Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

bmackie

Hello:

We have a mono hull sailboat. I recently replaced my Type 2 Linear Drive after noticing "play" in the linkage and Drive Hinge. (The tiller pin broke at sea, probably caused by the play. About 27,000 miles on the drive at the time.) All rod ends were subsequently changed at the same time as the Drive Unit.

That was about 1000 miles ago. Recently we noticed that when the Autopilot is turning the vessel to Port, we are getting a clunking sound in the linkage. Visual inspection confirmed that it appears the Drive is "fluttering" when turning to port. We confirmed that this is ONLY when the Autopilot is engaged and not when hand steering. Continuing to trouble shoot today I decided to do a Dockside Calibration and found that during the Calibration and the Drive was turning to Port, the unit worked flawlessly. After the calibration, we engaged the autopilot and again, the clunking issue was still present. To be sure, I did another Dockside Calibration and again, it worked fine when the drive was turning to port but not after the calibration.

So, is this possibly a ACU 400 issue or a drive issue?

My system is partially as follows:
ACU 400 Actuator Unit s/n 0930029 2.23 (RSCP V1 L4)
EV-1 s/n 0631542 2.18 (RSCP V1 L4)
p70 Autopilot Controller s/n 1130032 3.07
e125 s/n E70023 0730345 V19.03-00036

I do have a Spare ACU 400, EV-1 and p70 on board.

On a similar note; I am currently in French Polynesia. Where should I send my Linear Drive that I removed for service?