2021 R29 CB LE Steering failure

[NoWorries]

Went to my boat last evening. Backed out of my slip using Thrusters for positional directions. Put throttle forward and tried to steer to no avail. The steering wheel just spun freely. That was in the cabin so went to the cockpit station and tried to steer from there. Same issue. Went to command bridge and tried to steer from there. Same issue. 0 directional control of the rudder. Went back to cabin and used thrusters to get myself back to my slip and the incoming tide kept me moving forward. Once tied back I tried my autopilot. It moved the rudder twice and that was it. I did not see any hydraulic fluid in the aft access for the rudder servo access bay but the rudder did swing from lock to lock, starboard to port, etc. After that I tried all 3 steering wheels again to no avail. They just spin freely. Where do I find the hydraulic resevoir(s)to see if empty? Also on my autopilot screen I did receive a popup message that the hydraulic pump stalled AFTER I tried to use the autopilot to reposition the rudder to a 90% heading off of due north starting point. Any ideas welcome and pointing me in the right direction to determine fluid status needed. Thanks in advance.

 

[Full_O_Fish]

On top of each of the helm pumps there is a removable cap which is the reservoir/fill point for each helm. Fluid level should be nearly to the threads and the internal hard/pistons should not be exposed.

Autopilot pump will stall if it drives the rudder to hard over at which point the force it applies is very high and draws enough current to set off the stall alarm.

Since the pilot pump is the lowest "helm" in the system it will typically work to a certain extent even if the other helms are low on fluid, but with too much air in the system it will still have a difficult time applying rudder when under load unless you have shutoff valves to isolate the system making the pilot pump effectively the only helm.

While it's most likely that the helms are low on fluid, another scenario that can cause similar symptoms is if the bleeder valves on the steering ram are open. I've seen some installations where someone has put a hose between them and opened them while purging the system of air, then forgot to close them resulting in spinning wheels during the next attempted outing. The autopilot pump can push more fluid more quickly than the helms so sometimes it can still seem to work just slower than normal.

 

[NoWorries]

Thank you for this most helpful reply. I will be out to my Tug early next week with fluid in hand just in case I need to add and hopefully I'm not air bound. The system has worked fine for over 260 hours so My fingers are crossed that I "might" get away with a fluid add. I'll circle back next week with feedback. Thank you again. Appreciate you!!!

 

[American Flyer]

WARNING! If there is fluid in the system and you open the cap on the lower helm to check, it will come out all over the place! At least that is what happened to me before I knew better! Check the upper helm first since it is the high point on a CB model. And do not accidentally swap the caps, the upper one is vented, the lower one is not just for this reason.

 

[NoWorries]

Thank you for the tip as well. I found my overall system to be quite low on steering fluid. I did open the lower stations before I read up on this and fortunately (or not) both my cockpit and cabin helm stations did not show any fluid. I have since added over a full quart to the system while having my first mate going from cockpit to cabin to turn the steering wheels. We did this fill and exercise the system several times. I did have air escaping at the command bridge level repeatedly while I had a clear tube/ funnel of approx 14 inches long attached. I finally do not get air out any longer. I have a bleed kit coming to get more efficient with this.

 

[srhawk454]

There is probably a leak somewhere. It is a closed system, adding a full quart of fluid does not sound right. Did you figure out the root cause?

 

[NoWorries]

I did find a fitting behind the access hatch directly below the cockpit helm station which appears to have a drip to it. Just have not gone further with the isolation of the leak due to personal time limitations recently. Hope to give it some time and TLC by end of week. Thanks for participating in this conversation srhawk454. All posts help a great deal. 🙂

 

[CaptT]

Try using the "search box" at the top right corner of the home page. You will need to be signed in to use it.
Type in "helm leaking fluid ". A number of previous discussions on this subject will come up with some very helpful
information.
I hope this helps.
Terry

 

[NoWorries]

Thank you Terry. Much appreciated