Pilot alarms

Pilot alarms are generated by the connected autopilot. They are also transmitted on the SeaTalk NG network.

AlarmsThe following alarms can be displayed on the Pilot controller:

Calibration alarms

  • Calibration requiredCalibration required — Indicates that the autopilot has not been fully calibrated. Initiated in Standby mode, for a few seconds after initial power-up. Resolve by performing Dockside and Seatrial calibration.

  • Detecting magneticsDetecting magnetics — Compass linearization required.

  • Magnetic fields detectedMagnetic fields detected — Initial linearization complete, further linearization will be performed in the background.

  • Turn rate too highTurn rate too high — Indicates an excessive rate of turn whilst linearizing the fluxgate compass. Initiated during calibration. To resolve this issue, reduce the vessel’s rate of turn.

Navigation alarms

  • Auto releaseAuto release — Triggered when the user has taken back control of the steering whilst the autopilot is engaged (e.g.: Auto, Track mode etc.), using the fly-by-wire steering wheel. The autopilot will drop to standby and the alarm will time out after 10 seconds.

  • Large Cross Track ErrorLarge cross track error — Indicates cross track error (XTE) is greater than 0.3 nm. Alarm is triggered in Track mode or on entry to Track mode from any other mode. To resolve this issue, try:

    • Manually steering back on course and entering track mode again.

    • Reset XTE on the multifunction display.

    • Changing autopilot settings.

  • Loss of Waypoint dataLoss of waypoint data — Indicates that the source of the waypoint data (i.e.: MFD) has been lost. The autopilot will drop out of track mode and into auto mode and continue on the last locked heading.

  • No Navigation dataNo navigation data — Indicates absence of one of the following primary control data items:

    • Compass – Auto, Track & Wind modes.

    • XTE – Track mode.

    • Wind angle – Wind vane mode.

  • Off CourseOff course — The off course alarm is triggered during active navigation when your vessel is more than the specified number of degrees off its track. Resolve by changing pilot mode, or changing / correcting the vessel’s course.

  • Route CompleteRoute complete — Triggered by the MFD when the last waypoint in a route has been reached.

  • Waypoint advanceWaypoint advance — Indicates change in waypoint name or ID, and the direction in which to turn to the new waypoint. Triggered in Track mode.

  • Wind ShiftWind Shift — Indicates that TWA (True Wind Angle) has changed by more than 15 degrees. Triggered in Wind vane mode only. Resolve by changing course or changing pilot mode. Will also resolve if TWA reverts back to its original value.

Hardware and fault alarms

  • Clutch shortClutch short — Indicates a short circuit in the drive unit’s clutch. The autopilot will power down.

  • Current limitCurrent limit — Drive overload current exceeded. The autopilot will drop to standby and the alarm will time out after 10 seconds. To resolve this issue, try checking the drive unit and connections for stall or short circuit conditions.

  • Drive shortDrive short — Indicates a short circuit in the drive unit. The autopilot will power down.

  • Drive stoppedDrive stopped — Indicates a rudder stall condition has persisted, or that the power has been removed from the drive unit. Triggered in Auto, Track & Wind modes. To resolve this issue, check output from autopilot, drive unit and connections. The autopilot will drop to standby and the alarm will time out after 10 seconds.

Note

In Drive-By-Wire (DBW) systems which contain an EV-2 and a Volvo® Penta EVC drive interface unit, one second must pass after turning the boat's steering wheel before the autopilot can be engaged using the Auto button on your autopilot controller. If less than one second has passed before the Auto button is selected, the Drive stopped alarm will be displayed.

  • EEPROM corruptionEEPROM corruption — A corruption of critical configuration data has occurred. The autopilot will drop to standby and the alarm will time out after 10 seconds.

  • Pilot start upPilot start up — Will display start up for 20 seconds every time the autopilot is powered up

  • Rate gyro faultRate gyro fault — The gyro sensor has failed.

  • Rudder reference unit failureRudder reference unit failure — Rudder Reference connection has been lost, or exceeded its limits (the Rudder reference transducer has failed while in auto; angle is more than 50 degrees or connection to rudder reference is lost). The autopilot will drop to standby and the alarm will time out after 10 seconds.

  • Solenoid shortSolenoid short — Indicates a short circuit in the solenoid. The autopilot will power down.

  • SeaTalk 1 fail — SeaTalk channel 1 has a communication problem.

  • SeaTalk 2 fail — SeaTalk channel 2 has a communication problem.

  • SeaTalk failSeaTalk fail — SeaTalk data transmission problem. The autopilot will drop to standby and the alarm will time out after 10 seconds. To resolve this issue, try:

    • Checking connections for short or open circuit.

    • Checking system for a device fault.

  • Power & motor cables are swappedPower & motor cables are swapped — this alarm occurs when the motor pair of cables and the power pair of cables are swapped. To resolve this issue, swap the motor and power cables at the course computer.

Device connection or data source alarms

When an alarm is triggered that indicates that a device is not detected or a required data source is missing, first check that the device / data source is operational and that all cables and connections are secure and free from damage.

  • No compassNo compass – Compass is not detected.

  • No control headNo control head — The course computer has lost communications with the Pilot controller, this alarm is generated by the course computer. The autopilot will drop to standby and the alarm will time out after 10 seconds.

  • No drive detectedNo drive detected — Communication between the EV unit and ACU has been lost or cannot be established. To resolve this issue, try:

    • Check LED diagnostics indicators.

    • Check output from EV and ACU units.

  • No pilotNo pilot — The Pilot controller has lost communications with the course computer; this alarm is generated by the Pilot controller.

  • No speed dataNo speed data — No speed data is being received. Check Speed transducer.

  • No Wind dataNo Wind data — Triggered in Wind vane mode when no Wind angle data has been received for 30 seconds or more. The autopilot will drop out of wind vane mode and revert to auto mode.

AutoLearn alarms

AutoLearnFor AutoLearn failures, first try restarting the AutoLearn process.

  • AutoLearn fail 1 (not carried out) — AutoLearn has not been carried out.

  • AutoLearn fail 2 (Manual intervention) — Manual intervention during AutoLearn.

  • AutoLearn fail 3 (Compass or drive error) — Investigate compass fault or drive fault.

  • AutoLearn fail 4 — AutoLearn has failed due to compass or drive error.

  • AutoLearn fail 5 — AutoLearn has failed due to the motor reaching its current limit.

  • AutoLearn fail 6 — AutoLearn has failed because the vessel went into a spin (i.e. the motor did not drive the rudder back to the opposite side).