goalstop

For once, I think I may be able to contribute something to the forum! I had the same problem in my E model. The fluctuating varied with engine RPM, at around a 1-3 second interval at cruise. All my interior lights were affected, but not my GPS/G5/etc. First, I thought the master switch might be a problem... and if you have a split switch, it may be, but in my M20E it's a single switch. Check out Don Maxwell's article here: https://www.donmaxwell.com/fluctuating-ammeters. I tried replacing it anyway, but to no avail. Next, we re-soldered one of the transistors. Mechanic said it had a bad connection and this should fix the issue. We also replaced the master battery solenoid, which had corroded and stuck open (don't think that was the issue, but we needed to replace it anyway) Flying Friday to test the fix, and will report findings

Just swapped my right wing light assembly + tail light for all-LED, which means I now have everything I took off: + Right Grimes Nav/Anticollision assembly with flash-tube strobe and green LED bulb + Whelen Strobe power pack + Tail light - probably the OEM one that came with the aircraft Asking $300 for all 3, $150 for the right assembly, $200 for the strobe pack, $100 for the tail light if separately. I'll split ground shipping 50/50 with you, and I'll make sure you're able to install and confirm it works before cashing a check (if somehow something is totally defective, we'll just both be out the shipping). All worked when they were removed, although the strobe was intermittent / worked about half the time, likely because of a poor / faulty electrical connection. They're all still at my mechanic right now... will have access in about a week, or I can ask my mechanic to send them directly (hence no pics right now). Can get pics if interested. I'll make another separate post, but I also have a bunch of old Mooney gauges, a KX-170b + indicator, an attitude indicator and heading indicator, and some other sundry parts & materials from my recent avionics overhaul. Again, happy to get pics and details if interested... but they're in the hangar and I've been busy lately Cheers, Goalstop

Yep it was hot after a 10min warmup, but still no flying for awhile. I called up the shop that overhauled the engine 2 years ago, told him how it was operating, and the compressions, and he basically said “that’s super common if you haven’t flown in awhile, plus the cylinders are overhauled but still old cylinders. I’m not concerned, go fly another 50 hours till oil change and if compressions are still low do a borescope”

Wooooah no that would give me a heart attack. All cylinders stay within 50* EGT of each other pretty consistently. CHT's stay around 325-350*, no more, during LOP cruise and peak. I also haven't started her up in 5 months. But things were running perfectly with zero fluctuations when I dropped her off at the shop in July

Mechanic said it’s coming out of the exhaust. Cams and valves are fine. Which is worse?

How much does the gear tension preload impact ease of retraction / extension? My mechanic said mine is 1-2# heavy and would be 2.5 hours to adjust. Will there be any discernible difference from this change? For context - getting it set up for the wife to fly, and she’s found the bar pretty heavy / cumbersome to swing with all the levers and pulleys involved, what does 1-2# of preload translate to in the handle?

Thank you all! This gave me a lot of peace of mind. I’ll ask the mechanic where he heard it coming from, and he’s going to compare apples to apples with last year’s compressions. T-minus one week until she’s back in the air!!! :knock on wood: Gonna be a whole new plane after all the repairs, upgrades, and replacements

Oil was changed in July/early Aug before it sat if that matters

Bought my M20E a year ago with 200hrs SMOH on the engine, and great compressions (need to check but I think between 72/80 and 78/80). This year they ranged from 66 to 74. Unfortunately, the plane only flew 40-50 hours between annuals, since it sat from July - December in a maintenance hangar (thankfully indoors). CHT’s are normally 350 or below in flight, and never get near 450, lean of peak. All regular oil changes, no metal in the filter. Hangared in the inland southeast (ATL) 1) how worried should I be about this big of a fluctuation? 2) can sitting for 5 months be this destructive to the engine? 3) is there anything I should be doing to preserve the engine while flying 4) any way to improve the compressions or any chance they come back up as I fly more? Could they be lower if the mechanic didn’t run the plane long to read them?

Update on this one - discovered that the master battery solenoid / contacted was corroded and finally failed. Also replaced the battery. Will see if that fixes the issue… if not we’ll go after the relay next! At that point I’ll have an all-new electrical system

Thanks both!! Great suggestions.

Hi all! looking to get a list of recommendations for Mooney-specific instructions in the ATL or general Southeast US area who would be good for helping my wife with transition training to a Mooney M20E. She needs 10hrs minimum on the Mooney, a complex add-on, and currently has 100hrs total time in non-complex aircraft Would be willing to travel for a great female instructor Any and all suggestions appreciated!

Another fun one... putting a little black cap on top of the PTT switch was a "1hr" task marked down to "30min". This PTT switch was also part of the initial install, and the cap had popped off with less than 20hrs of use. In reality, this was a ~1 minute task and should have been under warranty anyway PS: labor rate here is now $150 an hour (was $120 when install started)

I'm positive they were new fittings. But they used the same brand/type of fitting on the second go-around and it happened a second time. Yes - the idiocy of having to spend 6 months chasing parts and leaks in an unpressurized plane is not lost on me. I appreciate your story - it makes me feel better that perhaps there is an end to this I'm up to about 50% of the purchase price, so maybe I'm almost done??? ++NOTE: Only 25% in required / reactive changes - the other 25% was proactive upgrades. Although I think I need to do the fuel tanks soon :/

My biggest issue is that the mechanic working on my plane told me multiple times that this was warranty work / I wouldn't be charged for it. Then, the owner came in over the top and said they needed to charge for the static issues once the process had been sorted out. On top of that, the owner put very high hours estimates for other legitimate line items I had him work on (e.g., 5 hours for an oil change), then "discounted" everything to make it look like he was acting in good faith (so my oil change got cut to just 4 hours at $150 an hour plus supplies) --> so a $800 oil change all-in. I'd been verbally told an oil change was "a couple hours" before the work was done. Had I known they were charging for this work all along, I would have taken the plane out of that shop SO fast and never come back.

To be clear, the MSC did all the initial panel overhaul work, and the MSC is the one I've brought it back to to fix all of these issues. All the same mechanic at the MSC.

Hi all, Looking for some help here as I'm a bit desperate. Will try to keep this short... + Went to a certified MSC to get a full panel overhaul on my M20 a year ago (including G5 install) + Install was completed with a good IFR cert + 5 hours after the install, all of my pitot/static fittings into my instruments shattered and airspeed dropped to 40kts in cruise. Mechanic said they had "likely been sabotaged" by a thief + Mechanic replaced them, sent me on my way, and the exact same thing happened again 2 hours later. Mechanic found it was due to faulty plastic fittings + When doing the 3rd IFR certification (after 2nd replacement), mechanic found that my right static port was leaking. In the previous IFR cert, he had taped it over and only used my left static port, so it "wasn't discovered" + Searched for a new static port for 5 months (a saga in itself). Finally found the part and installed. Then, on the 4th IFR certification, mechanic found more leaks in the internal static system and discovered that my airspeed indicator diaphragm was broken. None of these were found in the previous IFR certs. + In addition to all of this, I have had multiple issues with communication (calling 20 times over a month to get in touch with the mechanic, suggesting potential remedies (e.g., owner produced part) that are ignored, having to remind mechanic multiple times to fix smaller things, finding filthy fingerprints all over the exterior and new leather seats, etc.) + Mechanic now wants to charge me ~20 hours of work for all of these remedies, plus for the airspeed indicator repair, the oil change (which I wasn't able to use since it's now time for annual and the plane hasn't flown), and a bunch of other minor nickel-and-dime charges I feel helpless - the amount of money I've dumped into this is FAR more than I ever expected, and I haven't even been able to fly the plane more than 30 hours since I bought it a year and a half ago, and I don't think I should be responsible for anything related to the pitot/static system since it was working perfectly before the fittings they installed started braking. (not to mention the danger I was in flying an instrument plan when they broke) What would you all do in my shoes? Do I have any recourse? Is it fair to believe all of this is driven by the work that was done?

Hi everyone, THANK YOU for the advice Sorry for the delay here. Life got in the way. Answering your questions below : + I have sent EVERYTHING I could to my mechanic and he's said none of them will work. Scrapyard "unserviceable", the ones from Sporty's (sent 5 different ones) were not the right size for the hole, etc. + Said he's not allowed to machine a part himself + Agree this does not sound like a major issue / seems like a part that could easily be waived, but my mechanic is firm on it. Apparently required for airworthiness even though I have an alternate port + Tried Cole Aviation but haven't heard back Mechanic has been totally not communicating back / I'm calling the receptionist 3 times a day asking her to get him to call me and haven't heard back for 4 weeks other than some texts that these don't work Pics attached - I can't quite decipher what's wrong myself or why it can't be fixed

I bought my E-model a year ago, and so far it's spent >60% of the year in the shop... some of it for good / normal stuff (Annual, a REALLY long panel overhaul, new interior), but since the panel overhaul have had several issues with the pitot / static system. (have had to replace the pitot/static line fittings twice, this time with metal fittings, due to faulty fittings that snapped) FINALLY I had the bird ready to go - static lines fully replaced, all the beautiful avionics in (G5's, 650+430, JPI), just to have my mechanic find that one of my static ports has a leak. Now, I'm looking at ANOTHER 15+ week lead time just to get a little tiny static button the size of a screw https://lasar.com/pitot-static-system/static-button-820057-003?rq=static Avenues I've tried: LASAR: Out of stock indefinitely STEC: 15+ week lead time (but who really knows) Scrapyard: most locations don't have it. Finally found one willing to pull it out of the fuselage. But the challenge with a used one is that these have "barbs" that lock the port in place, so it can't really be re-used (scrapyard sent the full assembly and had to cut it out of the old plane) Using a more standard non-Mooney part: Other static ports have a larger aperture / surface area, and mechanic says he'd need to drill through a rib to install, rendering the plane unairworthy I'm getting desperate at this point, and it's very disheartening to own a plane but fly less than when I was renting. Would really appreciate any advice you can give to help either think of alternatives, source a part, or legally fly without a replacement in the meantime (e.g., if it were plugged up, there's still a backup port - but apparently both are required equipment) Thank you all for your combined wisdom!!

What kind of soap? I heard that was the most important to get right

Hi forum! I’m trying to clean the plane this weekend, but don’t have a pilot shop in the area. What cleaning supplies (soaps & sponges) should I look for at a normal hardware store that won’t hurt the plane? Any other tips?

Thanks Shadrach! PM sent. I'm located at KLZU (Atlanta)

So it looks like I'm having this issue in the E-model (short story - likely corrosion on the master switch creating a seance in the cockpit): https://www.donmaxwell.com/fluctuating-ammeters She's going in for a total panel upgrade in a couple weeks, but looking on LASAR, it looks like every single master switch for a Mooney is sold out. What is one to do? Are there other master switches that are certified for an M20E? Does anyone know of alternate sources to find a master switch? Are there other more standard master switches that are certified for a Mooney? Thanks for the help!

It seems like a ton of the early Mooney (and Piper for that matter) tail numbers follow the format N####U. Why is that? Is there any rhyme or reason to early tail numbers? Or am I just seeing trends that aren't there

Do you have a link? Mechanic said it would also be a 7hr job to flush the whole system.