"Molesworth" wrote in message
...
In article ,
druid wrote:

On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:29:07 -0500, Molesworth wrote:

I have an ST4000 autohelm.

I call it 'Marvin' after the character in 'Hitchhikers Guide' as it has
a brain the size of a planet, but doesn't work.

The fluxgate compass is under the steps into the cabin, well away from
metal.

When Control Head is switched on the display reads 331deg, regardless
of
which way I am heading.


If this is the case, it's not "hooked up backwards", the problem is the
reading isn't changing (so the control turns more and more, waiting for
the heading to change...)

Might be the gimbals inside the compass (not the "head", the compass) are
stuck, but I had similar problems with mine and it was intermittent
connections of the cable between the compass and the head. Try wriggling
them a bit and see if the heading starts changing.

They use really tiny, non-standard connectors, but they are available if
you need to re-terminate.

druid
http://www.bcboatnet.org

Had a cursory look today at the fluxgate. I didn't have a teeny-tiny
phillips so all I did was shake it - and it rattled.

I shall take it apart and see if there is a tangling, what is causing
the rattle and also look at the connections to make sure they are making.

Cheers all for your valued input.

Molesworth

As you will discover, the rattle is normal. Its just the coil wobbling
around on its gimbals. The wire that goes into the compass housing can foul
the gimbals if it get pushed too far into the housing. I believe there is a
tie that is supposed to prevent this but it could be loose.
The compass can be checked with an ohmmeter. Raymarine should be able to
give you the wire-to-wire resistances.
What sort of deviation does the control head indicate for the compass?