Dream to fly Posted June 27, 2017 Report Posted June 27, 2017 When should the gear warning sound? and what controls it? Is it throttle lever or manifold pressure? Anything below 18.5inHg it goes off. Quote
N201MKTurbo Posted June 27, 2017 Report Posted June 27, 2017 I believe on your plane it is a microswitch on the throttle cable. I like it adjusted to about 12 inches. There is probably guidance in the maintenance manual. 18.5 would be very annoying! Quote
gsxrpilot Posted June 27, 2017 Report Posted June 27, 2017 Yep, there is a switch on the throttle cable. Sometimes it's in the cabin just behind where the throttle cable comes through the panel and sometimes it's at the carb end of the throttle cable. It's very easy to adjust. And surprisingly easy to test. You'd think you need to go fly to see when it comes on, but if you get a good view of the switch, you can seen when in activates. So you can see it activate while running on the ground and adjust accordingly. Then go verify in flight. I had mine set to come on at about 12" as well. 18 is way to high and would be annoying and dangerous. If the warning horn comes on before you're ready to lower the gear, you'll get use to ignoring it, which you really don't want to do. 1 Quote
Dream to fly Posted June 27, 2017 Author Report Posted June 27, 2017 It is very annoying. It is a great reminder but I couldn't find the switch. I will have to look again. Quote
gsxrpilot Posted June 27, 2017 Report Posted June 27, 2017 I think on the F, it's at the panel end of the throttle cable. There's a picture of one somewhere on this forum. It almost looks like it's part of the cable housing. Quote
cctsurf Posted June 27, 2017 Report Posted June 27, 2017 Here's a post I made a while back on this subject with pictures of the microswitch. https://mooneyspace.com/topic/17539-gear-warning-horn-comes-on-below-22-mp/?do=findComment&comment=272290 Quote
N201MKTurbo Posted June 27, 2017 Report Posted June 27, 2017 (edited) You said lever. If you have levers, you have to take off the plastic quadrant. Remove the knobs and then the little screws and the plastic will cone off. You will see the switch on the lever. Edited June 27, 2017 by N201MKTurbo Quote
Dream to fly Posted June 28, 2017 Author Report Posted June 28, 2017 22 hours ago, cctsurf said: Here's a post I made a while back on this subject with pictures of the microswitch. https://mooneyspace.com/topic/17539-gear-warning-horn-comes-on-below-22-mp/?do=findComment&comment=272290 Awesome. Thanks for posting the link. Funny how it is always a micro switch. Now to figure out how to remount it correctly and straighten the bent bracket. I know @gsxrpilot is keeping track of who buys the biggest lemon. I want the cover of the book to have my bird on it!!! 2 Quote
Vance Harral Posted June 28, 2017 Report Posted June 28, 2017 22 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said: If you have levers, you have to take off the plastic quadrant. Not necessarily. In our 1976 F, there's an access hole in the quadrant itself, through which you can poke a screwdriver to adjust the trigger point. 2 Quote
N201MKTurbo Posted June 28, 2017 Report Posted June 28, 2017 Just now, Vance Harral said: Not necessarily. In our 1976 F, there's an access hole in the quadrant itself, through which you can poke a screwdriver to adjust the trigger point. Is it a factory hole or a highly engineered field modification? Quote
Vance Harral Posted June 28, 2017 Report Posted June 28, 2017 Just now, N201MKTurbo said: Is it a factory hole or a highly engineered field modification? That's a fair question. The honest answer is, I don't actually know. All I know is it was there when we bought the airplane. No modification logged in the logbooks, and it looks "professional", so I've always assumed it was OEM. It's entirely possible it's just a well-crafted local mod by some clever A&P. 1 Quote
carusoam Posted June 28, 2017 Report Posted June 28, 2017 (edited) Wait a minute... It's still a two part problem. setting the switch on the approximate proper MP is a good idea. Low power and gear up activates the gear horn. With the manual gear, a finger on the switch is a way to silence the horn but keep a finger on the situation. It would take an extra amount of goofiness to land GU with your finger in the down lock block. At 16"mp, you might still be flying level, slowly... How much MP do you use early on in the traffic pattern? 14" ? Early on is the time for the warning. Too late, all the pressure and brain load of multitasking, may cause a distraction event. PP thoughts only, not a CFI... Best regards, -a- Edited June 28, 2017 by carusoam Quote
midlifeflyer Posted June 28, 2017 Report Posted June 28, 2017 1 hour ago, carusoam said: Wait a minute... It's still a two part problem. setting the switch on the approximate proper MP is a good idea. Low power and gear up activates the gear horn. With the manual gear, a finger on the switch is a way to silence the horn but keep a finger on the situation. It would take an extra amount of goofiness to land GU with your finger in the down lock block. At 16"mp, you might still be flying level, slowly... How much MP do you use early on in the traffic pattern? 14" ? Early on is the time for the warning. Too late, all the pressure and brain load of multitasking, may cause a distraction event. PP thoughts only, not a CFI... Best regards, -a- I think they are typically set low because the gear horn is a last warning you didn't put the gear down, not a reminder to put it down. Funny. When I saw the question, "When should the gear warning sound," before I read the rest, "Never unintentionally" popped into my head as the answer. if you hear it unintentionally, you are probably already dealing with a "distraction event." 1 Quote
XXX Posted July 19, 2017 Report Posted July 19, 2017 On 06/28/2017 at 0:44 AM, Vance Harral said: That's a fair question. The honest answer is, I don't actually know. All I know is it was there when we bought the airplane. No modification logged in the logbooks, and it looks "professional", so I've always assumed it was OEM. It's entirely possible it's just a well-crafted local mod by some clever A&P. It must be factory, I have one as well. Quote
AlexLev Posted July 19, 2017 Report Posted July 19, 2017 I actually had the gear warning come on yesterday and it was very useful. The gear was down, but not locked in. Came on at about 12-14" of MP. Quote
XXX Posted July 19, 2017 Report Posted July 19, 2017 Mine comes on at 17". Disassembled the quadrant cover and saw the switch so I turned it out some. When I was reassembling everything, I found the access hole in the cover. Went for a test flight and now the alarm doesn't come on at all. I took a phillips head with me to adjust it but the shaft was too wide to fit in the access hole. If anyone searches this in the future, bring a small diameter phillips screwdriver and make minor adjustments. Quote
Hank Posted July 20, 2017 Report Posted July 20, 2017 Could someone post a picture of the secret spot? Mine has begun drifting, anywhere from 14-16"; it used to sound regularly at 12". I miss it . . . . . Quote
XXX Posted July 20, 2017 Report Posted July 20, 2017 2 hours ago, Hank said: Could someone post a picture of the secret spot? Mine has begun drifting, anywhere from 14-16"; it used to sound regularly at 12". I miss it . . . . . Hank, Do you have a throttle quadrant? I'll get some pics of mine opened up tomorrow. It would be helpful for you to see how and where the microswitch is located So you know what you're turning. Quote
Hank Posted July 20, 2017 Report Posted July 20, 2017 8 minutes ago, Chupacabra said: Hank, Do you have a throttle quadrant? I'll get some pics of mine opened up tomorrow. It would be helpful for you to see how and where the microswitch is located So you know what you're turning. That would be Great! I've tried taking the knobs off to remove the top of the quadrant, that will require a drill and three new screws . . . If not some new knobs, too. The side won't peel back far enough . . . . Quote
XXX Posted July 20, 2017 Report Posted July 20, 2017 @Hank Here are some pics. I doubt the hole is factory now as it sure doesn't line up with the screw very well. Turn in to make horn sound earlier in your throttle pull, turn out to delay horn. 5 Quote
Hank Posted July 20, 2017 Report Posted July 20, 2017 Ahhh! On the bottom! I've been trying to get in through the left side of the quadrant. Time to go stand on my head again. Thanks!! 1 Quote
carusoam Posted July 21, 2017 Report Posted July 21, 2017 Spectacular! Photo and complete description! Best regards, -a- 1 Quote
Vance Harral Posted July 24, 2017 Report Posted July 24, 2017 For what it's worth, our access hole is in essentially the same place as Chupacabra's. We're a little luckier in that the alignment is a little better. But as you can see in his photos, there's plenty of room to angle the screwdriver a bit if the alignment isn't perfect. The real trouble is figuring out which direction the screw is off from the hole, without removing the cover in the first place. You can shine a good flashlight through the slot for the throttle lever, and peer through the hole itself to locate the screw. But it does require standing on your head (or at least lying across the passenger seat with your feet out the door) to look. My recollection is that the adjustment screw is ferrous, and will "catch" a magnetic-tip driver. But it's been a long time, I wouldn't swear my life on that. If I really had trouble with it, I might consider using a step bit to enlarge the hole. 2 Quote
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