Different plane, same fix

When we flew our '75 Warrior, it developed a problem with the
alternator going off-line in flight. This was preceeded by the
ammeter needle bouncing crazily and finally pegging at 60 amps.

I fixed that problem by spending an hour tracing all the electrical
lines, and tightening connections. The main culprit was a wire
connector that was screwed into the backside of the alternator with a
simple phillips screw -- no safety wire, no loc-tite, no nuthin'.
Looked like a ground wire to me, but I'm no mechanic.

I turned it a good two and half turns, and the problem went away,
never to return. We sold the plane in '02.

Recently, Atlas developed a nasty, annoying whine in the headphones.
This developed immediately after I had removed the PS Engineering CD/
Intercom for some panel maintenance, so I naturally assumed that they
were related.

No amount of re-seating, cleaning, wiggling had any effect. My
frustration was mounting.

Then, this past Sunday, I decided to chang the oil after our return
flight from the Cherokee Pilots Association fly-in. It was Fathers
Day, it was 100 degrees in the hangar, and we were both melting, but I
decided to de-cowl the plane in order to make the oil change easier,
and to trace the wiring -- just in case it was another loose
connection somewhere.

Of course, the first place I looked was the backside of the
alternator, and, lo and behold, the same damned wire was loose! A
few turns to tighten, and voila! -- no more whine. (I traced the rest
of the wiring, while I was at it, and found a couple of broken zip
ties, and one broken wire -- a lead going to one of my cylinder
heaters. It's broken right where it goes into the cylinder -- THAT
looks like absolutely no fun to repair...)

Anyway, what should I put on this stupid screw to stop it from
vibrating loose? LocTite? Another lock washer? There's no way to
safety wire it...

Thanks!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination