Hey guys, I'd like to get my autopilot working properly but I'm not entirely sure where to start. It is an ST6001 style (at least the control head) with the rudder indication at the bottom. It works just okay but not well enough to trust it for more than 5-10 minutes.
What appears to happen is the rudder indications slowly fill in to one side and then after a few minutes of that it will start a turn (as if it has run out of rudder and can't apply anymore) or occasionally just goes into a standby mode (probably a safety feature) on its own. Generally, just pressing standby then turning it back on makes it work again for another 10 minutes or so while the rudder indications slowly drift all the way to one side again.
Thoughts on where to start diagnosing? In other words, is this a software problem and it just needs to be calibrated? Or is this a hardware problem (clutch needs to be tightened etc?
It is Edson wheel steering if that helps. I had a problem with the steering rigging a few months back and replaced one of the bushings around the rudder post. Steering works nice and smooth now but the autopilot issue remains.
Thanks!!
What appears to happen is the rudder indications slowly fill in to one side and then after a few minutes of that it will start a turn (as if it has run out of rudder and can't apply anymore) or occasionally just goes into a standby mode (probably a safety feature) on its own. Generally, just pressing standby then turning it back on makes it work again for another 10 minutes or so while the rudder indications slowly drift all the way to one side again.
Thoughts on where to start diagnosing? In other words, is this a software problem and it just needs to be calibrated? Or is this a hardware problem (clutch needs to be tightened etc?
It is Edson wheel steering if that helps. I had a problem with the steering rigging a few months back and replaced one of the bushings around the rudder post. Steering works nice and smooth now but the autopilot issue remains.
Thanks!!