[CA] [CA11] Autopilot turns hard to port

[Marc Winckers]

I have a Raymarine MFD set up with the SPX Smart Pilot Control Pack, and a P70R autopilot control head. We are experiencing intermittent problems, the most concerning of which is a failure, where the autopilot while in Track Mode, will all of a sudden turn hard to port. This has happened twice. I can’t remember exactly what the error message was on the P70r but it was something like: “Pilot Head lost signal” or “pilot head disengaged” – something like that. Then we can go into standby mode and manually steer our boat, but the rudder angle indicator would continue to show that it was hard to starboard. By powering down the electronics, (I powered everything down – pump, autopilot, MFDs), and then powering up again a couple of minutes later, everything return to normal.

I need some help trouble shooting this problem and would appreciate your help.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum Marc,

I would recommend that troubleshooting begin with the following:
- verify that the hydraulic steering system has been fully bled of air.
- verify that the batteries are in good shape and fully charged. If the batteries are older, consider having them load tested and replaced if found to fail such testing.
- verify that the p70/p70R/p70S/p70RS autopilot control head has been updated with the latest available Raymarine product software update ... and if not, then update its software accordingly.
- verify that the SPX autopilot course computer has likewise been updated with the latest available Raymarine product software update ... and if not, then update its software accordingly.
- test the rudder reference transducer, not only for expected resistance, but also for dead spots ... replace if results are inconsistent with the referenced FAQ.