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

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
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...

Arc weld it.

On 06/20/07 08:54, Jay Honeck wrote:

[ snip ]


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!

Can you get a bolt/screw that will fit the threads and which can
be safety wired? ... or would that not be an "approved" part?

Mark Hansen wrote:
On 06/20/07 08:54, Jay Honeck wrote:

[ snip ]


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!


Can you get a bolt/screw that will fit the threads and which can
be safety wired? ... or would that not be an "approved" part?

I thought the retainer was a nut on the alternator. If you have enough
thread room (and a star washer is not doing the job) you could put a
second nut to be a jam nut.

--

Regards, Ross
C-172F 180HP
KSWI

Mark Hansen wrote:

On 06/20/07 08:54, Jay Honeck wrote:

[ snip ]


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!


Can you get a bolt/screw that will fit the threads and which can
be safety wired? ... or would that not be an "approved" part?

Yeah, that's a great idea. Safety wire the field terminal to ground.
Might keep the nut from loosening up, but I'll bet your voltage
regulator won't like the resulting short to ground much.

On 06/27/07 14:41, Ray Andraka wrote:
Mark Hansen wrote:

On 06/20/07 08:54, Jay Honeck wrote:

[ snip ]


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!


Can you get a bolt/screw that will fit the threads and which can
be safety wired? ... or would that not be an "approved" part?

Yeah, that's a great idea. Safety wire the field terminal to ground.
Might keep the nut from loosening up, but I'll bet your voltage
regulator won't like the resulting short to ground much.

Was the sarcasm really necessary Ray? I assumed the OP would know
whether or not safety wire could be used in such a case.


--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane, USUA Ultralight Pilot
Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
Sacramento, CA

Mark Hansen wrote:


Was the sarcasm really necessary Ray? I assumed the OP would know
whether or not safety wire could be used in such a case.


No, I suppose not. Long day (I know, no excuse).

On 06/27/07 15:27, Ray Andraka wrote:
Mark Hansen wrote:


Was the sarcasm really necessary Ray? I assumed the OP would know
whether or not safety wire could be used in such a case.


No, I suppose not. Long day (I know, no excuse).

Well ... I was going to say that it didn't sound like you ;-)
Let's forget it.

Best Regards,

Well if conductivity can be maintained, loctite (not red) should be
okay, used sparingly of course. Dare I say a blob of silicone over the
whole thing? Something harde seems scarey to use, like JB Weld or liquid
solder, epoxy glue and such. New lockwashers are probably in order.

I am going to go check my alternators tomorrow....

John

Jay Honeck wrote:

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

Jay Honeck wrote:
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...

New phillips screw, new external tooth lockwasher, loctite (medium grade
removable type), add it to the list of inspection items when the cowl is
off the airplane.

There may be a drilled head screw/bolt you could use, but you mentioned
there is no way to safety wire it.....I assume that means nothing on the
back of the alternator to wire it to.

Steve