The auto-pilot should be running the trim, the annunciation
is intended to be advisory. Using the electric trim will
disengage the auto-pilot. I'm guessing that you have a bad
relay.
It is not airworthy as it is, you might be able to placard
it in-op until you can get it in the shop. Read the POH FM
supplement for a description of the required pre-flight
tests, you may not be doing them properly and thus the A/P
won't engage.

--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P



"Roy Smith" wrote in message
...
| On the Century-2000 equipped Bonanzas I fly, there's an
interesting
| trim problem with the AP, which is basicly that it doesn't
trim.
|
| Engage the AP while you're being vectored for the ILS and
let it
| fly the approach, as you keep reducing power to slow down
and then
| track the GS. As you slow down, you should be dialing in
nose-up trim
| (and, indeed, the AP prompts you to do this, but if you're
not paying
| attention, you can miss the flashing light).
|
| Now, at DH, click off the AP to hand-fly the landing. All
of a
| sudden, you've got a fistfull of yoke trying to pull your
arms out of
| their sockets until you get the trim fixed. Even worse if
you didn't
| see the runway and clicked off the AP to execute the
missed.
|
| Of course, the AP is performing as designed, and it's the
pilot who's
| unairworthy, but it's a common enough mistake that I've
got to believe
| it's a design flaw in the system. If nothing else, it
should have a
| more obvious alert than a small blinking light outside of
your main
| visual scan. Like maybe a mechanical arm that smacks you
upside your
| head with a rolled-up sectional while a synthesized voice
says, "Trim
| up, trim up".