Autopilot failure
 

I have a Robertson AP3000X autopilot on my boat. This weekend, I was
running in from offshore and the display began flashing intermittently off
and on for a few minutes then quit completely. It did come back on an hour
or so later and would show rudder position, but nothing else would work.
This lasted for a few minutes then it went back blank and won't come back
on. It seems to be a power problem, but I looked behind the instrument
panel and see no loose or obviously corroded wires.

Before I call a mechanic and spend lots of $$$ troubleshooting this, has
anyone experienced this before and have any ideas of things that I should
check?

Thanks to all who reply!

Gary

On Wed, 06 Oct 2004 21:07:44 GMT, "Gary"
wrote:

I have a Robertson AP3000X autopilot on my boat. This weekend, I was
running in from offshore and the display began flashing intermittently off
and on for a few minutes then quit completely. It did come back on an hour
or so later and would show rudder position, but nothing else would work.
This lasted for a few minutes then it went back blank and won't come back
on. It seems to be a power problem, but I looked behind the instrument
panel and see no loose or obviously corroded wires.

Before I call a mechanic and spend lots of $$$ troubleshooting this, has
anyone experienced this before and have any ideas of things that I should
check?

Unplug inspect, clean if necessary, and reset all your cables. Trace
your cables back to your servos and check that those are secure.
Check the cables themselves for unusual wear. Check fuses or fuseable
links.

That's about all I can suggest.

Later,

Tom

I had a similar problem with my autopilot last summer half way through a
250 mile trip.

Turned out to be a plug connection, power to controller. The flashing
power light was my clue. A little contact cleaner fixed it.

Gary wrote:

I have a Robertson AP3000X autopilot on my boat. This weekend, I was
running in from offshore and the display began flashing intermittently off
and on for a few minutes then quit completely. It did come back on an hour
or so later and would show rudder position, but nothing else would work.
This lasted for a few minutes then it went back blank and won't come back
on. It seems to be a power problem, but I looked behind the instrument
panel and see no loose or obviously corroded wires.

Before I call a mechanic and spend lots of $$$ troubleshooting this, has
anyone experienced this before and have any ideas of things that I should
check?

Thanks to all who reply!

Gary

Check the power, as noted.

These units come apart fairly easily; I have had to open mine up and
resolder a few of the connections as vibration causes them to go "cold" and
contact becomes intermittent.

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In article . net,
Jim wrote:


I had a similar problem with my autopilot last summer half way through a
250 mile trip.

Turned out to be a plug connection, power to controller. The flashing
power light was my clue. A little contact cleaner fixed it.

Gary wrote:

I have a Robertson AP3000X autopilot on my boat. This weekend, I was
running in from offshore and the display began flashing intermittently off
and on for a few minutes then quit completely. It did come back on an hour
or so later and would show rudder position, but nothing else would work.
This lasted for a few minutes then it went back blank and won't come back
on. It seems to be a power problem, but I looked behind the instrument
panel and see no loose or obviously corroded wires.

Before I call a mechanic and spend lots of $$$ troubleshooting this, has
anyone experienced this before and have any ideas of things that I should
check?

Thanks to all who reply!

Gary