Engine Quit On Landing

[LevelWing]

My engine quit on me tonight after my final landing. As soon as my wheels touched down the engine died and I was stuck on the runway for a few minutes. I eventually got it started again and was able to taxi back to my hangar.

On takeoff my EGT gauge started beeping at me (it's the original EGT gauge that came in the 68C model; it's small with no numbers) and I'm not sure what caused it. It was a normal takeoff. I'm not sure if the engine quitting and the EGT issue are related however this is the first time I've had an issue with the plane since buying it last year.

Any help solving this would be appreciated; I realize I didn't provide a lot of information but it was a normal flight. I'll be contacting my mechanic as well, though it may be after the holiday weekend.

[Marauder]

I'm not familiar with your EGT setup but it sounds like it went off because the temp got too high during the takeoff. This could be fuel related (mixture got too lean for some reason) or something with the ignition (mags, plug).

Shutting down like you describe sound fuel related. With a single probe looking after your engine parameters, it makes it harder to figure out what is going on. Keep us posted.

[WardHolbrook]

Take on more fuel next time. 

[yvesg]

Do you mean it made a beeping sound? I have the original EGT gage in my C and never heard or believe it would beep.

Yves

[Rhumbline]

I'm also curious about the beeping. I too have the original EGT in my '68 and was unaware of any aural indication.

[Piloto]

Most likely the beeping sound came from the stall warning. Try a lower takeoff angle.

 

If you are low on fuel the fuel will move forward away from the tank pick up as the plane decelerate on the runway. This causes the engine to momentarily quit. Limit braking or have more fuel

 

José 

[smwash02]

I just went through this last week coming back from OKC.

 

At first I thought my idle was too low -- what were your RPMs on touchdown? Mine were hitting 300-400.

 

I spent the next day adjusting it to be 700 / 50rpm drop on shutdown, which went well. I then flew for about an hour to heat everything up.

 

I landed and it died again after idling too low. I finally got it started (another tow off the runway). When i taxiied back to my hangar, I did another mag check -- left was completely dead, but it only died / acted up once it got hot.

 

Good luck.

[carusoam]

The old Alcor EGT instrument is not capable of beeping at the pilot...

It is powered solely by the voltage difference supplied by one thermocouple.

Nice instrument, but not able to make decisions or sounds...

Good luck with finding the source...

See if this may be happening...(from my C experience)

Mooneys are sleek.

They don't slow down easily.

On final, with the runway made I would have the tendency to pull the throttle all the way out...

and then do it again if I was still high or fast, to make sure it was out.

I would expect this affects the throttle setting differently than when it gets set by a mechanic in static conditions...

Pulling throttle all the way out during final descent, the engine is being driven (partially) by the prop. After landing, the additional load on the engine becomes noticeable as the engine makes like a frog and croaks.

Check your idle rpm, too fast you will float longer. Too slow, you already know...

Best regards,

-a-

[LevelWing]

Thanks for the replies.

 

As for the EGT beeping, it's not an Alcor EGT, but the EGT definitely beeped at me (I'll get a picture of it). The red light came on and it stated beeping. First time this has ever happened. I know it wasn't the stall warning horn. The EGT didn't start beeping on take off, it was while I was in the pattern. The mixture was set like it always is when I take off from this airport and it's never been an issue before. During run-up, the mag check was just fine as well.

 

I didn't do anything differently on this flight than I have been doing on all my others, which is why this is even more puzzling. A fuel issue was the first thought that came to my head as it was for some of the replies, I just don't know what kind of fuel issue it could be given I wasn't low on fuel and the mixture setting was set where it always is.

[bonal]

What was outside air temp if you approach and are full rich you could foul your plugs I have heard of this causing Mooney's to quit right after landing. Did you do an aggressive lean after landing with your throttle out to idle?

[LevelWing]

What was outside air temp if you approach and are full rich you could foul your plugs I have heard of this causing Mooney's to quit right after landing. Did you do an aggressive lean after landing with your throttle out to idle?

Temperature outside was around 89F. My field elevation is around 4,000ft so I was already leaned for altitude and it's the same setting I usually have it at and haven't had an issue before.

My mechanic looked at it today and couldn't figure out what it could've been. He said the idle speed, mixture and throttle were all working correctly and leaned properly.

Here's a picture of my EGT gauge; it's a KS Avionics.

[bonal]

Best of luck and as always please share the answer when you find out what's going on with it. One of the good things when we have issues is the added knowledge we all get from the space.

[carusoam]

I'm going with the KS instrument may not be original...

I am not familiar with its operation either...

Best regards,

-a-

[Piloto]

The high EGT reading could had been caused by taking off on one magneto or a bad spark plug on the EGT cylinder.

 

José

[LevelWing]

The mag check last night during the run up and then again today with the mechanic were both perfectly normal. Not sure on the spark plug issue. If it was a bad spark plug wouldn't I notice that during the run up?

[Hank]

Wow, that looks nothing like the EGT on my 70 C. No light, no alarm, a needle that moves left-right instead of a tape, and there are numbers every 100ºF from about 1000 to 1600 or so. It just sits there on the lower left side of the panel, down by the ignition, waiting to be noticed. No beeps, no lights other than the internal light when I spin the knob at the top to turn on the panel lights.

 

I've only had one engine quit after landing, in my first Cessna flight after two or three years of Mooney ownership. I leaned her on rollout like I'm used to doing, and the engine quit. I was able to roll off the runway and had to prime it some to crank up and taxi in. I would suspect you were too lean, a fouled plug or magneto issue.

 

Good luck with your fix, and let us know what it is.

[LevelWing]

I went for a test flight this morning and everything checked out just fine. I have no idea what happened, or what I did differently on the previous flight but the run-up was just fine as was the flight. All gauges were reading normally as well. I guess the reason I couldn't restart the plane while stuck on the runway was due to a hot start issue but I still can't figure out why the engine quit or the EGT issue. Either way, I think it's fine now. I'll probably do a few more test flights in the pattern before I attempt to do a longer flight just to make sure.

 

Thanks for all of the help.

[Marauder]

Hopefully it was just an anomaly. When I first got my Mooney way back in 1991, I had just the EGT gauge and relied heavily on sight and sound to determine whether everything was working correctly.

I got a lot more information when I installed the Insight GEM a year or so later and even more information when I installed the JPI 830. If you want peace of mind, you may want to consider some sort of engine monitor. Really helps diagnose things when they don't make sense.

[Mooneymite]

Any chance there was "just a spot" of water in a tank?

Approach/Landing attitude may have caused a slug of water to move to the pickup point.

This would be very tough to replicate, or troubleshoot.

[LevelWing]

Any chance there was "just a spot" of water in a tank?

Approach/Landing attitude may have caused a slug of water to move to the pickup point.

This would be very tough to replicate, or troubleshoot.

I suppose it's possible. The plane is kept in a hangar though that doesn't mean that a small bit of water didn't get into the tanks when I had the FBO fuel it up for me. It wasn't full tanks though so I would've thought given the weight differences that I would've seen the issue prior to when it happened.