Autopilot almost done!

[mnm99]

I'M LOST..I replaced the helm, bled the crap out of it. Note this was by myself, but I didn't see any air. SAME PROBLEM. Port side would stall, but Starboard would not. I called Seastar and asked about my steering piston. It's the last possible thing in the system. When I described what happens, he immediately said it was the piston. The seal must be leaking internal. Well $400 later I bought a new piston and it's still happening. You can't be telling me there is air in the system still. It only happens turning to Starboard! So far.. New pump, New Helm, New Piston, bypassed Shadow drive, Swapped out ECU. Before the helm swap I did bleed with 2 people and still no good. Do I really need to power bleed? I'm lost.

 

[stg099]

First, I’m sorry that you’re still chasing this problem. Based on everything you’ve covered, I’d certainly let seek out someone local to power bleed. If nothing else the piece of mind to see if that was the issue. You’ve certainly got me second guessing me self installing my AP pump this season!

 

[mnm99]

First, I’m sorry that you’re still chasing this problem. Based on everything you’ve covered, I’d certainly let seek out someone local to power bleed. If nothing else the piece of mind to see if that was the issue. You’ve certainly got me second guessing me self installing my AP pump this season!

Friday my friend is coming over and were going to do the bleeding exactly how seastar says again. If all fails I'm putting it in the water and moving forward. Maybe I'll have a tech come down to the water and powerbleed then. The steering is nice and firm/smooth turning the wheel. The pump moves the ram nice and smooth both ways. I just can't get the damn thing to stall to Starboard.

EDIT.. OKAY WTF..I just looked at Garmins website again inder 1.2L pump. Look at the publication they released on March of 2021. It's a check valve because of having problems bleeding! What is this all about....I'm calling them today.
https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?partNumber=010-00705-64&tab=manuals

 

[ttmott]

At this point I would run the stall tests with a pressure gauge and see if the pressures are the same.
Then swap the port and starboard hoses at the pump. If the issue changes to the port side then another defective pump.

 

[mnm99]

Calling Garmin today. I want to know why the check valve was added in March of 2021. Do they know its a bleed problem? The smartpump has a bleed valve on it. Where would I put the pressure gauge? On the piston bleed valve?

Edit..Latest. Talked to Garmin. Said the check valve isn't needed. He said go to the next step and do a seatrial. I'm confused because the Dockside failed. I guess we'll see. I'll keep bleeding and maybe if I can find someone with a power bleeder I'll try that.

 

[mnm99]

Latest. Talked to Boatsteer. He told me to swap the lines at the helm and Keep the pump where it is on the tee's. I did that and now I was able to pump stall on the Starboard side. So that means the problem line followed. It looks like something is going on with the Starboard port on the helm. The helm is new though and the same happened with the old. And to prove it has to be air or a bad check valve, when my friend was pushing the starboard button trying to do a stall, I slowly shut the shutoff valve and the pump stalled instantly! I was told to take it out on the water and do the seatrial wizard ad report back , both to Garmin and Boatsteer.

 

[mnm99]

Thank you for the update and I'm sorry you're having trouble! in all the reading up on this that I've done the bubble purge pro seemed to be a good solution as it bleeds from the helm and both sides of the cylinder simultaneously. SeaStar has a power bleeder that would make super quick work of the whole process but it's $1k. If any mechanic has one local to you it might be worth their hour of time to handle it, otherwise the bubble purge product seems to be a solid DIY option. If you decide to go the bubble purge pro route I'm definitely all ears to hear about your experience, and if it works as advertised I'd happily send you $$ to ship it my way when I tackle my install later this year.

Yea I wish it didn’t cost that much. Going to take it on the water and shake it down first. Want to see if the sea trial wizard works. Here is some interesting info. Check out the video too. I have a video that shows the fluid getting low in the helm.

 

[MacB]

Been working on it for a while. Just got done with all the plumbing. I decided to replace all the lines with Seastar Pro crimped lines. I added some shut off valves incase I ever have to remove the whole pump. Kept the original Nylon for return. Looking at a way to make a nice mount to hold the bottle for bleeding.
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With help from you, I’ve installed my Raymarine Evolution EV 150 autopilot system. Pics show where everything went.

Lessons learned. 1. Hydraulic fluid goes everywhere. Thought I had a Sea Star helm leak under the reservoir but it was hydraulic fluid seeping down from the the filler cap area down to the low point. I found fluid as far back as the engine cover opening. Stuff just keeps on moving... for days... 2. The EV 150 system has a bleed process where you run your wheel full to port and hold it, and direct the autopilot to drive the rudder full to starboard. It will pump for the appropriate deflection/time without moving the rudder. Then do the opposite. (Did this in addition to the inverted bottle, throw the wheel and wait approach.) This drives out bubbles and has worked for my first couple of operating hours. I will post if I have any issues. 3. Had seepage and a hissing sound at the helm which turned out to be very deteriorated filler cap o ring on the Sea Star system. I used the healthy o ring from the nut/cap I removed from the reservoir when installing the reservoir line to the pump. 4. There is an epic video for Raymarine EV 100 (not 150!) installation at “Crooked Pilothouse” on YouTube. It walks you through the whole process. But be careful, he has different helm and pump hydraulic fittings from my Sea Star (mine are NPT) and pump (mine are ORB). Matters when ordering hoses and fittings.

Sam from Tecnografic in Ft Lauderdale built the panel for the controller. He was patient, meticulous, and accurate, and we got a perfect fit.

I also moved the Sea Ray systems monitor to the side speaker panel. ACU and plug ins/backbone are on the forward bulkhead of the starboard area behind the helm speaker panel. Hydraulic pump is on the floor of the same compartment. Used 4’ hydraulic hoses with compression fittings for helm to pump. The thee shiny black lines with white labels are new and to the helm with the reservoir line going out flat to ensure continuous rise the the helm. EV 1 core is under the copilot’s seat (which I removed to install). I ran the rear screws through clear rubber foot pads to level it. (Sorry the pic is upside-down!)

So far, checks good. Will post if any issues.

 

[mnm99]

Splashed the boat yesterday. So happy it’s in now! I couldn’t wait to start the sea trial wizard. It was nice and calm. Went through the steps and passed all in like 10 min. Set the autopilot to head home and took me right back. Everything worked perfect. NOW. As for the dockside wizard.... why it didn’t do what the manual said baffles me. I also installed a additional rudder sensor so I can see it on my chart plotter. It also works with the autopilot to tell it where to rudder stop. All and all I’m happy, but disappointed with Garmin with all the time and money spent to get the dockside wizard to work and it worked without it.

 

[stg099]

Glad it all worked out well for you! I know it was quite a saga but I learned enough from you to confidently tackle this project myself sometime this summer. Appreciate you posting your experiences and troubles along the way

 

[Siboatguy]

Been working on it for a while. Just got done with all the plumbing. I decided to replace all the lines with Seastar Pro crimped lines. I added some shut off valves incase I ever have to remove the whole pump. Kept the original Nylon for return. Looking at a way to make a nice mount to hold the bottle for bleeding.
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I know its a old tread but just want to ask what size screens are the Garmin? I'm about to do the same thing...

 

[mnm99]

I know its a old tread but just want to ask what size screens are the Garmin? I'm about to do the same thing...

10" and 9"

 

[bobct]

Hi, I'm in the process of installing a Garmin AP now. The steering and pump respond perfectly but I too cannot get the pump stall error on either side. I've bled (using the wheel and port/starboard buttons in the dockside wizard at least 50 times). I called Garmin and they suggested just moving on and that any residual air will work itself out.

I don't believe this step is critical so long as there are no leaks and the pump and wheel respond normally.

I'm not a Sea Ray owner (Trojan Int'l) but happy to share (and steal) any information on similar systems.

Bob

 

[mnm99]

I did the same thing. Drove me crazy it didn’t stall also. When I did the seatrial it worked fine. Just move on. I’m so happy with mine now..

 

[bobct]

Great, thanks for confirming. This is really good for people to know and I assume is somewhat of a known issue with Garmin. They almost always have you try "something" when you call but the reaction was almost immediately "move on". I found the most confusing part of the install (by far) was the hydraulic part of the job. If anyone has an older Hynautic/Reservalve setup and/or tying into existing copper lines (not sure if SeaRay used copper), I'm happy to help.

I wound up removing the Reservalve altogether and upgraded the helm pump as there was a question on running the Hynautic at a lower PSI and use with the Garmin pump. As an aside, I have a perfect Reservalve unit and H50 Helm pump I'll be selling as a result.

Bob