Bit of good luck yesterday.

[DaV8or]

I had finally tackled the low voltage problem I've been having. I removed all the appropriate cowl and panels to inspect the wiring and connections for my generator system. Everything looked really good except one tiny little 18 guage wire that came off of the regulator. It had no insulation on a good part of it. I decided that I would get a professional to come over and do a diagnostic on the system and if nothing simple was found, I was ready to spring for a Plane Power alternator conversion kit.

The repair facility at OAK is open again with new ownership and so I thought I'd give them a try. They sent a guy over to my hanger and boy, I was not impressed! He kept telling me that probably a diode went out even though I told him it was a generator at least twice and he looked straight at the generator. I said nothing and just let him do his thing. He took the cover off my regulator and said, "Well, it looks pretty new, so it's probably OK." and put the cover back on. After looking at my generator yet another time, he finally came to say "You know, maybe you have the old generator system." Yah think?

Anyhow, I asked him if there was any test we could do to check the output of the generator and he said that it wouldn't be any better than what my engine monitor was already doing. So I asked him what could be done and he said that he could do an adjustment on the regulator. At this point I didn't want him adjusting anything, but I did point out to him the funky wire I had found. I really don't think he would have ever found it. He agreed that it looked crappy and he cut out the bad part and put it back together with a butt connector.

We fired up the engine and guess what? My JPI showed the voltage climbing right up from 11.2 to as high as 14.1! I think that stupid little wire may have been my problem. I have never seen the JPI show a voltage that high before. Now the even better good news, when the owner of the shop called me on the phone later to tell me what I owed, he told me that since it was my first time and it was an easy fix, there was no charge. Given the quality of the guy they sent out, that was the right price, but it was not what I was expecting!

Today I will go fly and see if it is truely fixed. Yeah!

[flhelo]

Glad it was a very cheap fix. Hopefully the owner would have done that anyway if you would have told him about the mechanic.

[DaV8or]

So, little wire theory? Turns out it's crap. My short flight last night showed that the charging system was back to it's same ol' lameness. With all the lights on, down she went in voltage. It's most likely the regulator, but I will probably just do the whole Plane Power conversion. I will consult with the folks at Top Gun.

[MooneyMitch]

Dave.

For not a lot of money, I would really suggest the Zeftronics regulator first.  We've have great service from the generator system on Jolie's E when we installed the Zef.   Just my 2 cents worth in hopes of saving you some money and still achieve your goal of 14.2 VDC.

[Theo]

Quote: Mitch

Dave.

For not a lot of money, I would really suggest the Zeftronics regulator first.  We've have great service from the generator system on Jolie's E when we installed the Zef.   Just my 2 cents worth in hopes of saving you some money and still achieve your goal of 14.2 VDC.

[carusoam]

There isn't much to the supply side of the generator based electrical system.

Battery, generator and controller all available from Spruce.  No STC required.  Can all be changed in an afternoon.  Appropriate mechanic involvement, of course. 

Sounds like you want the alternator system anyway. 

The only other advantage of the generator system is that you can hand prop with a dead battery.  I have never, and I don't think I will ever, hand prop that monster. 

I did use the jump start with another battery a few times while gaining great knowledge of charging systems.

Either way, don't waste too much time thinking about it. Either solution is a good one.  Get it done so you can get back to reliable, trustworthy flying......

-a-

[Skybrd]

I have the plane power alternator and notice during flight the voltage shows 13.2-13.4 volts. I was wondering if there is an adjustment to bring it to about 14.0 volts. I have to put the battery on a charger every now and then and I don't think that's normal since I fly it often. Right now it's going through an annual so any info about making an adjustment would be appreciated.

[Andy95W]

Yes, the Plane Power voltage regulator can be adjusted. It is very easy.

Have your mechanic take off the cover. You will see a square potentiometer near the middle of the regulator, toward the high side of middle up/down wise.

Clockwise lowers the voltage, counterclockwise raises it.

A little bit goes a long way. 1/4 turn equals more than a full volt.

Try 1/8 turn counter-clockwise to start. Once you get to 13.9-14.1 volts, leave it and never have to use your battery charger again!

[bonal]

Seems I am having charging problems myself. On our trip to columbia after a normal start and long taxi to fuel could not get restarted after a 20 min soak started fine. Kind of made it less fun at the fly in cause all I could think about was the start up next morning. Well the bat recovered enough to fire it right up next day but I had real bad radio transmission to ATC all the way home. After a fuel stop at Nut Tree no start. Well at least I was smart enough to have taken the charger with me. A real nice fellow who was working on his hangar right by the fuel rig gave me a plug in and after another break and a visit to his other hangar that had a P51 a B25 a T28 a T6 plus a few others we were on our way. So I will be looking into the problem in the coming days. I picked up a great little gadget from LASAR it's a tiny volt meter that plugs into the lighter and gives a continuos read out to a tenth of a volt.

Like on a previous post "it's a long strange journey"

[1964-M20E]

Dave

 

I had a similar issue when I had the generator.  I pulled the generator changed brushes etc. and I had the Zeftronics regulator.  The problem turned out to be a bad rotor in the generator.  At the end of the day I put the plane power alternator on and loved it set the voltage regulator to 13.8V.  I kept the 50A CB for the alt output since the ship did not need the full 70A it just made the installation easier.  I would have saved myself a lot of time and headaches making the decision earlier.

 

Good luck

[pinerunner]

Just in case its similar to the problem I have on my M20E. While we haven't found the root cause yet, my charging cuts out after I start the engine. Turning the master off and back on brings it back. If I forget to do this I run down the battery (boy am I glad the magnetos are separate). Now its burned into me master off and on after starting. Yes its on my do do list, tracking it around with my multimeter. Any ideas? 

[DaV8or]

Dave

 

I had a similar issue when I had the generator.  I pulled the generator changed brushes etc. and I had the Zeftronics regulator.  The problem turned out to be a bad rotor in the generator.  At the end of the day I put the plane power alternator on and loved it set the voltage regulator to 13.8V.  I kept the 50A CB for the alt output since the ship did not need the full 70A it just made the installation easier.  I would have saved myself a lot of time and headaches making the decision earlier.

 

Good luck

 

I put the Plane Power alternator on years ago just after I created this thread. All has been well since then. No charging issues at all.

[1964-M20E]

good

 

 I did not look at when the thread was started.   

[Mooneymite]

Once long ago, in another life, I was having a similar problem with the generator on my Mooneymite after the engine was overhauled.  Since electricity is well above my competence, I counsulted with an old codger in my neighborhood.  He said:  "flash the field, your troubles will be gone".

 

I said, "What?"

 

Anyway, I ended up flashing the field and all my troubles were gone.

 

Total cost:  $0.

[helitim]

OK Mooneymite, I'll bite. What is "flash the field"?

[Mcstealth]

I believe it is a way of reversing the polarity of the system. You cross the wires in some way within the magnetos, charge/flash the magnetos with 12volt current, and it in theory reverses the polarity of the system.

Piloto, did I describe that correctly?

Df

[bonal]

I'll be flashing the field later this week,  supposed to be real easy to do but I will have help. its got something to do with the magnetism in the armature of the generator. hopefully it will correct my charging problem and will be another opportunity to learn another old Mooney lesson.

[Mooneymite]

As I already said, electricty is all magic to me, but the Internet is full of instructions on how to "flash the generator field":

 

Residual magnetism in the generator exciter field allows the generator to build up voltage during start-up. This magnetism is sometimes lost due to shelf time or improper operation, among other reasons. Restoring this residual magnetism is possible and is sometimes referred to as "flashing the exciter field".

To restore the small amount of residual magnetism necessary to begin voltage buildup, connect a 12 volt battery to the exciter field while the generator is at rest, as follows....

 

However, be aware there are different generators and they may be labled differently, make sure you find the instructions for YOUR generator.....as I recall, on my Mooneymite, it was a Ford generator.

[helitim]

Mooneymite, I have to admit I was kind of expecting a punch line come back. You have taught me something here today. Thank you

[carusoam]

If that doesn't work...

Buying a rebuilt one at Aircraft spruce is only a couple hundred bucks???

The carbon shoes (these have a name) have a tendency to wear out.

Controller mal adjustment tends to melt the solder.

New digital controllers are a low cost direct replacement.

Zeftronics controller and a rebuilt Delco generator will have the generator system running better than new in very little time.

Almost as good as an alternator, less cost, less difficulty, less time to complete.

Just my thoughts...,

-a-

[carusoam]

Four years ago, I gave similar advice! (See this thread at 2010)

Best regards,

-a-