Raymarine i60 Wind Instrument Problem

[Bolo]

Quite suddenly the Raymarine i60 wind instrument at my helm stopped showing the apparent wind reading, after almost two years, and now only show “0.0 kts”. The wind direction pointer is working however. So I did the usual check of the connections to see if there was loose wiring, there wasn’t. Then I downloaded a Raymarine document titled “Masthead Wind Transducer Test” which I’ve provided a link to here. In that document there is a section called, “Testing with a multimeter” that shows the five different wires that are in the cable that are connected to the mast head wind transducer.


i60 First being installed but not yet broken.

• Black (uninsulated wire shield)
• Red (Supply to wind vane)
• Green (Wind angle)
• Blue (Also wind angle)
• Yellow (Wind speed).

It also shows the expected voltage readings to be from each wire (using the uninsulated shield wire as ground or negative) to check if the cable has no breaks and if the mast head wind transducer is working properly. So I checked them all and paid particular attention the the yellow wire which carries the wind speed signal. All voltages corresponded to the “expected reading” ranges with the yellow (wind speed) voltage showing 3.2 volts when the wind was light which consequently is the best time to test according to Raymarine. So according to the test voltages the apparent wind speed indicator should be working but, of course, it’s not.

The test instructions state that’ “If any of the measurements on the Blue, Green or Yellow show a static voltage when the cups/vane are moving then you may have a fault in the wind vane, or more commonly some moisture inside the mast head connector or damage to the cable. So does "static" mean unchanging voltage? Wondering that because, although the wind speed was light when preformed the test, the voltage remained constant (static?).

I also spent time playing with the buttons on the display at the helm because once I had accidentally set the wind speed for “True” and not the usual “Apparent” which caused the reading to be blank. I don’t have a “through the water” transducer in the hull so “True” wind speeds are not possible. Changing the wind to apparent brought the reading back so I thought that maybe I accidentally pressed the wrong button again but no combination of button pressing, using the manual as my guide, could bring the reading back.

My question to any of you with a Raymarine i60 Wind instrument is, of course, has this happened to you and if so what did you do to solve the problem? Or what do you think could be causing the problem? Going to the boat again to try and solve my issue and going sailing because you don’t really need a wind speed indicator to go sailing, just your senses. If I can’t solve the problem then the marina “tech wizard” is going to take a look at it. IMO, it’s either the mast head unit (but that passed the transducer test) or the display which has no testing instructions available short of pulling the display and finding if it works on another boat with the same Raymarine wind setup as mine.

 

[Christian Williams]

I go here first. Have to wait a bit, but it's the horse's mouth.

Raymarine forum

forum.raymarine.com

2024 update: Site discontinued. Ray says

"Our Nashua, New Hampshire USA support center is open from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM (Eastern), Monday through Friday. Call us at 1-800-539-5539."

 

[Frank Langer]

The tech staff at Raymarine spent over an hour on the phone with me to help solve my problem, no charge. I would phone them.
Frank

 

[Pete the Cat]

Quite suddenly the Raymarine i60 wind instrument at my helm stopped showing the apparent wind reading, after almost two years, and now only show “0.0 kts”. The wind direction pointer is working however. So I did the usual check of the connections to see if there was loose wiring, there wasn’t. Then I downloaded a Raymarine document titled “Masthead Wind Transducer Test” which I’ve provided a link to here. In that document there is a section called, “Testing with a multimeter” that shows the five different wires that are in the cable that are connected to the mast head wind transducer.

View attachment 50574
i60 First being installed but not yet broken.

• Black (uninsulated wire shield)
• Red (Supply to wind vane)
• Green (Wind angle)
• Blue (Also wind angle)
• Yellow (Wind speed).

View attachment 50575
It also shows the expected voltage readings to be from each wire (using the uninsulated shield wire as ground or negative) to check if the cable has no breaks and if the mast head wind transducer is working properly. So I checked them all and paid particular attention the the yellow wire which carries the wind speed signal. All voltages corresponded to the “expected reading” ranges with the yellow (wind speed) voltage showing 3.2 volts when the wind was light which consequently is the best time to test according to Raymarine. So according to the test voltages the apparent wind speed indicator should be working but, of course, it’s not.

The test instructions state that’ “If any of the measurements on the Blue, Green or Yellow show a static voltage when the cups/vane are moving then you may have a fault in the wind vane, or more commonly some moisture inside the mast head connector or damage to the cable.. So does "static" mean unchanging voltage? Wondering that because, although the wind speed was light when preformed the test, the voltage remained constant (static?).

I also spent time playing with the buttons on the display at the helm because once I had accidentally set the wind speed for “True” and not the usual “Apparent” which caused the reading to be blank. I don’t have a “through the water” transducer in the hull so “True” wind speeds are not possible. Changing the wind to apparent brought the reading back so I thought that maybe I accidentally pressed the wrong button again but no combination of button pressing, using the manual as my guide, could bring the reading back.

My question to any of you with a Raymarine i60 Wind instrument is, of course, has this happened to you and if so what did you do to solve the problem? Or what do you think could be causing the problem? Going to the boat again to try and solve my issue and going sailing because you don’t really need a wind speed indicator to go sailing, just your senses. If I can’t solve the problem then the marina “tech wizard” is going to take a look at it. IMO, it’s either the mast head unit (but that passed the transducer test) or the display which has no testing instructions available short of pulling the display and finding if it works on another boat with the same Raymarine wind setup as mine.

Whenever I have a problem with something electronic, I have learned to suspect the connections first. Grounds for the system are as important as the voltage you measure with your VOM--so make sure the shield is performing properly as a ground--I have never understood why Raymarine does not have a dedicated ground wire in their systems--they generally rely on the shields. I have been having a similar intermittent problem with my wireless Raymarine Wind display--it is intermittent, but the manual had a reset process for the system and it may have worked--it started working again. Diagnosing intermittent problems is bugger.

 

[Dave G.]

Quite suddenly the Raymarine i60 wind instrument at my helm stopped showing the apparent wind reading

Looking at your pic the instrument is currently set for TRUE wind not apparent wind. Is it not switching to apparent wind? That little black square on the bottom left of the lcd needs to be on the right for it to read apparent wind.

 

[Bolo]

Looking at your pic the instrument is currently set for TRUE wind not apparent wind. Is it not switching to apparent wind? That little black square on the bottom left of the lcd needs to be on the right for it to read apparent wind.

That photo, like the caption says, was taken during install not after it “broke”.

 

[Dave G.]

ok, sorry. Kind of same question; Is the instrument switching to apparent wind ? Can you take a pic of the "broke" display ?

 

[Bolo]

ok, sorry. Kind of same question; Is the instrument switching to apparent wind ? Can you take a pic of the "broke" display ?

Not at the boat today and it's 2 hours from my house so can't take a photo of the display in its present state. However, I do know about the True and Apparent wind settings and when it's set to Apparent the display reads "0.0 kts". That said, I noticed that sometimes when I would use the "Display" button to change the readouts and show the Beaufort wind speed I would sometimes get a reading of "F1" and the winds were light.

 

[Bolo]

I go here first. Have to wait a bit, but it's the horse's mouth.

Raymarine forum

forum.raymarine.com

Christian, When I tried the link a box came up on the screen that read: "Please be advised on July 6th at midnight the Raymarine Forum will be closed to new posts, threads and new members. It will still be available for viewing only. We are transitioning over to our new support platform www.raymarine.custhelp.com." When you try that link it says that the site has been disabled. (UGH!)

 

[Prairie Schooner]

Christian, When I tried the link a box came up on the screen that read: "Please be advised on July 6th at midnight the Raymarine Forum will be closed to new posts, threads and new members. It will still be available for viewing only. We are transitioning over to our new support platform www.raymarine.custhelp.com." When you try that link it says that the site has been disabled. (UGH!)

Is it possible they got bit by the same fiasco that's hitting the airlines? I ask in almost complete ignorance of the actual details.

 

[Bolo]

I called the tech help number listed on the site for the USA and talked to a real person for once and a tech guy too. I reviewed what I did and knew and he agreed that I was heading in the right direction. He mention that if I got constant voltage values off any of the Green, Blue or Yellow connections while the wind was blowing and somewhat variable then there is a problem with a "wet" or corroded connection in the wind transducer OR...it could be a faulty unit which would have to be returned for repair or replacement. Could also be the display too so both would have to be sent off. Luckily I'm sure both are still in warranty but that won't pay for someone to go up the mast to take it down or put it back up.

As for the forum, he told me that there was this guy named "Chuck" who ran it for them for years and he was very knowledgable with Raymarine equipment. But he retired last year and they've found no one to take his place. Sounds quite amazing considering that Raymarine is an international company but I guess everyone is finding it hard to find qualified help these days. The tech told me that since they stopped the forum he's been over whelmed with calls for help. No kidding!

 

[Christian Williams]

Nowadays I try making a Google search of "YouTube." Often there're videos even on quite obscure topics.

A recent example was "dropping a sailboat keel," where I found half a dozen really informational videos.

A Google search will also identify mentions in the Raymarine forum, a useful shortcut.

 

[Bolo]

So here's the final follow up on my Raymarine i60 Wind instrument failure. To recap, the i60 wind instrument display at my helm was always showing "0.0 kts" no matter how strong the wind was blowing. The wind direction pointer did work, however. No amount of wire and SeaTalk cable checking (and jiggling) or working with the display buttons to, among other things, do a faculty reset would solved the problem. So up the rigger went (I don't go up the mast anymore cause I don't bounce as well as I use to) to retrieve that mast head unit and it along with the display were both sent to Raymarine for analysis and repair. Luckily all were in warranty, sort of, but more about that later.

In the meantime, it was back to "old school" sailing by way of tell-tails taped to the standing rigging in positions were someone behind the helm could see them. Unfortunately the boat never had a Windex and I never saw a need for once since I always had a working mast head unit, at first Data Marine and then Raymarine, but one was added when the repaired Raymarine mast head unit was put back.

The Raymarine process for sending in their products for repair is a bit confusing at first but eventually I found the correct page which asked me to state the problems I was having. I should say at this point that the products were registered with Raymarine when installed for the three year warranty period, something I strongly suggest that you do if you buy Raymarine. So serial numbers and warranty dates were all known in advance prior to receiving a "Repair Confirmation" being received via email. Shipping was not paid for and to do it right I took both items to a UPS Store for proper packing, insurance and shipping. It took about eight days before I found out what the analysis revealed from the folks at Teledyne FLIR Marine US, Inc in Hudson, NH.

The mast head unit had a "electrical failure of the small PCB" (whatever that is) and the display unit had a "two broken pins". Where the broken pins were located was never made clear at the time but I was informed that "physical damage not covered under warranty". Disappointing but actually understandable because careless procedures for removing cables and wires can happen. I was careful with pulling off the connectors myself but...I also had my marina get their "electronics guy" to look at diagnosing the problem early on and maybe he broke the pins or maybe it was me. Who knows. Either way I'd be paying for this one but the marine gods smiled down on me because I was told that since the display was "unrepairable" a new one could be sent to me (with a new warranty) for only $245. A new i60 display cost almost $500 at Defender. How was this possible you say?

It was because of an email that I received informing me about the causes of the problems and my options which were:
Option 1:Scrap unit for no charge
Option 2:Send back unit with no repairs under the Maintenance and Investigation fee: $140.00USD
Option 3:Fixed Price Repair: $245.00USD comes with a 12-month warranty. Plus shipping and taxes

"I'll take option number three, Don!" The Fixed Price Repair, was for...well..fixing something, right, but they weren't fixing anything they were "replacing" so wouldn't they charge me the full price of $500? I wasn't asking that question and maybe $245 is what marine stores pay for the i60 display. Who knows? I didn't care. I just wanted my wind system working again. So it was all shipped to me and the repaired mast head unit (and new Windex) installed by the rigger. I took (great) care of installing the display and while doing so I couldn't get one of the SeaTalk cables to plug into the back of the i60 display. After careful examination with a magnifying glass I found one of the elusive broken pins in the female connector that was still at the helm. Luckily I had another "spur" cable on hand. All works now and everyone is happy along with gaining some knowledge about Raymarine repair. Hope this tail helps any of you facing a similar situation with Raymarine.