|
|
|
|
Pete's RV-8 Web Site
|
Date: 3-9-2010
|
Number of Hours: 0.00
|
Manual Reference:
|
Brief Description: Minor in-flight emergency with the Archer
|
|
Over the last couple of years I have noticed a performance decline in the starter on my Archer (co-owned with a good friend). We decided the likely problem was the battery, starter, or the aluminum battery cable which runs from the rear mounted battery to the engine compartment (not exactly rocket science, I guess). Piper in the infinite wisdom built the 1977 Archer with aluminum cabling to save weight. Unfortunately, with age the aluminum oxidizes increasing resistance in the cable. Anyway, we first replaced the battery which had some age on it and was a bit weak. After seeing very little improvement we decided to replace the aluminum cable with copper leaving a new starter as a last resort. Well, while the original starter may be a little tired, the new cable made all the difference. She cranks like a new bird. It cost a bit to run the cable since it goes from the starter through the firewall and has to be routed all the way behind the baggage compartment to the battery box (actually two cables, one for power and one for grounding to engine). Anyway, it was worth the effort and cost.
On our first night cross-country flight after the cable upgrade we had a minor in-flight problem. About 50 NM from DAY we noticed a pulsation in the glare shield cockpit lighting (dim-bright-dim-bright). The needle on the ammeter was also twitching and then the alternator annunciator lit up and began to flicker on and off. To make a long story short, we shutdown all the electrics except one radio and the transponder and let Dayton approach know we had a little issue. Approach let us turn off the transponder to save additional power and we made it into DAY with plenty of battery power to spare. Today I removed the cowl and checked all the applicable wiring connections to be sure none were loose and they were not. I think the cable upgrade was just coincidental and the problem was a slightly loose alternator belt that was slipping. Anyway, the belt was retensioned and a subsequent ground test was successful.
|
|
New Copper Battery Cabling
|
|
Alternator Belt Adjustment
|
|
Buttoning Up
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2001-2024 Matronics. All Rights Reserved.
|
