Flaps won't retract

[Andy95W]

Probably best to retract the flaps when doing the run ups to avoid rocks hitting them?

Unless you are a hijacker, in which case you would leave them down.

[ArtVandelay]

I can't remember any planes being hijacked before they left the ground ?

[John Pursell]

The meaning of having your flaps down lost its meaning in the post 9/11 environment.

[Mooneymite]

The meaning of having your flaps down lost its meaning in the post 9/11 environment.

You mean because all those hijacked planes hitting buildings had their flaps up?

Good point!

Back in the day, the only thing an airliner taxiing to the gate with flaps down really meant was the copilot missed that item on the after-landing check list. The ground control inquiry made everyone aware of his error. :-)

[Trex20105]

Thanks very much for the suggestion of shaking the flaps.  This thread saved me from being stranded 120 miles from home on a Sunday.

Last Sunday I flew to Petersburg, VA on my first flight after picking up my M20K (new owner, first Mooney).  I landed and as I walked to the FBO, noticed the flaps were fully deployed.  When I tried to retract the flaps, only a click when I moved the switch up or down.  Checked & reset the breaker, no joy.  After trying to call the shop that did the annual, I found this thread.  So I went out and shook the flaps on both sides, turned on the master and up they came!

[carusoam]

Trex,

expect that the microswitches related to flap position sensing have gotten some dirt on them...

now would be a good time to become familiar with where they are and how to clean them.

Best regards,

-a-

[flyboy0681]

On 10/19/2014 at 7:13 PM, N201MKTurbo said:

Just grab your flaps and shake them, they will go up.

 

I've experienced the same thing twice over the past six months. The only way to get them to retract is to shake the panel vigorously. She goes in for her annual in a few weeks and this is number one on the punch list. 

[Yetti]

Contact cleaner and wash out the limit switches in the middle of the belly with the flap torque tube,  Had flaps that would not come up from half flaps.  Had to run them down to get them up.  Contact cleaner fixed them up.

[M20S Driver]

I had the same problem and replaced the micro switches since they were close to 19 years old.   They were relatively inexpensive.  Total bill parts and labor was around $350.  No issues so far..

[Yetti]

Mine were 45 years old.  They were fine.  Just needed to be exercised and washed out.

[Trex20105]

This problem happened again last weekend.  This time it was after landing at my home airport.  Tried shaking the flaps again but it didn't work this time. 

Had an A&P come out to check and we found that some of the grease used to on the jackscrew had transferred to the switch which preventing it from releasing.  Cleaned the switches with contact cleaner and removed excess grease around the jackscrew so hopefully I will be good to go in the future.

[LANCECASPER]

In February my flaps (M20M) would not retract after takeoff. I came back and landed and no movement trying to get them up. They would move further down then were stuck in the full down position. I pulled off the belly pan and located the micro switches (up limit and down limit) . They were very clean but I hit them with contact cleaner. Still nothing. I tried wiggling the flaps with the switch on to see if that did anything  . . nothing. 

I found the circuit board and two relays for the flap actuator, one that controls the up circuit, one that control the down circuit. I swapped relays and got the flaps up and now the down circuit didn't work so it meant that the one relay was bad. I ordered two new relays since they are both the same age. 

The bad relay shows that it was burned.

http://www.alliedelec.com/schneider-electric-magnecraft-w67rcsx-3/70184966/

So when the new relays came in I replaced them both for a grand total of $43.68 with tax and shipping and everything works great now. My mechanic signed off on it.

 

[flyboy0681]

Could be a record for the lowest cost fix for a problem that grounds the plane.

[cleatus99]

I can’t wait to see if this fix works for me….

[flyboy0681]

Reviving this old thread.. I recently found myself once again unable to retract the flaps, only after a whole lot of shaking of the panels did they finally go back up. Should this have happened at an airport without any services, could the plane be flown out with flaps down?

[Hank]

1 minute ago, flyboy0681 said:

Reviving this old thread.. I recently found myself once again unable to retract the flaps, only after a whole lot of shaking of the panels did they finally go back up. Should this have happened at an airport without any services, could the plane be flown out with flaps down?

Just stay.below Vfo. It'll be a long trip home.

[flyboy0681]

6 hours ago, Hank said:

Just stay.below Vfo. It'll be a long trip home.

I don't mind flying at Cessna speeds as long as I know I can get out.