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#1
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More Skytec starter woes
Hey all... I posted about a year ago about "residual engagement" on a Skytec
starter for my Cherokee 180. At that time, I discovered the poor way that they wired it for certified aircraft use. Using the alternate wiring (for experimental only) http://www.skytecair.com/Wiring_diag.htm, this backEMF driving the solenoid could be eliminated. Since this would require alteration of aircraft wiring, PMA'ing the unit would be difficult. NOW, I've run into another problem with my plane. Recently, it has become harder to start. I had some chipped teeth in the ring gear from awhile back, so I was just assuming it was finally wearing out. Over the past couple of flights, it will often "give up" on a compresison stroke and you can hear the starter just "whizz." I called Skytec and they dismissed my theories that: - Remaining engaged for a second or so is hard on the ring gear. - I should try to rewire the system so it cannot do that. - A broken tooth off the ring gear is causing the dead spot... rather the starter should be sent back to them for measurement and verification of the sprag clutch and housing. Anyone else experience this? I must admit that I was rather put off by the customer service guy on the phone. His attitude was, "We've got tens of thousands of these in service, so your problem cannot be due to bad design." Then he went on to say that a kickback can break the sprag clutch, bend the shaft, or bend the housing, and that free-wheeling gears after starting is harmless. *Any* design (good or bad) can stand improvement... especially when regulations limit the design process. I would imagine that the checkup on our starter won't be covered by warranty either since it's over 1 year old. -Cory -- ************************************************** *********************** * Cory Papenfuss * * Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student * * Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University * ************************************************** *********************** |
#2
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More Skytec starter woes
These are not normally troublesome starters. I've had one on my Arrow
for 10 years with no hiccups at all. |
#3
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More Skytec starter woes
Cory,
Over the past couple of flights, it will often "give up" on a compression stroke and you can hear the starter just "whizz." I This is common for several reasons. One is weak battery, two is corroded connections or terminations somewhere, corroded battery cable (rare), bad contactors/relays/solenoids, need of lubrication on the post that the little starter wheel travels on to engage the flywheel and lastly a bad starter. Of course there can be any combination of the above. Go on SkyTec's site and do the SkyTec Troubleshoot checklist. Find the drop in voltage and fix or replace what the problem is. http://www.skytecair.com/images/Trou...iagram_5.0.pdf Kobra |
#4
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More Skytec starter woes
That "whizz" sounds like a slipping sprag clutch (Bendix drive). Don't
run into that very often at all on those drives. It was more common on the old small Continental starter drives, which ran in oil and after a little wear they would start to slip. Dan |
#5
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More Skytec starter woes
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