Starter issue

[isaacpr7]

I often find myself attempting to crank the aircraft with nothing happening. If I get out and turn the sprocket on the starter a few times with a long screw driver the aircraft will start when I turn the key. Has anyone experienced this before? Is there a permanent fix for this without having to buy a new starter? I sprayed some contact cleaner on the access window at the bottom of the starter and this did not work.

[Lood]

If you have it looked at, get a quote if it needs to be fixed and weigh the price against that of a new, light weight, high speed starter. Either B&C or Skytec are excellent and you'll never regret it.

[Marauder]

Must be the weekend for bad starters. I was having problems with mine this afternoon as well.

[adrian]

Bad things come in threes. My Skytec has died after just six months.

:-(

[isaacpr7]

I found several options on aircraft spruce that would allow me to overhaul the starter but there is a laundry list of options. It seems like the cheapest pay to go but I will have to do some research. http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/eppages/lamarkits.php?clickkey=1085692

[Shadrach]

What kind of starter do you have? Starters are not terribly expensive in terms of airplane components. Skytec overhauls there starter for <$300. I just replaced my magnaflight starte last weekend with a skytec. The new skytec starter was $631. Installation is not difficult, but whether you do it, or have a mechanic do it, the lower cowl will have to be lowered and the gen/alternator will need to come out. So figure on ~5hrs of labor. I'm a huge proponent of high speed starters.

As an aside, I believe we shortened the life span of our starter by continuing to operate it with a weak battery.

[Marauder]

Sky-Tek 149-NLs are available new for $431, Ross. What model did you buy and where did you get it?

Jim

I'm going to need to know this... Looks like mine is fried like an over done piece of bacon... Best place to buy?

[Shadrach]

Jim,

You're absolutely right! I got screwed. I bought a 149NL direct from Skytec. Amex has a $613 dollar charge. List is $431, I'll be calling them on Monday.

Thanks!

[MB65E]

Something was a miss then, Rich at Skytec is great to work with! I've always had good luck with them and never had a Skytec quit on its own accord. The their LS starter works well on the little 4 cylinders, little cheaper than the NL. I pulled the original skytec off our mooney from the early 90's. It was still working, just upgraded to a current one. Rich said the old one was from the first run of S/N they made. Pretty impressive!

-Matt

[Shadrach]

And this was supposed to be a remained unit...

[Alan Fox]

I bought a new one for 599 and gave them my bad (skytech) and got a 350.00 credit ....

[N201MKTurbo]

I bought a NL starter and it quite about a month after I bought it. I called Skytec and they sent me a new one overnight. After I returned the old one and they determined that it was an internal failure, they credited everything. Total cost to me $0. Great customer service. BTW it has worked perfect ever sense.

[aaronk25]

I got a overhauled original in a box, never installed since overhaul I'd let it go for $200.

[Marauder]

Comedy for a Saturday...

So, I get out to the airport. Find my plane pre-heated thanks to the SwitchBox and my battery fully charged thanks to my overpriced, "aviation" battery charger.

Now for the comedy... I'm in the process of pulling my airplane over the lip in my hangar and manage to catch a nice piece of ice while I'm in my full human tug mode. After I realized that the reason I was on the ground wasn't because I was back in my college ball days and a middle linebacker had laid me out, I began the process of collecting my belongings. Granted, I have been hit hard enough to see my snot fly, but I would have never thought I could knock BOTH shoes off by pulling an airplane out of a hangar! At least I got a free back crack in the process...

Now back to the airplane. I need your advice here. Yesterday, the plane would not turn over at all. I could hear the whine but no engagement.

Today, when I went to start it, the first attempt was a whine. The second attempt the starter engaged and the plane started. I'm trying to understand whether or not my starter truly is bad or if my 9, soon to be 10 year old Concorde battery is just on it's last legs. What is troubling is the whine before the engagement. If after charging all night, I would have expected the battery to have the juice to engage it. Thoughts?

[Marauder]

I got a overhauled original in a box, never installed since overhaul I'd let it go for $200.

Hi Aaron -- overhauled what?

[Hank]

Careful there, B! It's winter in our part of the country. (That reminds me, I need to find the hangar snow shovel since I changed hangars this summer.)

My suspicions for your situation include weak battery, poor ground and insufficient preheat, plus simply a tired starter. How did your battery do on it's last capacity test? They're easier to check than a non-failed starter.

[Marauder]

Careful there, B! It's winter in our part of the country. (That reminds me, I need to find the hangar snow shovel since I changed hangars this summer.)

My suspicions for your situation include weak battery, poor ground and insufficient preheat, plus simply a tired starter. How did your battery do on it's last capacity test? They're easier to check than a non-failed starter.

The last time I took a spill like this was when I was 20 years younger and was pulling my plane out of my hangar in Buffalo. The end result was close to the same; free back crack. Although 20 years ago I caught my shin on the nose strut and left a nice mark.

I can rule out the pre-heat. It would not start after I had refueled after a 2 hour flight. Today I had the Reiff Turbo running for a bit so the temps were up.

I haven't had the battery checked since April during the annual. I got a clean bill of health then. Another piece of the puzzle is that it would did not engage at times during the summer. Left a vmail for my mechanic.

[aaronk25]

Hi Aaron -- overhauled what?

We're talking about started right? Well a starter

It's a rebuilt original.

[Marauder]

We're talking about started right? Well a starter

It's a rebuilt original.

Yep starter. Sounds like you are talking about the old style. If the starter is indeed bad, I will move over to one of the light weight ones. Thanks for the offer...

[aaronk25]

Yep starter. Sounds like you are talking about the old style. If the starter is indeed bad, I will move over to one of the light weight ones. Thanks for the offer...

That's exactly what I did too. I guess I'll just eBay this one.

[tony]

Get an old analog voltage meter, something like a simpson 260 and see what the voltage drops to when you're cracking. If it drops much below 10, you can try to condition the battery to see if that helps.

[N201MKTurbo]

It is your bendix. It should engage even with a weak battery or starter. If you are mechanically inclined, it is easy to remove the bendix once the starter is removed and the hardest thing about removing the starter is removing the lower cowl and then the front baffle. After that it is a piece of cake.

 

My experience is that the bendix just gets dirty and full of crud. After you remove it just throw it in a can of solvent and clean it as best as you can. there is nothing you will hurt. When you are done hose it down with silicone spray and work it in and then dry it off with a rag. When you have it off and clean you can check the condition of the various bushings. You will be able to tell if it is warn out.

[kerry]

This happens to my bendix once in awhile.  I don't remove my starter.  I take some wd-40 or silicone spray with the red straw nozzle and spray it into starter gear.  There's also a small access hole in front of the starter.  Put the red straw in this access hole and spray thoroughly.

[SkyPilot]

I had starter issues too. The first problem was hot starts. It seemed like a huge chore to start hot. Part of the solution here was proper technique. When the bendix started to stick too, enough was enough. She was definitely due for a change. I bought a Skytec. As far as hot start technique goes, I just shut off at 1000 rpm or so and don't touch the controls for start up. Once she fires I increase the mixture fairly quickly. The faster turning Skytec goes a long way to making proper technique work. No more problems

[jetdriven]

Ours has been doing this and it's easy to fix. Remove the starter, remove the bolts holding the nose on the starter, then remove the housing. The bendix comes off the end of the starter motor. Now rotate the gear on the bendix until it extends. There is a helix UNDER the gear that you can't get to without disassembling and removing the bendix from the starter. Then extend it by pulling the gear forward on the shaft, its easy.  Clean this area well with mineral spirits then let dry and lubricate te area behind (and under) the starter gear with moly disulfide grease. A very light coat of the special Dukes grease for the landing gear actuator is great. Now reassemble and reinstall. After starting it the bendix retracts. Lube that exposed shaft with silicone spray. I just did this in 4 hours on a J model and it now works perfectly.