Lost autopilot and skyhook

Jedd

New Member
Sep 15, 2018
19
Vancouver BC CANADA
Boat Info
510 fly. 2014
Engines
CUMMINS. T -ZEUS 600 QSC T3. DIESELS
Hello everyone. I have a 2014 SeaRay 510 fly. I recently lost my autopilot and skyhook .
The mercury tech can’t find the problem . I feel it is something simple. Has anyone had this problem. Also does this model have a flux gate compass and where is it located. Finally should I calibrate the heading and how . Thank you all so much. Jedd
 
You don’t have Zeus pods by any chance? There was a post on the Sabre Owners FB group about an issue with wacky autopilots attached to Zeus drives that has to do with some flaw in the Mercury Marine supplied GPS.
 
Have him check your IMU.... Trust me....
 
All things knowledge (Wikipedia) does a better job than I can
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_measurement_unit

the part my boat needed was:
https://www.mercruiserparts.com/8m6002180-imu-compass-3-1

My rudimentary understanding is the Zeus package uses its own GPS antenna along with the IMU to calculate your boats attitude, position and detect any changes.

Finding it on your boat will take a bit of detective work i was told though i believe it needs to be close to the center.

Note that you cannot calibrate this on your own without the Mercruiser Dealer software.
 
Last edited:
Shaps what is an IMU ? Jedd
All things knowledge (Wikipedia) does a better job than I can
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_measurement_unit

the part my boat needed was:
https://www.mercruiserparts.com/8m6002180-imu-compass-3-1

My rudimentary understanding is the Zeus package uses its own GPS antenna along with the IMU to calculate your boats attitude, position and detect any changes.

Finding it on your boat will take a bit of detective work i was told though i believe it needs to be close to the center.

Note that you cannot calibrate this on your own without the Mercruiser Dealer software.
 
Is the IMU mentioned the flex gate compass which I found
Under the fly bridge console with a y harness to the GPS antenna and the
smart raft vessel assist 4 ?
 
Here’s the link to the article that was posted by a Sabre owner who’s having issues with his Zeus autopilot. It’s related to problems with the internal gps.
https://helpfulcaptain.com/dangerou...p9xudDhLGSrCoPzuO7HwuGRFbr63VvkFreXuP6k4BajCI

To help out on Shaps IMU suggestion. This seems to be analogous to an autopilot’s fluxgate compass, but rather than determining heading it is measuring the spatial orientation of the boat. Without getting too technical this should be located somewhere between the center of gravity and the center of buoyancy. As long as the boat is floating upright the CG is below the CB. The transverse and longitudinal locations for both should be the same, with the vertical being different.

If you haven’t modified (added ballast, new washer dryer, fridge, etc) how Sea Ray built the boat, and it floats level, the transverse location is mid beam. To determine the fore aft longitudinal dimensions, locate the sling lift points. Since these are designed to allow the boat to be lifted level, the mid point between the two, and the beam mid point at that position is the fore/aft - port/stbd location of the center of gravity. So in that vicinity on a vertical line is the perfect location for something to measure spatial orientation. Of course it could also be anywhere.
 
Is the IMU mentioned the flex gate compass which I found
Under the fly bridge console with a y harness to the GPS antenna and the
smart raft vessel assist 4 ?

Sounds like it
 
I am getting an accurate position on the smartcraft vessel assist 4 which
is the same as the Raynarine chart plotter. So it appears the GPS antenna is good.
 
I am getting an accurate position on the smartcraft vessel assist 4 which
is the same as the Raynarine chart plotter. So it appears the GPS antenna is good.

Not necssarily, the Zeus unit may have its own GPS that is tasked to only helping to manage the Zeus system. We have a dedicated Volvo GPS that is only used internally by the IPS system. If you read the article I linked above, there is a discussion about the use of GPS by the zeus system.
 
Not necssarily, the Zeus unit may have its own GPS that is tasked to only helping to manage the Zeus system. We have a dedicated Volvo GPS that is only used internally by the IPS system. If you read the article I linked above, there is a discussion about the use of GPS by the zeus system.
Henry the GPS antenna
 
Henry is correct.
The ZEUS system has its own GPS as well as the IMU.

Sorry Jedd, you have exhausted my (admittedly limited) knowledge on the subject now.
I do know that a cummins/mercruiser mechanic with the diagnostic software should be able to tell if both units are functioning correctly and communicating appropriately.

Good luck with this. I know the frustration these can cause firsthand.
Please keep us posted.
Shaps
 
Henry is correct.
The ZEUS system has its own GPS as well as the IMU.

Sorry Jedd, you have exhausted my (admittedly limited) knowledge on the subject now.
I do know that a cummins/mercruiser mechanic with the diagnostic software should be able to tell if both units are functioning correctly and communicating appropriately.

Good luck with this. I know the frustration these can cause firsthand.
Please keep us posted.
Shaps
The local merc marine distributor and my mechanic are arranging a teleconference next week with the marine engineer at Fond du Lac headquarters in Wisconsin. Their tech support guy sent the personality file for the boat which didn’t fix the problem to his dismay so he moved us on to the engineers. Thank you for taking an interest . James
 
Hi! I'm expericing similiar issues where Skyhook is not engaged. When presses it only flashes and doesn't get activated. I've changed to a new GPS unit and it seams from G3 live view I'm getting data in from the GPS.

@Jedd: Did you get a new personality file? You don't have it so you could send it to me?

BR Krister
 
Thank you all for advice . Everything suggested was checked. The regional (state) rep came to the boat in Vancouver BC and connected directly to software engineer in Wisconsin who was working from home . After an hour the problem was found to be the flybridge trakpad was
connected to the inside helm and the inside trackpad was connected to the flyBridge helm so that neither would engage autopilot or skyhook. They admitted this should have been checked first not last but regardless
it was then quickly corrected on line . The Only reason suggested was
possibly a voltage drop. My mechanic had reconfigured the entire
electrical system in the previous month when a voltage drop had been suggested but at that time no one had suggested a software correction was necessary to complete the fix. Thanks again Jedd
 

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