"Ross Richardson" wrote in message
...
Juan Jimenez wrote:

On Wed, 11 May 2005 18:30:35 -0700, "Paul Anton"
wrote:


My first question concerns the ammeter. I have definitely confirmed that
the
ammeter is defective. It appears like the ENTIRE gage cluster will have
to
be replaced.

Here's my second question. I think the reason the ammeter broke is that
it
simply wore out.


Paul, I've started working in avionics and aircraft electrical systems in
1979. I've never seen an ammeter "wear out".


The voltage and hence the current is constantly varying.
The original ammeter needle was oscillating so much that you couldn't
tell
if the system was charging or not.


Seems to me that if you verified that the current was oscillating, the
ammeter is not broken. I would suggest that you pull circuit breakers and
see if you can isolate what system is making the ammeter oscillate like
that. If your alternator and regulator have been recently replaced and
they check out OK, there aren't that many systems in a 182RG that can
make the ammeter behave that way.
A Cessna master switch can cause the problem. See earlier post.

--
Regards, Ross
C-172F 180HP

I saw that, but the problem is that it is not legal to replace the master
switch with a "military" switch unless it is FAA approved. That is not to
say that it can't be done, but my guess is that if this is truly the root
cause of the problem, Cessna would have already issued an SB and an
alternate p/n for a replacement switch.

Juan