Mark Nit

Hey guys, I may the winner of the Bravo cold-start contest. I'm located in Winnipeg, Canada and I travel up close to the Arctic in the cold -30' Canadian winters in my '91 TLS. And I don't use a heated hangar. I have a few tricks for the cold weather that I've learned after freezing two sets of Gill batteries. First, I keep a small 120 volt heater set on low in the battery compartment during the coldest days. A thick blanket over the rear helps to cut down on the heat loss. As well, I've installed a 120 volt glue-on oil panheater (aka block heater) and I use a thick engine cover. I turn on the heater the night before a flight. Do not leave the heater on much longer as this leads to excessive moisture build-up and corrosion in the engine. Once I prep and preflight, I unhook and uncover everything and fire her up before the oil has a chance to cool down. Usually 6 seconds of boost is enough to get her going. If the batteries do run low, be sure to charge them both as they freeze (and die) a lot quicker when they're discharged. And thank goodness for the great cabin heater and defrost. It's surprising good for a Texas-built plane !!!

Hey Folks, I'm a newbie with MooneySpace and also with my 1991 M20M TLS. And because I'm located in a smaller center in Canada, there aren't a lot of Mooney experts near by. So, I would sure appreciate any suggestions you may have. Very recently, I've noticed that my panel lights, glareshields lights and the yoke-mounted map lights are not working. The only thing I've been able to determine so far is that the panel fuse is good. And because all of the lights are out, I'm assuming that the bulbs, dimmer switches and wiring are probably not the cause the problem. However, after reviewing the maintenance manual and the parts manual, I still have no idea how to trace the problem back to the aft electrical rack. So, any suggestions on how I can start debugging this problem ??