Capt. Wanabe
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2009
- Messages
- 64
- Fluid Motion Model
- C-28
- Hull Identification Number
- FMLT2721H010
- Non-Fluid Motion Model
- River King
- Vessel Name
- My Precious
At the end of last season I experienced an unfortunate and dramatic failure of the autopilot (AP). This occurred when I was moving at about 5 knts (2011 R27 & Garmin GHC 10 AP) straight down the middle of a narrow fairway with the AP on. Without warning the helm went hard over to port and was not recoverable by manual force on the wheel. At the same time there was a loud screeching sound (plus panic on my part as the boat was headed into a mooring field). The only way to stop the sound and recover the steering was to shut down the AP. When I engaged the AP again the exact same thing happened. Needless to say we stopped using the AP and only steered manually for the rest of the trip. After getting back I tried the same maneuver to see if I could figure out what happened but only got a display dialogue on the Garmin GHC 10 screen that said, “searching for autopilot.” That condition has persisted until today. Some life issues prevented adequate address of the problem until this spring. What I found then was that the single screw which secures the CCU to the bracket in the cave had broken (it was made of plastic) and allowed the CCU to spin in the mounting bracket. That could have explained the sudden course change and possibly precipitated a current overload in the AP system. I looked for fuses or wires connecting the GHC 10 display, CCU, ECU and power but found tracing wires to be very difficult as everything seemed to route behind an immovable object. I did find a single 20A fuse behind the helm that was blown and replaced it. I was hopeful that would be the culprit but, unfortunately, the display dialogue remained unchanged still indicating “searching for autopilot controller.” The status lights on both the CCU and ECU fail to light.
I went online to troubleshoot and found Garmin’s recommendation to be to check the yellow power wire from the CCU/ECU interconnect cable and the yellow power wires from the ECU and GHC 10 display and make sure they were still connected. The only place there seems to be a ghost of a chance at checking connections is behind the helm. Nothing obvious there. I have spoken to Kevin at RT a couple of times and he says he thinks the yellow power wires may be connected behind the frig. I am very reluctant to remove the frig just to check the wiring as all threads I have reviewed on that topic describe the task as very not easy. That, coupled with the likelihood that the yellow wires did not fall apart at the same time the CCU came loose, lead me to conclude that loose yellow wires is probably not the issue. I also called Garmin support. They could not give any definitive suggestions as to why the GHC 10 can’t find the AP but did offer to ship a new bracket and screw for $15. They also stated that the ECU for the GHP 10 AP is “no longer supported” so that if ECU failure is the cause of the AP failure it cannot be replaced. The upgraded Reactor 40 AP core package is about $2000 if I use the existing pump. $3000 if I buy the SmartPump package! As I was not unhappy with the original AP I am not enthusiastic about paying $2000 to recover from the failure of one plastic screw.
So—, does anyone know where the AP yellow wires (and black ground wires) from the display, ECU, and CCU are connected? Are there any fuses that I am overlooking? Is it worth tearing the frig out to see what wiring is behind it? Has anyone upgraded from the GHC series to the current “Reactor” AP from Garmin? Garmin did suggest some procedures to check and see if my current ECU was busted but they were not straight forward either.
Any suggestions appreciated,
Frank
I went online to troubleshoot and found Garmin’s recommendation to be to check the yellow power wire from the CCU/ECU interconnect cable and the yellow power wires from the ECU and GHC 10 display and make sure they were still connected. The only place there seems to be a ghost of a chance at checking connections is behind the helm. Nothing obvious there. I have spoken to Kevin at RT a couple of times and he says he thinks the yellow power wires may be connected behind the frig. I am very reluctant to remove the frig just to check the wiring as all threads I have reviewed on that topic describe the task as very not easy. That, coupled with the likelihood that the yellow wires did not fall apart at the same time the CCU came loose, lead me to conclude that loose yellow wires is probably not the issue. I also called Garmin support. They could not give any definitive suggestions as to why the GHC 10 can’t find the AP but did offer to ship a new bracket and screw for $15. They also stated that the ECU for the GHP 10 AP is “no longer supported” so that if ECU failure is the cause of the AP failure it cannot be replaced. The upgraded Reactor 40 AP core package is about $2000 if I use the existing pump. $3000 if I buy the SmartPump package! As I was not unhappy with the original AP I am not enthusiastic about paying $2000 to recover from the failure of one plastic screw.
So—, does anyone know where the AP yellow wires (and black ground wires) from the display, ECU, and CCU are connected? Are there any fuses that I am overlooking? Is it worth tearing the frig out to see what wiring is behind it? Has anyone upgraded from the GHC series to the current “Reactor” AP from Garmin? Garmin did suggest some procedures to check and see if my current ECU was busted but they were not straight forward either.
Any suggestions appreciated,
Frank
