Oil Contaminated Alternator - Ever Had This?

[Jeff_S]

So, I mentioned briefly in another post that my vacation flight to St. Simons Island became a vacation drive when the electrical system went south (without me!). The symptom was that I was showing now alternator output and the Low Voltage annunciator light and JPI voltage alarm were flashing, and no amount of resetting circuit breakers was helping.

 

My A/P finally diagnosed that the alternator just wasn't generating the correct output, so we sent it back to PlanePower because it should have just still been covered by the 2-year warranty.  They came back and said the cause was "oil contamination" and that it wasn't covered under warranty.

 

Has anyone else ever experienced this? My engine has a few very minor slow oil seeps in a couple of places, but "it's no gusher" as my A/P says and in fact never shows any oil on the belly or anywhere else.  I'm trying to think what could even be leaking near the alternator to cause this.

 

Anyway, there wasn't much I could argue since they have the unit, and I can't prove or disprove their theory. They gave me a cutrate deal on a new one which will come with a new warranty (unless of course it gets oiled up again!) so I'll be back in the air this weekend. But dang...that was a new one for both me and my A/P.

[mike_elliott]

Minus one for PlanePower. One would think they could design a product to withstand the potential environment of being under an airplane cowl, where things like minor oil seeps do happen often.

Its a shame they need to bolster the bottom line this way.

Now if it were truly oil contaminated, one would have thought your A$P and yourself would have suspected it before sending it to them, with such tell tale signs of ...well, oil on it!

[DaV8or]

I haven't had a problem with an alternator, but I did have this problem with a starter. In my case it really was pretty soaked. It was a SkyTec starter and they told me that the oil softens the brushes and makes them fail. Anyhow, I switched to the SkyTec inertial starter that has better oil protection and they sold me one that was brand new for the rebuild price of $200. Fast turn around. I can't say enough good things about SkyTec and I think they are the same people as Plane Power. (Which I also have their alternator.)

[mike_elliott]

I does appear they are right next door to each other, and like you, I have a Skytec starter and have been impressed with their product and talking with them at OSH and SNF. Skytec's handling of your case is exemplary. If it is the same company, I wonder why Jeff wasn't offered some similar type of relief. I certainly understand if it was obviously oil contaminated, but from Jeff's post, it sounds like it was a surprise to him and his A$P that the warranty was denied.

[OR75]

I haven't had a problem with an alternator, but I did have this problem with a starter. In my case it really was pretty soaked. It was a SkyTec starter and they told me that the oil softens the brushes and makes them fail. Anyhow, I switched to the SkyTec inertial starter that has better oil protection and they sold me one that was brand new for the rebuild price of $200. Fast turn around. I can't say enough good things about SkyTec and I think they are the same people as Plane Power. (Which I also have their alternator.)

i was not aware that Sky-tec made 2 type of starters for Mooney.

is there a standard and an inertial type ?

2 different part numbers ?

[Jeff_S]

It's true I didn't finish the whole story. I wasn't trying to indict Plane-Power so much as wonder if anyone else had ever had oil contamination on their alternator. But to let you know, Plane-Power did offer two options: repair my current unit for $175, or give me a new one for $350 which is significantly below any price you can get it on the market.   As I noted above I took the new unit...fingers crossed that this one doesn't also get oiled up!

[N201MKTurbo]

I have proven over the years that my Prestolite alternator will work forever completely saturated with oil.

[RJBrown]

To void the warranty? what chicken $h*t! I see alternators drenched and dripping with oil that still work. No automotive source would void a warranty for oil. I have seen alternators that are big balls of grease still charging away at 20+ years and 200,000+ miles.

 This is one of the problems with aviation parts. High cost garbage with pitiful warranties. My $80 car battery has a 24 month free replacement and 60 month prorated warranty. My cheep @$$ $600 airplane battery is junk after 13 month and I am SOL.

  We accept crap from maintenance people and parts that we never would with our cars.

  Cars are SO much better designed, built and backed than anything aviation. I blame it on the FAA. BECAUSE of the certification rules that are somehow meant to protect us we are guaranteed shoddy antiquated and prohibitively expensive airplanes and parts. 

[DaV8or]

i was not aware that Sky-tec made 2 type of starters for Mooney.

is there a standard and an inertial type ?

2 different part numbers ?

 

There are actually 3 different SkyTec starters you can put on an IO-360. The 149-LS, 149-HT and 149-NL. The LS is the lightest and the cheapest. It's what my plane had on it when I bought it. The HT is a high torque model and really is meant for big bore Lycomings, but I believe you can put one on the IO-360. Not the best choice IMO. The NL is the most popular now for our engines and it's what I have now. It is over a pound heavier than the LS and it does cost about $54 more, but I think it's tougher starter that features higher torque than the LS. The consensus seems to be in the Mooney world that this is the one to get. I'm really happy so far.