Autopilot now unusable.

[ICENI]

Hello everyone,

One issue still outstanding on my new to me 2002 Bavaria 32 is an unusable autopilot.

When I did a sea trial prior to purchase the Raymarine 400 Autopilot set up worked fine.

On my boat moving passage it would have been good to have the use of an autopilit but when switched on it behaved strangely and went madly  to an completely incorrect bearing.   At the time we had other issues to resolve so I left the Autopilot switched off.

When connecting the wheel there is a 2 pin plug assembly covered in a rubber sheath.

As the A/P worked fine prior to launching I have deliberated on what could be wrong.   Anything metal has been moved from the area of the fluxgate compass and I wondered if I could possibly have connected the 2 pin plug the wrong way (Is this possible - i.e got the polarity the wrong way)

I have previously only used tiller type autopilots so any comments/help with this would be really welcome please?

[Salty]

Chris, it might help if you could include a photo of the two pin plug.  However if you think you might have reversed the plug when plugging it in, then try unplugging and reversing the plug to see if that cures the problem. Many 12v plugs have different size pins such that they can only be plugged in one way round which would make it impossible to inadvertently connect it the wrong way around. If the plug can be connected incorrectly then try the system, you can do this without moving the boat away from your berth. I’m guessing that the autopilot system you have is essentially a wheel pilot rather than a below deck system, but once connected and switched on you can press one of the course adjustment buttons, and see which way the wheel turns. If it goes the wrong way, then the polarity of the way the plug has been connected could well be at fault. If it keeps going the wrong way despite how the plug is connected, then we need to check further for some other fault.
Let us know how you get on with reversing the plug, good luck.

[Symphony]

As Salty says, if it is wired incorrectly the controls will work in the opposite direction. However that is unlikely (unless you get it wrong when you change the plug like I did!). It is not possible to plug it in incorrectly.

You don't say what is not working. Does it come on - that is power up? They are sensitive to voltage fluctuations so check the 12v connection. If the powerhead is working, then go through the setup procedure in section 6 of the manual. Has to be done under way as it is important to adjust the compass to match with your ships compass and for the course computer to learn the steering characteristics of your boat. This, of course should already have been done, but given the way you describe your problems, best to start from scratch. Although it looks complicated with lots of button pushing, the instructions are very clear. You need a nice calm day and plenty of room.

[Rampage]

On other thing, if the system has a fluxgate compass fitted, then check the connections between it and the computer.  I had all sorts of spurious courses going on with mine at one time which I eventually traced to a couple of dodgy connections in the compass wiring.

[Yngmar]

Check the area around the fluxgate compass with your hand bearing compass. If you get any surprising deflections, investigate. On ours it was a rather unexpected small part in a drawer above the locker (a metal bound looking glass).

If that finds nothing, go through the autopilot compass calibration procedure (see manual).

[ICENI]

Thanks everyone.

I am certain that my problem is not external magnetic influences because the ships compass and the readout on the Raymarine Autopilot coincide well.

I suspected as Sympathy said that the connection is non reversible but as I am not at the boat thought that might be the problem.

The mystery is that all was fine on the pre purchase sea trial and I am pretty sure that I have done nothing to cause the issue.

Time will tell though!

I will repost once I have resolved things but it is likely to be next season as she is soon to be lifted out for the Winter.

[Smeaks]

Go into the set up and tell the unit that it is a tiller pilot the eltronics then set it up. Then set it again as a wheel pilot and the unit sets up looking for and installing all components.

this worked for mine

Hello everyone,

One issue still outstanding on my new to me 2002 Bavaria 32 is an unusable autopilot.

When I did a sea trial prior to purchase the Raymarine 400 Autopilot set up worked fine.

On my boat moving passage it would have been good to have the use of an autopilit but when switched on it behaved strangely and went madly  to an completely incorrect bearing.   At the time we had other issues to resolve so I left the Autopilot switched off.

When connecting the wheel there is a 2 pin plug assembly covered in a rubber sheath.

As the A/P worked fine prior to launching I have deliberated on what could be wrong.   Anything metal has been moved from the area of the fluxgate compass and I wondered if I could possibly have connected the 2 pin plug the wrong way (Is this possible - i.e got the polarity the wrong way)

I have previously only used tiller type autopilots so any comments/help with this would be really welcome please?

[Trundletruc]

Just a thought!
If the autopilot was working when you bought the boat and not when you used it. Where the wav conditions different? Could it be that the belt from the motor to the wheel is not tight enough?
In larger waves our autopilot will not hold the wheel steady and will go madly off course? Just a thought as nobody has mentioned this.