Charging?

I have a voltmeter plugin in the cig lighter socket. It reads about 11.5 when
I trun on the master. Reads about 12.8 after engine start and after an hour
flight has worked up to maybe 13.7 or so. I plan on taking a known accurate
meter out Sat to check these reading.
My A&P says maybe the alternator needs rebuilt (at about $250). He says that
the voltage reg is solid state and either works or not - ie no adjustment.
I've had a couple of times when the bat needed a boost, so something is wrong.
Any comments before I start throwing money at the problem.

Chuck
Archer 2185B

PaulaJay1 wrote:
I have a voltmeter plugin in the cig lighter socket. It reads about
11.5 when
I trun on the master. Reads about 12.8 after engine start and after
an hour
flight has worked up to maybe 13.7 or so. I plan on taking a known
accurate
meter out Sat to check these reading.
My A&P says maybe the alternator needs rebuilt (at about $250). He
says that
the voltage reg is solid state and either works or not - ie no
adjustment.
I've had a couple of times when the bat needed a boost, so something
is wrong.
Any comments before I start throwing money at the problem.


Put a voltmeter on the battery with the master off. It should be
reading above 12 volts (mine reads ~12.4V) if it's fully charged. I
always see at least 12 volts on the bus and cigarette lighter before I
start. The fact that your voltage is slowly working its way up to
normal (should be around 14V), would lead me to think that the problem
may be that the battery is slow to take a charge.

Before tearing into the alternator, which appears to be generating
some electricity, I'd pull the battery, put it on a charger, then see
if it will hold itself above 12V. If not, it's time for a new battery.
John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

On 27-Jan-2005, (PaulaJay1) wrote:

Any comments before I start throwing money at the problem.


Pardon if this sounds overly obvious, but have you verified that the
alternator belt is nice and tight (and not deteriorated)? A worn and/or
slipping belt could easily give you these symptoms.

Speaking of alternator belts, our mechanic did something very clever for us
that might be of interest to others. When he installed our new engine some
months ago, he tie-wrapped a spare belt up against the engine, around but
well behind the flywheel. The idea is that if we suffer a broken alternator
belt the spare can be put on in a matter of minutes, with no special tools,
and without having to take off the prop. Anybody else use this trick?

--
-Elliott Drucker

I would think the heat from the engine would raise a havoc with the belt..
and it might smell pretty bad it gets hot
BT

wrote in message
news:U7gKd.1200$Pr4.896@trnddc03...

On 27-Jan-2005, (PaulaJay1) wrote:

Any comments before I start throwing money at the problem.


Pardon if this sounds overly obvious, but have you verified that the
alternator belt is nice and tight (and not deteriorated)? A worn and/or
slipping belt could easily give you these symptoms.

Speaking of alternator belts, our mechanic did something very clever for
us
that might be of interest to others. When he installed our new engine
some
months ago, he tie-wrapped a spare belt up against the engine, around but
well behind the flywheel. The idea is that if we suffer a broken
alternator
belt the spare can be put on in a matter of minutes, with no special
tools,
and without having to take off the prop. Anybody else use this trick?

--
-Elliott Drucker

On 27-Jan-2005, "BTIZ" wrote:

I would think the heat from the engine would raise a havoc with the belt..
and it might smell pretty bad it gets hot


The "spare" belt is positioned in a way that it is well clear of the
cylinders and heads. Actually, the belt doesn't even contact the crankcase
that much, and the case doesn't get particularly hot. The mechanic says his
shop has been doing this for a while now with no problems.
--
-Elliott Drucker

The "spare" belt is positioned in a way that it is well clear of the
cylinders and heads. Actually, the belt doesn't even contact the
crankcase
that much, and the case doesn't get particularly hot. The mechanic says
his
shop has been doing this for a while now with no problems.

I, for one, think it's a fabulous idea.

I wish more shops would think proactively like this.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 13:07:05 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

The "spare" belt is positioned in a way that it is well clear of the
cylinders and heads. Actually, the belt doesn't even contact the
crankcase
that much, and the case doesn't get particularly hot. The mechanic says
his
shop has been doing this for a while now with no problems.

I, for one, think it's a fabulous idea.

I wish more shops would think proactively like this.

I wonder what the FAA would have to say about a non standard
attachment to the engine?

Although this sounds really handy, I'd bet they would require it to be
removed.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

Pretty good idea. I'd imagine the spare belt would suffer some
deterioation over time, but should be good enough to get you home from
some far away place.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.

well.. your original post did say "strapped up against the engine"..
is part of the preflight to make sure the zip ties have not broken or gotten
brittle?
BT

wrote in message
news:UMkKd.262$by2.128@trnddc03...

On 27-Jan-2005, "BTIZ" wrote:

I would think the heat from the engine would raise a havoc with the
belt..
and it might smell pretty bad it gets hot


The "spare" belt is positioned in a way that it is well clear of the
cylinders and heads. Actually, the belt doesn't even contact the
crankcase
that much, and the case doesn't get particularly hot. The mechanic says
his
shop has been doing this for a while now with no problems.
--
-Elliott Drucker

BTIZ wrote:

well.. your original post did say "strapped up against the engine"..
is part of the preflight to make sure the zip ties have not broken or gotten
brittle?
BT

Yes, I'd be worried about carrying it in the engine compartment. Why
not just carry it in baggage compartment?


Matt