ST5000 Plus

[Road Work Ahead]

Hello,

I own a 2nd hand boat that is equipped with the AP5000+ unit. I am obviously having problems with it and hope I can get some help here.

At slow speeds-

Unit will work fine heading east with some deviation north and south and then all of a sudden it will go of course and continue to turn of course. When heading west I cannot 50' without the boat heading of course. The heading value on the display does not change and the rudder indicator also shows on the display.

At high speeds-

The boat will stay on course for a short time but will then head off into a turn. It will also make slight S turns if staying on course.

The previous owner had a Northstar 952x Chartplotter on board and I think that the AP5000 is tied into the Northstar unit in some way. The previous owner doesn't remember much.

Could you tie the AP into a Northstar unit?
I cant find a fluxgate compass on the boat, can the AP5000 run without one?
What else should I be looking for?

[Steve - Raymarine - Moderator]

What type of boat? What type of drive do you have connected to the ST5000+ control unit?

No, the ST5000+ will not operate without a fluxgate compass, it starts with a connection into the back of the ST5000+, maybe you can chase from there. I would recommend locating the location of the fluxgate compass.

[Road Work Ahead]

(05-17-16 02:09 PM)Steve - Raymarine - Moderator Wrote:  What type of boat? What type of drive do you have connected to the ST5000+ control unit?

No, the ST5000+ will not operate without a fluxgate compass, it starts with a connection into the back of the ST5000+, maybe you can chase from there. I would recommend locating the location of the fluxgate compass.

Steve,

It is a Grady White Bimini 306. I was just down at the boat tracing wires. In the back of that head unit everything was hooked up correctly by color code except for the "drive" wires-blue was on brown and brown was on blue. I then traced the NMEA+ wires (white and white with black stripe) these 2 wires splice into 2 larger wires with a green and yellow wire inside of it. It splits there and one of the wires goes to the back of the Furuno FCV-600L Sounder and the other goes into the Furuno 1712 Radar. I then tried to follow the compass wire and it looks like it is going into the Garmin 3010c Chartplotter. I still have not found a Fluxgate Compass and will continue the troubleshoot tomorrow. Can the drive wires that were hooked up opposite be part of the problem?

[Road Work Ahead]

(05-17-16 02:09 PM)Steve - Raymarine - Moderator Wrote:  What type of boat? What type of drive do you have connected to the ST5000+ control unit?

No, the ST5000+ will not operate without a fluxgate compass, it starts with a connection into the back of the ST5000+, maybe you can chase from there. I would recommend locating the location of the fluxgate compass.

Steve,

I located the Fluxgate compass this morning. It is under the front seat of the center console. I did find a corroded connection between the head and the hydraulic drive motor.

DJ

[Steve - Raymarine - Moderator]

No, the drive wires are set up through polarity, so do not have to be connected color code wise, and if there weren't correct the drive would go hardover once you pressed Auto, so it sounds like they are connected correctly.

I have enclosed the fluxgate compass test, to confirm a working fluxgate compass. I would then re-do the compass linearization procedure to get a more secure heading into the system. Here is a link to the Owner's Handbook, the compass linearization procedure starts on page 73.

Compass Test:
Multi-meter should be set to:
(a) Resistance scale
(b) 200 ohm scale
The following procedure should then be followed:
1. Disconnect the transducer from the system.
2. Connect one multi-meter lead to the red wire and the other lead to the green wire and a reading as indicated in the test data table should be present.
3. Follow the above procedure for all the color combinations indicated in the test data table.
4. If all readings match those indicated assume the compass transducer is functioning correctly.

Compass Test Data:

Red to Green - 4 ohms
Red to Yellow - 4 ohms
Green to Yellow - 8 ohms
Screen to Blue - 8 ohms
All other combinations - OPEN
You are looking for a short or open. A +or - 2 Ohm reading is allowed.
If this check indicates a fault with the compass then you will be best served by replacing the compass. If no problem is indicated then you should send the compass and the course computer to a repair facility for evaluation.

[Road Work Ahead]

(05-18-16 10:03 AM)Steve - Raymarine - Moderator Wrote:  No, the drive wires are set up through polarity, so do not have to be connected color code wise, and if there weren't correct the drive would go hardover once you pressed Auto, so it sounds like they are connected correctly.

I have enclosed the fluxgate compass test, to confirm a working fluxgate compass. I would then re-do the compass linearization procedure to get a more secure heading into the system. Here is a link to the Owner's Handbook, the compass linearization procedure starts on page 73.

Compass Test:
Multi-meter should be set to:
(a) Resistance scale
(b) 200 ohm scale
The following procedure should then be followed:
1. Disconnect the transducer from the system.
2. Connect one multi-meter lead to the red wire and the other lead to the green wire and a reading as indicated in the test data table should be present.
3. Follow the above procedure for all the color combinations indicated in the test data table.
4. If all readings match those indicated assume the compass transducer is functioning correctly.

Compass Test Data:

Red to Green - 4 ohms
Red to Yellow - 4 ohms
Green to Yellow - 8 ohms
Screen to Blue - 8 ohms
All other combinations - OPEN
You are looking for a short or open. A +or - 2 Ohm reading is allowed.
If this check indicates a fault with the compass then you will be best served by replacing the compass. If no problem is indicated then you should send the compass and the course computer to a repair facility for evaluation.

Steve,

I forgot to mention that the last time we had the boat running at high speed the heading values were changing rapidly and all over the place.

[Road Work Ahead]

(05-18-16 10:03 AM)Steve - Raymarine - Moderator Wrote:  No, the drive wires are set up through polarity, so do not have to be connected color code wise, and if there weren't correct the drive would go hardover once you pressed Auto, so it sounds like they are connected correctly.

I have enclosed the fluxgate compass test, to confirm a working fluxgate compass. I would then re-do the compass linearization procedure to get a more secure heading into the system. Here is a link to the Owner's Handbook, the compass linearization procedure starts on page 73.

Compass Test:
Multi-meter should be set to:
(a) Resistance scale
(b) 200 ohm scale
The following procedure should then be followed:
1. Disconnect the transducer from the system.
2. Connect one multi-meter lead to the red wire and the other lead to the green wire and a reading as indicated in the test data table should be present.
3. Follow the above procedure for all the color combinations indicated in the test data table.
4. If all readings match those indicated assume the compass transducer is functioning correctly.

Compass Test Data:

Red to Green - 4 ohms 4.6 ohms
Red to Yellow - 4 ohms 4.6 ohms
Green to Yellow - 8 ohms 7.8ohms
Screen to Blue - 8 ohms 0ohms Is this suppossed to be Green to blue or Screen to blue?
All other combinations - OPEN
You are looking for a short or open. A +or - 2 Ohm reading is allowed.
If this check indicates a fault with the compass then you will be best served by replacing the compass. If no problem is indicated then you should send the compass and the course computer to a repair facility for evaluation.

Steve,

This is what we found. Please confirm the Screen to Blue test. (Green or screen) didnt know if this was a typo.


DJ

[Steve - Raymarine - Moderator]

That is not a typo, it's screen (bare) to Blue. What resistance are you seeing there?

[Road Work Ahead]

(05-18-16 02:22 PM)Steve - Raymarine - Moderator Wrote:  That is not a typo, it's screen (bare) to Blue. What resistance are you seeing there?

OK, Just so I understand you want me to go from the blue terminal on the screen/head unit to the blue wire?

Please confirm.

[Steve - Raymarine - Moderator]

If you look on the back of the ST5000+, the fluxgate port will be color coded, Gray, Red, Green, Yellow and Blue, you will remove the Blue and Gray wires and measure between them.