Altnerator and landing light

wrote:
: Certified airplanes with alternators are supposed to be able to
: handle ALL constant loads at the same time. Adding up all the radio and
: light and pitot heat and whatever else current daws should come to
: something less than alternator capacity. A drop from 14.5 to 13 volts
: is a BIG drop and shouldn't be there, especially if the RPM is above
: 1000 or so. Sounds like maybe the alternator is getting weak or has a
: bad diode or worn brushes, maybe.

That's true, but only in cruise. You aren't going to be the air long enough to have
the battery go dead at only 1000 RPM. At cruise RPM you're required to limit the maximum
load to 80%, and/or instrument the system properly to indicate when the load has been
exceeded. Automotive (and thus aviation) alternators do *NOT* put out full load at idle, nor
should they be expected to. The entire design of the alternator would have to be compromised
to do so, and it would be even *more* inefficient than it already is (50-70% typically).

Pulling 30A out of the alternator at 800RPM would definately be acceptable to have
the voltage output drop to 13v. Remember... the battery isn't discharging until the bus
voltage is below 12-12.5.

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