Plane Power Disposable?

[BDPetersen]

My 40 hour Plane Power alternator is making whining noises in radio and erratic amp readings. Without going into all the symptoms and background, I thought it was of interest my discovery in talking to Plane Power (Hartzell) tech that the alternator is actually NOT maintainable/repairable. They were more than willing to be accommodating with a warranty replacement, however, even if it was outside the warranty period. (He seemed pretty sure it sounded like a diode). So, unless I discover another gremlin, loose wire, or whatever, off it comes. But I was amazed to learn repair was not an option.

 

[carusoam]

Sounds like a diode or two...

Diodes usually fail in pretty obvious ways, visibly or measurably.

Can you find or see the diodes?  Might save you some hassle, before sending the whole thing out...

PP ideas only, not a mechanic.

-a-

[BDPetersen]

To answer myself, turns out a loose lug on the field c/b was the culprit. Tightened and stability returns to the electrical department. Who knew. Maybe Plane Power alternators never need to be fixed.

[carusoam]

Great follow-up BDP!

Best regards,

-a-

[N201MKTurbo]

You can get them for $50 at Auto Zone

[jetdriven]

I haven’t  been able to find an alternator off the shelf that has the same rectifier packs since this is externally regulated. But I did get the part number of the rectifier off here and they are available for about 45$ shipped. 

INR720P

https://www.aspwholesale.com/rectifier-nd-p1359.html

Edited February 28, 2018 by jetdriven

[Sisk Rifles]

Do you have the part number that will replace the plane power ?

[mooniac15u]

18 hours ago, BDPetersen said:

My 40 hour Plane Power alternator is making whining noises in radio and erratic amp readings. Without going into all the symptoms and background, I thought it was of interest my discovery in talking to Plane Power (Hartzell) tech that the alternator is actually NOT maintainable/repairable. They were more than willing to be accommodating with a warranty replacement, however, even if it was outside the warranty period. (He seemed pretty sure it sounded like a diode). So, unless I discover another gremlin, loose wire, or whatever, off it comes. But I was amazed to learn repair was not an option.

 

That probably just means that it's not cost effective for them to offer a repair service.  A new PP alternator is about $400 which seems to already be cheaper than other brands.  What price differential would you want on a repair to make it worthwhile over buying a new one?  Would you get it repaired for $300?  I don't think I would.

 

[jetdriven]

1 hour ago, Sisk Rifles said:

Do you have the part number that will replace the plane power ?

INR720P. Link above. 

[jetdriven]

They weee repairable when Plane Power owned them. We had one installed when we bought our plane. The mechanic didn’t tighten the output nut and the arcing melted the output post off. They repaired it for 120$. 

[mooniac15u]

6 minutes ago, jetdriven said:

They weee repairable when Plane Power owned them. We had one installed when we bought our plane. The mechanic didn’t tighten the output nut and the arcing melted the output post off. They repaired it for 120$. 

Exactly!  They are repairable.  PP (Hartzell) just doesn't want to.  The repair department was probably too expensive to keep.

[Sisk Rifles]

If you wanted to buy a complete alternator from this company, what part number would that be ?

[mooniac15u]

11 minutes ago, Sisk Rifles said:

If you wanted to buy a complete alternator from this company, what part number would that be ?

The part number depends on the aircraft.

[LANCECASPER]

4 hours ago, Sisk Rifles said:

If you wanted to buy a complete alternator from this company, what part number would that be ?

plane-power-pma2013.pdf

[jetdriven]

4 hours ago, mooniac15u said:

Exactly!  They are repairable.  PP (Hartzell) just doesn't want to.  The repair department was probably too expensive to keep.

Or maybe there is more money in selling you a new one for $1,000 than repairing yours for 295$.  I just looked mine up again. That’s what they overhauled it for 2 years ago when the bearings wend bad. Remember this is Kelly, they’re not known for quality  or caring about the customer to begin with 

Edited February 28, 2018 by jetdriven

[jaylw314]

23 hours ago, BDPetersen said:

To answer myself, turns out a loose lug on the field c/b was the culprit. Tightened and stability returns to the electrical department. Who knew. Maybe Plane Power alternators never need to be fixed.

Dang, I was going to suggest checking that.  Ask your A&P to clean the lug terminals at the next annual, too.

[mooniac15u]

42 minutes ago, jetdriven said:

Or maybe there is more money in selling you a new one for $1,000 than repairing yours for 295$.  I just looked mine up again. That’s what they overhauled it for 2 years ago when the bearings wend bad. Remember this is Kelly, they’re not known for quality  or caring about the customer to begin with 

The Plane Power AL12-P70 is currently listed for $453 at Aircraft Spruce. I believe that's the correct model for a 14V M20J. 

[jetdriven]

522

 

[mooniac15u]

5 minutes ago, jetdriven said:

522

 

That's for the whole kit with mounting hardware.  Since we were talking repair vs replace I just quoted the price for a replacement unit assuming you already had the hardware.

[Andy95W]

Makes me glad I kept my InterAv alternator and only swapped out the regulator for the PlanePower.  Best of both worlds.

[cliffy]

I have one too but Inter Av is now dead isn't it?

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, cliffy said:

I have one too but Inter Av is now dead isn't it?

Isn’t Inter Av owned by QAA?

Clarence

[cliffy]

I thought it was dead so I'd have to change it out the next time.

[Andy95W]

The InterAv can still be overhauled, quite possibly by QAA, like Clarence said.  I most recently heard this at a forum recently at OSH.  It seemed like it was fairly common and definitely worth checking on when the time comes.