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  2. [Amel Yacht Owners] Re: Autohelm ST7000 will not leave Standby

Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Re: Autohelm ST7000 will not leave Standby

Bill & Judy Rouse <yahoogroups@...>
 

JP,

Not to be a smartass, but WD40 is conductive and while it may work temporarily as you used it, you stand a very good chance of causing a short especially between two rows of  circuitboard flux.

On the other hand, there is a great product manufactured in Texas that works perfectly. Originally created to fight airline metallurgical corrosion, CorrosionX is non-conductive, but substantially increases conductivity between metals at a molecular level. Since it is non-conductive, it is safe to transport by air in the non-aresol pump bottle. Don't confuse this with CorrosionBlock...different company and different product.

And lastly, the guy I mentioned earlier, Dan Gerhardt rebuilds these Raymarine control heads with new parts for a fraction of the original cost. He also sells rebuilt older Raymarine parts.

Bill Rouse
BeBe Amel 53 #387
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+39 333 121 8115 Italy Mobile
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On Jul 2, 2015 9:55 AM, "Germain Jean-Pierre jgermain@... [amelyachtowners]" <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

 

I've had a 7000 stick on my previous boat.  I traced the problem down to the controls on the facia.  This is the result of sun exposure causing the rubber membranes to crack and leak salt h2o onto the underlying board.

I found that WD40 sprayed on the crevices could re establish he contacts... For a while!

The solution is replacing the 7000... At considerable cost.

Jean-Pierre Germain
Eleuthera, SM007


On 2 Jul 2015, at 00:16, peacock@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

 

We have had similar problems with our 7000; the problem is intermittent; I sometimes can solve it by rapid (or rabid) pressing of various orange buttons on the control, which usually will get it working. We have also had it stick in the active mode, and can only break out by throwing the breaker.


My sense was that the contacts under the orange keys may be corroded; the SeaTalk bus could also be at fault.

Considering the age of the unit (16 years), and it's worthiness on a long voyage, we are replacing with Raymarine EV-400 and multifunction display (which can communicate your desired course with the auto helm). Total purchase price $3,550 US. Peace of mind, priceless.

Tom Peacock
SM2K #240
Rock Hall, MD
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