[CA] [CA11] New wind transducer (connected via itc5) stopped working

[kray]

Dear support,

on the boat I have installed a Raymarine SeatalkNG network with the following components: a67 MFD, i70s, p70, EV-100 with ACU, itc-5 connected to triducer (speed/depth) and wind transducer.

I bought the devices in 2018. The wind transducer was installed in May 2019, over the winter it was stored originally packed at home. The other components of the network were installed in 2018. So far, the system worked perfectly fine. I did not even need to calibrate the wind transducer since is was showing correct values out of the box.

A couple of days ago I noticed that the wind angle was off by roughly 30 degrees. I did not touch anything related to calibrating the wind transducer before this appeared. Then I noticed, that the wind speed was gone. I switched the SeatalkNG network off and back on again and the speed was back, although the wind angle still showed an offset that was not there before. This happened a couple of times that day.

Thinking it might be an issue with the calibration I tried to calibrate the wind transducer. But calibrating the wind transducer via the i70s did not work: The calibration display showed no response at all when I was circling for several times with the boat.

The following day it got worse, when it was a bit of luck to get some wind information at all, it worked only now and then if I was very lucky... If I actually get the wind speed, then the wind angle seems to be frozen. Its quite windy currently, I can see that the wind vane is moving, but the apparent wind angle shown on the display seems not to change. In this situation the wind-status LED on the itc5 is constantly on.

In case that after switching the SeatalkNG network on and the wind transducer delivers no data (which since to today is the standard) the wind-status LED is blinking fast.

I searched this forum for similar issues and found the FAQ on how to check the wind transducer with a voltmeter: http://forum.raymarine.com/showthread.php?tid=97

Here is what I measure with the voltmeter when the wind transducer is connected to the itc5:
red to shield: 3.1V
blue to shield: 0.7V varying a little bit
green to shield: 0.73V varying a little bit
yellow to shield: 1.4V - 1.7V

I see that the voltages for red, blue and green are way below their specification.

Here is what I measure with the voltmeter when the wind transducer is not connected to the itc5:
red to shield: 7.9V
blue to shield: 0V
green to shield: 0V
yellow to shield: 4.6V

To check whether there is an issue with the power balance on the SeatalkNG-network I configured a "minimal" SeatalkNG network: Only the itc5 with its connected transducers, and the i70s. Sadly the same behaviour as described before.

Please advise on how to proceed.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum kray,

Based upon the voltage measurement reported, it would appear that the wind transducer has suffered a failure, necessitating that it be sent to Raymarine’s Product Repair Center to be bench checked / serviced. If sending the wind transducer to the Repair Center, you may additionally want to consider sending in the iTC-5 to permit it to be tested with the wind transducer.

[kray]

Dear Support,

since the wind transducer still sends corrupt data I decided to unmount the masthead Wind transducer.

It appeared that the masthead connector was pouring wet, the electrical contacts were heavily corroded.

Since I installed the wind transducer exactly as described in the manual and apparently the sealing completely failed after being exposed to the weather for only about 2-3 months.

Please advise on how to proceed.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

kray,

Please accept our apology for the reported problem. This is certainly not the performance that should be expected. The damaged wind transducer components should be sent to Raymarine’s Product Repair Center to be serviced. It would be recommended that your comments concerning the moisture found within be included within the repair comments. Although not specified and typically not necessary, a best installation practice for connectors which are directly exposed to the marine environment is to pack them with dielectric compound (ex. Dow Corning DC-4, etc.) to provide an extra layer of protection.