NVArt wrote:
Problem grows out of a six month old RG battery that won't hold a
charge for two weeks. Bought a plug and Jump from Aircraft Spruce.
Neato idea; I don't have to remove the cowl. I was going to use it to
trickle charge the battery. Trouble is, when I plug in the Plug and
Jump, it powers the panel. I don't want the gyros spinning for hours
while the charger is charging the battery. What's a mother to do?
C172N
model.


5217D
HTH

HTH...

Some bad advice so far.

Your description of the small door on the left suggests you have the
normal external power circuit. When you apply power to those big stud
it causes the battery solenoid to make and that allows power to be
applied to the battery.Any accessrry which is not switch controllable
will be energized. The feature allows external power to start the
engine, that being the reason the terminals are so large.

You did not say if you can switch off the gyros and I don't know but
suspect they are connected to the bus and cannot be disabled?? And
Cessna has long chosen the cheapest circuit breakers which are
unpullable.

Back to fundamentals. If the battery is that new/old, then there is
something draining it when the plane sits or there is something wrong
with the battery. What have you done to check the battery?

If you jury rig a connection which allows a trickle charge to the
battery and then hook a dead battery to a source which has the ability
to apply a lot of current, the jury rig will quickly fry.

Suggestion to plug a trickle charger into the cigar lighter are doomed
as well since that socket it only powered when the master is on and
you are right back to the gyros running.

Start with basics. Battery....get tested and fully charged and then
find out if you have a sneak path which is drawing current when the
plane is not running....there is often a clock circuit which is hooked
up "around" the master solenoid and it takes power constantly, though
only enought to keep the clock running.

Your POH should have a rudimentary circuit near the back.

Neal