wrote in message
...
So far there's one vote for aluminum, one for stainless, and one for tin,
eh?
I'm sure it depends on which aircraft and model year, but I'm sure hoping
I can get
away with some form of solder. A friend of mine had to fix his '65
Cherokee 150's
box... probably the same as my '69. He got some funky solder/brazing rod
that
apparently worked on his. What I see on min is not magnetic, but doesn't
look like
aluminum either. Seems too heavy to be aluminum, although I haven't
removed the
solenoid from the side of the box yet, either.

Speaking of that, anyone figured out the purpose of the diode and resistor
back there on that vintage PA-28? As near as I can tell from the
schematic, it allows
the alternator to slowly charge a completely dead battery with the master
off.
Then will allow the alternator/partially charged battery to close the
master and
charge it properly. Of course all this would require the alternator to
self-excite...
something I didn't think they were typically set up to do. Thoughts?

Hence the term : "Alternator Source- Power Relay energizing circuit"
used by Piper, in my Cherokee's Operating Manual



-Cory

Aaron Coolidge wrote:
: wrote:
: : Hey all... I've got the plane down for an annual and have
discovered a small
: : weeping leak in the bottom of the battery box (where the drain nozzle
attaches). Am I
: : correct in recalling that the box is made of tin and the nozzle of
copper? Will
: : regular Lead/Tin (60/40) solder this, or do I need some special solder
for it? It
: : seems like it should be repairable, since it looks like it was *made*
by soldering.

: My Cherokee's battery box is made of stainless steel. It also had a
little
: seepage at the drain tube. Someone had brazed (!) a galvanized (!) pipe
: flange onto it, and threaded a little 1/8" pipe nipple into it. The
braze
: broke off the battery box (go figure).

: I TIG welded a patch onto the bottom, and TIG welded a little length of
: 316 stainless pipe to the bottom of the box. All is now well.

: --
: Aaron C.

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************