B&G Wind Wind Instrument Issues

[Nick J]

I’ve been dealing with a frustrating issue with our B&G WS320 wireless wind instrument. The unit is only 3 years old, but it’s only worked the first 1.5 years. In 20 knots of wind it would read 2-3 knots when it “worked” and 0 when it didn’t. The frustrating part was when I took the instrument off the mast and blew on the cups, it would read higher numbers (10-15 knots). It never lost connectivity, and the wind direction always worked, but the apparent wind speed was never accurate. I replaced the bearing cartridge and battery, climbed the mast at least a dozen times, and pulled the unit apart a few times trying to figure out what the problem was.

I think I finally found the issue. The top cover of the circuit board housing was not tight.



I think this allowed water to pool around the wind speed sensor on the circuit board which ended up shorting out a few components. (top is the new board)





I ordered a replacement circuit board from https://trionics.com/. Hopefully today will be the last trip up the mast. I wasn’t able to find any other accounts of an issue like this with my Google searches, so hopefully this will help others if they end up in the same situation.

 

[Prairie Schooner]

Makes me glad we went with the wired version when we had new instruments put in. Which occurs to me may sound like just a nautical way to say, "Sucks to be you.", though that's not my intention. Good troubleshooting, Nick.

 

[Nick J]

Success! The new circuit board fit perfectly and paired instantly. I still need to install it at the top of the mast though.

Jeff, we haven't had any issues with the wireless part and I think the section of the board that failed is the same on the wired version. The frustrating part of this issue was finding help. None of the reviews and complaints mentioned this failure. They were either about the wireless pairing, battery, or bearings going out. All those issues were fine with my unit. In fact, we've had such good luck with the wireless feature, i chose not to run a NMEA 2000 cable in the mast when it was down for the rerig.

B&G was less than helpful, but Trionics had some good info in addition to supplying the replacement circuit board. For anyone with a similar unit following along, take a look at your instrument next time you're up the mast and check the top seal. You may be able to easily save $350 by doing so.

 

[ConchyDug]

Oh wow just saw Trionics and was like I wonder if that's the same one here in Texas... yup it is. Just an FYI they got bought out recently and the "investor" has bought a couple other boat service companies locally and is trying to speed run driving them into the ground. Justin used to work at Trionics but I think he has gone solo now.

 

[Nick J]

Update... After only 7 months with a new battery, the unit stopped reporting. This time it looks like power. I pulled it off the mast and installed the old battery, which brought it back to life, but it says its only charging at 3%. Now I'm wondering if the solar panels are going out or if the plastic cover on top of the solar panels are crazed too much. I've ordered new some new batteries (going the amazon DIY route this time) and some replacement solar panels. Hopefully this does the trick. I'm starting to regret going with this unit. It's worked less than 50% of the time I've needed it. Anyone else have any long term experience with the B&G WS320 wind instrument?

 

[windblown]

Update... After only 7 months with a new battery, the unit stopped reporting. This time it looks like power. I pulled it off the mast and installed the old battery, which brought it back to life, but it says its only charging at 3%. Now I'm wondering if the solar panels are going out or if the plastic cover on top of the solar panels are crazed too much. I've ordered new some new batteries (going the amazon DIY route this time) and some replacement solar panels. Hopefully this does the trick. I'm starting to regret going with this unit. It's worked less than 50% of the time I've needed it. Anyone else have any long term experience with the B&G WS320 wind instrument?

This will be our sixth season with ours. The first year, we wrestled with the pairing issues that have been widely reported, and we went a season without the instrument. In year two, we resolved the pairing, but then lost the battery. Since then, it’s worked like a charm (fingers crossed!)

 

[Nick J]

This will be our sixth season with ours. The first year, we wrestled with the pairing issues that have been widely reported, and we went a season without the instrument. In year two, we resolved the pairing, but then lost the battery. Since then, it’s worked like a charm (fingers crossed!)

Thanks, that makes me feel a little better about all the work I'm doing going up and down the mast and replacing parts.

For anyone reading this trying to decide which one to go with, Just run a NMEA cable up the mast and be done with it. A wireless unit sounds great and can save time and money, but not if you have to mess with it all the time. I'm kicking myself for not running a NMEA 2000 cable when I had the mast down and pulled apart.

 

[windblown]

A wireless unit sounds great and can save time and money, but not if you have to mess with it all the time. I'm kicking myself for not running a NMEA 2000 cable when I had the mast down and pulled apart.

I'm with you here, Nick. We installed the wireless when we had the mast down (which we only do every 5 or 6 years). It seemed so easy at the time to just mount it and go. I'd opt to run the NMEA cable if I were doing it today.