joegoersch Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 I'm wondering what could be wrong. I have an '89 J. When I test my stall warning horn on the ground it seems to work (although once I had to jiggle it to get it to work, but now works consistently on the ground when I gently lift it with my pinkie. The stall warning used to buzz whenever I landed, but hasn't done so for several months. I figured I wasn't slow enough on my touchdowns. So yesterday I did some slow flight. With gear down an flaps up I got down to 51kt (~2300 lbs) and was stalling, but no stall warning horn. I believe the stall warning is supposed to sound between 5 and 10 kts above stall speed. It could be my ears (noise cancelling headset), but I don't think so. Would a defective sonalert act this way, i.e. working on ground during preflight (battery power) but not in flight (with alternator--slightly higher voltage) ? Is it possible that stall warning needs to be adjusted ? Cleaned ? How to differentiate between causes ? Any thoughts ? Where would you start to keep mechanic costs down ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peevee Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 if it works on the ground but not in flight adjust the vane upwards a bit at a time and see if that helps. There are 2 or three screws to loosen and then just carefully slide the whole switch up so it goes off at a lower angle of attack. Don't try and bend the vane, it's hardened and not flexible. I would (and have) gone about 1/4" at a time until it was where I wanted it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
201er Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 Before you start doing any work on the plane, make sure you test with your headset off. I already heard of other cases where guys discovered that the reason the "stall horn wasn't working" was because they just couldn't hear it when it worked just fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonal Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 My new David Clark Pro x make it almost impossible to hear the horns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggysanchez Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 (edited) Mine doesn't work all the time either. I have it adjusted all the way up and can only get the horn when I have weight in the back and am at or very close to full gross weight. I have only gotten the stall horn once on landing and that day I may have been a little over gross. Edited April 4, 2017 by ziggysanchez 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 The electronic tone could be masked by sound suppressing /noise canceling headphones... Having the warning device working all the time is a good idea. having it not working during heavy workload times is a little disconcerting in't it? The device was designed for pilots that were not aware of the stall condition forming. If we always know a stall condition is forming, we wouldn't waste the UL on it. It is a bummer to have to spend the dough on such a device. I had to have mine fixed as well. I went months with out hearing from it. Get it fixed. It is good for your health. Best regards, -a- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggysanchez Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 9 minutes ago, carusoam said: The electronic tone could be masked by sound suppressing /noise canceling headphones... Having the warning device working all the time is a good idea. having it not working during heavy workload times is a little disconcerting in't it? The device was designed for pilots that were not aware of the stall condition forming. If we always know a stall condition is forming, we wouldn't waste the UL on it. It is a bummer to have to spend the dough on such a device. I had to have mine fixed as well. I went months with out hearing from it. Get it fixed. It is good for your health. Best regards, -a- What was yours doing or not doing that you had to have it fixed? Mine works fine on the ground and has been adjusted as far as it can be. I've had it looked at by a service center and still only works as described. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 (edited) Not sounding at all. Needed the switch to be cleaned. I expected the worst, but it wasn't expensive at all... I can assure you that testing it on the ground during the walk around is more clearly on my checklist now. Best regards, -a- Edited April 4, 2017 by carusoam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinwing Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 Call me paranoid ,but if my required for airworthiness stall warner was inop ,I think I would keep that fact quiet (from a public forum)until I got it fixed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziggysanchez Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, thinwing said: Call me paranoid ,but if my required for airworthiness stall warner was inop ,I think I would keep that fact quiet (from a public forum)until I got it fixed I would too if I was trying to keep from getting it fixed. My plane is down for panel work and it's one of the things I'm troubleshooting while it's down (along with a leak in one fuel tank and some interior changes). So far I've had no good advice on what the problem might be. Sorry, I'm not trying to hijack this thread but because I have a similar problem as the original poster I was hoping he and I both might get some advice on resolving the issue. Edited April 4, 2017 by ziggysanchez 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsalant Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 It may be working. Maybe just can't hear it with noise-cancelling headsets... Will have mechanic look it it. Ground check good.Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMuncy Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 3 hours ago, 201er said: Before you start doing any work on the plane, make sure you test with your headset off. I already heard of other cases where guys discovered that the reason the "stall horn wasn't working" was because they just couldn't hear it when it worked just fine. If this turns out to be the case, now is an excellent time to install a "bitchin betty" (one which converts the stall horn to a verbal alert and sends it though the headset.) Not too expensive, and you don't mistake it for any other horn. Mine also does the same with the gear warning. In my opinion, one of the bigger "bang for the buck" items I have invested in. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vance Harral Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 5 minutes ago, DonMuncy said: If this turns out to be the case, now is an excellent time to install a "bitchin betty" (one which converts the stall horn to a verbal alert and sends it though the headset.) Seconded. We're very happy with our EI AV-17, but there are other choices too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
201er Posted April 4, 2017 Report Share Posted April 4, 2017 1 hour ago, DonMuncy said: If this turns out to be the case, now is an excellent time to install a "bitchin betty" (one which converts the stall horn to a verbal alert and sends it though the headset.) Not too expensive, and you don't mistake it for any other horn. Mine also does the same with the gear warning. In my opinion, one of the bigger "bang for the buck" items I have invested in. I would think it would be in the best interests of our insurance companies to install those gratis for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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