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I have a G103 SL with a 28Ah SLA main battery and a Rotax 505A engine.
Over the years I've had some intermittent problems with ground starting the engine, and the pattern has only recently been more obvious to me. The engine has a reputation for being a bit finicky to start, however, air starts are nearly instantaneous and reliable, and windmilling alone will bring it to life without fail. My starter has been overhauled recently, and first starts of the year after having been on the AC charger in the trailer are usually crisp. I keep the aircraft tied down and covered during the more mild months of the year, but this is usually when the engine gradually gets a bit more challenging to start. I have been told that the Rotax uses a CDI ignition that is sensitive to minimum threshhold RPM levels, and I'm beginning to suspect that the battery is not being fully topped off. I've had a solar trickle charger set up that thought would work, but now I'm not so sure. I use a Powerfilm rollable R15-300 ( 0.3 A, 15.4 V ) with a Morningstar Sunguard controller. The reason I use the rollable is that I can bungee it onto the top/side of the glider so wind doesn't become too much of a problem since it shapes itself to the fuselage and has a fair approximation to the angle needed for direct sun exposure. I bought a new battery last year, but this doesn't seem to keep it topped off enough to get the full cranking RPM I need. Before I start blaming losses in the charging system, I was wondering if any of the electrical engineering types might have some words of wisdom about the adequacy of my setup. The 0.3 A is only achieved in full sun with direct alignment, and given the curve of the Powerfilm on the fuselage and the periodic cloudiness of the Pac NW I'm wondering if this setup is just underpowered. Even after several weeks of summer sun I usually find that the battery is only about 12.4 volts or so, and not at the 12.7 volts I need. I haven't found much on the web about solar charging batteries of this size. Alternatively, are there other strategies for tie down charging such as DC to DC or inverters to enable the AC charger? The battery is not easy to replace, so swapping it out is a bit of a hassle, but possible. If nothing else, I thought this might encourage a thoughtful discussion on battery care and maintenance in the field. Any words of wisdom? |
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