/invertor in the battery locker, which is in the starboard cockpit locker. I left the original battery charger under the seat for future whatever. By the way, texastom, I assume you have calibrated it with the fluxgate compass in the current mounting location.
Thanks Guys
My Hunter 37.5 is a 1996 but the layout is the same. JC the position of your compass sounds like that's where mine should be also as I thought. I'm not sure when the ST 4000 was installed but it does work sometimes. John, my charger is in the battery locker at the stern and the compass is only about 5 ft from it so yes I'm sure I'm getting interference. JC I think I will move my compass to a poition closer to the way your's is set up so if you can send a picture that would be great. Did you do it and if so how did you run the cable from the steering post to the bilge? My email is tomryon@yahoo.com if you want to send it directly to me. Thanks again.
My Hunter 37.5 is a 1996 but the layout is the same. JC the position of your compass sounds like that's where mine should be also as I thought. I'm not sure when the ST 4000 was installed but it does work sometimes. John, my charger is in the battery locker at the stern and the compass is only about 5 ft from it so yes I'm sure I'm getting interference. JC I think I will move my compass to a poition closer to the way your's is set up so if you can send a picture that would be great. Did you do it and if so how did you run the cable from the steering post to the bilge? My email is tomryon@yahoo.com if you want to send it directly to me. Thanks again.
I will take some pictures later today
I have to go to the boat to check something later today, so I will take a few pics. I will also detail out the route I took for the wiring. Later.
I have to go to the boat to check something later today, so I will take a few pics. I will also detail out the route I took for the wiring. Later.
Re: Fluxgate
Do you have any audio speakers in the vicinity? I'm sure you probably thought of this, but I didn't see it mentioned.
Do you have any audio speakers in the vicinity? I'm sure you probably thought of this, but I didn't see it mentioned.
Yes, there are speakers
Dave, I didn't think about that but yes, there are two speakers on each side of the cockpit that are probabaly closer than the battery charger. I can't imagine any qualified electronics person installing the compass in the current location and the owner is not available to ask who installed it. I guess it really doesn't matter, it needs to be moved before I can decide if I have any other problems with the unit. Thansk JC I'll look forward to seeing the pictures.
Dave, I didn't think about that but yes, there are two speakers on each side of the cockpit that are probabaly closer than the battery charger. I can't imagine any qualified electronics person installing the compass in the current location and the owner is not available to ask who installed it. I guess it really doesn't matter, it needs to be moved before I can decide if I have any other problems with the unit. Thansk JC I'll look forward to seeing the pictures.
Try Moving Fluxgate Compass Around
Sounds like the present location has a lot of issues being surrounded by all kinds of ferrous items. Are the fuel and holding tanks aluminum or stainless? If stainless then they could also be a factor. Hopefully the full length of wire to the fluxgate compass is still available and hasn't been cut shorter. What about making the entire length available and moving the sensor around the boat and using some kind of a plastic clamp afix it temporarily in various places then test-driving the boat? AC magnetic field: Run the boat with the sensor in the various temporary locations and see how it works. Also, be sure to cycle the inverter on and off to see if it causes a problem - run some load like the microwave or a hair drier, for example. If there is a problem it'll become apparent as soon as the load comes on. If the wires are long enough a location forward of the keel but away from the water tank (Al or stainless?) and away from the water pump my be the best alternative. Say, forward hanging locker?
Sounds like the present location has a lot of issues being surrounded by all kinds of ferrous items. Are the fuel and holding tanks aluminum or stainless? If stainless then they could also be a factor. Hopefully the full length of wire to the fluxgate compass is still available and hasn't been cut shorter. What about making the entire length available and moving the sensor around the boat and using some kind of a plastic clamp afix it temporarily in various places then test-driving the boat? AC magnetic field: Run the boat with the sensor in the various temporary locations and see how it works. Also, be sure to cycle the inverter on and off to see if it causes a problem - run some load like the microwave or a hair drier, for example. If there is a problem it'll become apparent as soon as the load comes on. If the wires are long enough a location forward of the keel but away from the water tank (Al or stainless?) and away from the water pump my be the best alternative. Say, forward hanging locker?
Re: Speakers
I bet the speakers are the culprit. If they're good quality ones, they've probably got sizable magnets. Looks like a move is definately in order. Good luck, Dave
I bet the speakers are the culprit. If they're good quality ones, they've probably got sizable magnets. Looks like a move is definately in order. Good luck, Dave
Texastom: Here's a pic of the compass
Here is a picture of the ST4000 fluxgate compass mounted in my '92 h37.5 bilge. It may be a bit hard to see the compass, but it is right in front of the hole. The compass is mounted on a bracket, which in turn is mounted on the side wall of the bilge. It is mounted along the centerline. Even though it is above the keel, no problems. The wiring goes through the hole right behind it, and goes through the wiring channel between the engine bilge and the shower bilge. The wire comes out of a hole next to the prop shaft. It then goes into another hole to under the main bunk, then to the bottom of the pedestal, between the fuel tank and the holding tank, and then up the pedestal. I have never had any problem with the location of the compass. I did have a problem with the control head (where all of the buttons are) about 10 years ago. It would work fine and all of a sudden the boat will do a 360. I would shut it off, turn it back on, and will work fine for a while, then again a 360. I called the Autohelm people, and they asked for the control head, and then gave it back to me 2 weeks later. It has been working great ever since. I have also wired my GPS to the control head, but I don't use it often. Between my wife and I, one of us is always in the cockpit, and we also don't feel like entering all the lat-lon waypoints into the GPS just so it could send the directions to the autopilot. In a sailboat, you are always adjusting your heading anyway. I have sent the other pictures to your email address. let me know if you have any other questions. Always glad to help.
Here is a picture of the ST4000 fluxgate compass mounted in my '92 h37.5 bilge. It may be a bit hard to see the compass, but it is right in front of the hole. The compass is mounted on a bracket, which in turn is mounted on the side wall of the bilge. It is mounted along the centerline. Even though it is above the keel, no problems. The wiring goes through the hole right behind it, and goes through the wiring channel between the engine bilge and the shower bilge. The wire comes out of a hole next to the prop shaft. It then goes into another hole to under the main bunk, then to the bottom of the pedestal, between the fuel tank and the holding tank, and then up the pedestal. I have never had any problem with the location of the compass. I did have a problem with the control head (where all of the buttons are) about 10 years ago. It would work fine and all of a sudden the boat will do a 360. I would shut it off, turn it back on, and will work fine for a while, then again a 360. I called the Autohelm people, and they asked for the control head, and then gave it back to me 2 weeks later. It has been working great ever since. I have also wired my GPS to the control head, but I don't use it often. Between my wife and I, one of us is always in the cockpit, and we also don't feel like entering all the lat-lon waypoints into the GPS just so it could send the directions to the autopilot. In a sailboat, you are always adjusting your heading anyway. I have sent the other pictures to your email address. let me know if you have any other questions. Always glad to help.
Mine is the same place
On my 376, my fluxgate is the same as yours, in the aft birth back bulkhead. I've been having problems with it now and then...not consistant but now and then it just goes crazy. I like the position JC has shown. Last weekend I was just talking to a friend about moving it but wasn't sure where.
On my 376, my fluxgate is the same as yours, in the aft birth back bulkhead. I've been having problems with it now and then...not consistant but now and then it just goes crazy. I like the position JC has shown. Last weekend I was just talking to a friend about moving it but wasn't sure where.
Camera Direction
By the way, I should mention the camera direction on this pic. I was standing on the starboard side of the compression post, and pointing the camera aft. The carpet you see at the top of the photo is at the bottom of the companion steps.
By the way, I should mention the camera direction on this pic. I was standing on the starboard side of the compression post, and pointing the camera aft. The carpet you see at the top of the photo is at the bottom of the companion steps.
Great Information
Dave, you are correct again. They are nice 8 or 9" Bose speakers. John, your suggestion is excellent and I'm hoping the 30' cable that was suppose to be with the compass is still there. I'll know this weekend as I'm going to look behind the wall its mounted on. My holding tank and water tanks are both plastic and the diesel tank is aluminum, galvanized steel or possibly stainless, not sure which. Franklin, I'll bet the same guy that installed mine installed yours if it was done in the Kemah/Seabrook area. Do you know who installed yours? JC, I got your email and pictures, most appreciated.
Dave, you are correct again. They are nice 8 or 9" Bose speakers. John, your suggestion is excellent and I'm hoping the 30' cable that was suppose to be with the compass is still there. I'll know this weekend as I'm going to look behind the wall its mounted on. My holding tank and water tanks are both plastic and the diesel tank is aluminum, galvanized steel or possibly stainless, not sure which. Franklin, I'll bet the same guy that installed mine installed yours if it was done in the Kemah/Seabrook area. Do you know who installed yours? JC, I got your email and pictures, most appreciated.
compass
What did you end up doing with your compass. My auto works fine but the compass heading that shows on the display dose not match my boat compass or my GPS compass its off about 70%. Also in the manual it indicates you can make the auto helm hold a compass course or a wind course. I tried to get it to hold a wind course last weekend and it did not work has anyone done this? How do you do it I held down both buttons as indicated in the manual and nothing happened.
What did you end up doing with your compass. My auto works fine but the compass heading that shows on the display dose not match my boat compass or my GPS compass its off about 70%. Also in the manual it indicates you can make the auto helm hold a compass course or a wind course. I tried to get it to hold a wind course last weekend and it did not work has anyone done this? How do you do it I held down both buttons as indicated in the manual and nothing happened.
Joe W. Ya gots ta have a wind guage.
I'm in the process of setting up a network of instruments now. I'm combining Navman 5600 GPS, Horizon instruments, wind, speed, depth, into my Raymarine 4000 plus autopilot. What a piece of work! Simply put, if you want to steer to wind you MUST have a wind instrument. If your wind is not Raymarine (I assume that is what your autopilot is) you can not use Seatalk. You must use NMEA 0183, the basic agreed upon marine electronic communication standard. Connect the NMEA 0183 OUT + wire from the wind to the NMEA IN + on the back of the pilot control head. The common ground for the wind must already be connected to battery ground if it works. IMPORTANT! Connect the terminal on the control head marked NMEA IN - (MINUS), that is the other terminal in the same little pocket as the NMEA IN +, to the battery ground connection. That is the negative terminal completing the power hook-up to your instruments. Now when you press STANDBY and AUTO together you shoulld see the wind direction in degrees port or starboard displayed on the control head. Your boat might even steer to the wind direction you've set it for. So far mine doesn't do real good either hard on the wind or dead down wind. In between is OK. This is all shown in the instructions from Raymarine. They are not realy all that clear but if you read through them for a while you'll get the idea. It will also explain how th swing and calibrate the fluxgate compas as well as how to set it's reading to coinside closely to your GPS or magnetic compas. Something that took me QUITE a while to figure out: To get the calibration system out of Lock-out mode you must hold the standby button in at least 17 seconds straight to get to the screen that allows you to make changes to the settings. As we say: "R T F B" (Read the book)
I'm in the process of setting up a network of instruments now. I'm combining Navman 5600 GPS, Horizon instruments, wind, speed, depth, into my Raymarine 4000 plus autopilot. What a piece of work! Simply put, if you want to steer to wind you MUST have a wind instrument. If your wind is not Raymarine (I assume that is what your autopilot is) you can not use Seatalk. You must use NMEA 0183, the basic agreed upon marine electronic communication standard. Connect the NMEA 0183 OUT + wire from the wind to the NMEA IN + on the back of the pilot control head. The common ground for the wind must already be connected to battery ground if it works. IMPORTANT! Connect the terminal on the control head marked NMEA IN - (MINUS), that is the other terminal in the same little pocket as the NMEA IN +, to the battery ground connection. That is the negative terminal completing the power hook-up to your instruments. Now when you press STANDBY and AUTO together you shoulld see the wind direction in degrees port or starboard displayed on the control head. Your boat might even steer to the wind direction you've set it for. So far mine doesn't do real good either hard on the wind or dead down wind. In between is OK. This is all shown in the instructions from Raymarine. They are not realy all that clear but if you read through them for a while you'll get the idea. It will also explain how th swing and calibrate the fluxgate compas as well as how to set it's reading to coinside closely to your GPS or magnetic compas. Something that took me QUITE a while to figure out: To get the calibration system out of Lock-out mode you must hold the standby button in at least 17 seconds straight to get to the screen that allows you to make changes to the settings. As we say: "R T F B" (Read the book)
Will be moving my compass
After a lot of good information from JC I have decided to move the compass to the bilge area at the base of the stairs. In my boat the raw water filter and seacock are located there and I will have an access to the back of the boat following the raw water line. I plan to mount the compass on the forward support crossing in that bilge area. This is in the same general area as JC's compass so it should work better. Joe, my compass is 70 - 100% off at times and then it will work fine as it did yesterday but it's not reliable. If your compass is doing this then you may need to move it. If not, it probably just needs to be re-calibrated.
After a lot of good information from JC I have decided to move the compass to the bilge area at the base of the stairs. In my boat the raw water filter and seacock are located there and I will have an access to the back of the boat following the raw water line. I plan to mount the compass on the forward support crossing in that bilge area. This is in the same general area as JC's compass so it should work better. Joe, my compass is 70 - 100% off at times and then it will work fine as it did yesterday but it's not reliable. If your compass is doing this then you may need to move it. If not, it probably just needs to be re-calibrated.
wind
thanks for the reply. I have the Raymarine wind,depth,speed and the auto 4000 instrumentation but I am not sure the wind instrument is connected to the auto. The book say to push the standby and auto button together and it would lock in the current wind direction your on but when I did that I got nothing from the auto pilot. I need to trace the wiring down to see what is connected to what this is my first season with this boat so I have been busy getting to know her and sailing some. I will do as you indicated and let you know next week we have a big sailing weekend planned thanks for the reply.
thanks for the reply. I have the Raymarine wind,depth,speed and the auto 4000 instrumentation but I am not sure the wind instrument is connected to the auto. The book say to push the standby and auto button together and it would lock in the current wind direction your on but when I did that I got nothing from the auto pilot. I need to trace the wiring down to see what is connected to what this is my first season with this boat so I have been busy getting to know her and sailing some. I will do as you indicated and let you know next week we have a big sailing weekend planned thanks for the reply.
By all means hook up the wind
I have all Raymarine instruments linked on my H410 and sailing by the wind is a great feature. It holds the wind heading better than I can by hand, and a 1 degree tweak is just a button push. Joe, you have the right idea on how to activate it. If your Wind
I have all Raymarine instruments linked on my H410 and sailing by the wind is a great feature. It holds the wind heading better than I can by hand, and a 1 degree tweak is just a button push. Joe, you have the right idea on how to activate it. If your Wind
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