Fabio Posted December 4, 2020 Report Posted December 4, 2020 Hi guys, just a couple days ago i finally figured out how to open the SafeFlight Stall Switch (since mine din't really want to work). Because I stepped across a lot of posts regarding the switch, going from who is able to do a overhaul to where to buy anew one, I wanted to share my experience so that if somone is interested to try on his own at least he knows where to start from . So, for anyone that has not seen it before....This is the Stall Switch, costs over $1000 if someone wanted to buy one. If you want to do it by yourself, the worst that could happen is you destroy something that also didn't work before... To get the switch housing apart, you first have to remove both rivets (red arrow) that hold the outer housing to the mounting plate (white in my case). After you separated it, you can proceed with removing also both rivets (blue arrows) that hold the switch to the outer housing. Removing the rivets means you have to physically destroy them. so basically if you want to get to the core you need to push two small pins on both sides inwards. After that, there is another one on the back (blue arrow) that also has to be pushed in. Be careful not to push them to far inside, or you won't be able to pull them out (that's what happened to me..). if you got so far, well....you basically did it. Here you can see how it looks from the inside. It's made up from a single copper switch that also functions as a leaf spring (see the bended parts on both sides). In my case I had to clean a bit the contacts since it probably didn't work due to corrosions on the tips. After the work inside is done just put the lid on it, push the pins in and seal it with some kind of tape. I also used some silicon for gaskets (the red one) to be 100% sure that humidity doesn't pass. I hope this short instructions are helpful to anyone that has the same problem as I did. Check also the grounding before remounting it. Could also be the main problem why the switch isn't working. 2 2 Quote
larrynimmo Posted December 4, 2020 Report Posted December 4, 2020 It is a “bear” to reinstall that switch... Quote
CWM20f Posted December 5, 2020 Report Posted December 5, 2020 Just how would you remove/install the switch? I can get an arm in the inspection panel far enough to touch it - but not enough to get anything loose. Quote
larrynimmo Posted December 5, 2020 Report Posted December 5, 2020 It’s easy to remove....but it takes quite an effort to reinstall ...getting the screw holes to line up and screw in place Quote
CWM20f Posted December 5, 2020 Report Posted December 5, 2020 So does it have a fixed nut on the backside? If not I can see it being very difficult to get one started in there. Quote
N201MKTurbo Posted December 5, 2020 Report Posted December 5, 2020 Glad you got it working, been down that road a few times. Quote
N201MKTurbo Posted December 5, 2020 Report Posted December 5, 2020 Some things should be left to the hangar fairies who sneak in in the dark of night and do things when nobody is looking.... 2 Quote
N201MKTurbo Posted December 5, 2020 Report Posted December 5, 2020 9 minutes ago, CWM20f said: So does it have a fixed nut on the backside? If not I can see it being very difficult to get one started in there. It helps to have long arms.... Quote
carusoam Posted December 5, 2020 Report Posted December 5, 2020 Great pics of the magic switch, Fabio! Thanks for sharing them. Step two... get hangar fairy with long, thin arms and multiple elbows on each arm... Best regards, -a- Quote
Fabio Posted December 5, 2020 Author Report Posted December 5, 2020 9 hours ago, CWM20f said: Just how would you remove/install the switch? I can get an arm in the inspection panel far enough to touch it - but not enough to get anything loose. It's not that difficult. Yes, getting in is not really easy, but the switch is about 3 inch from the inspection panel. The bigger pity is put it back in again, there you have to be patient with driving the screws in properly. The best thing would be getting someone to help you. 1 Quote
takair Posted December 5, 2020 Report Posted December 5, 2020 Many years ago, I made up some backing plates with nut plates on them that are attached to the stall vane body. Makes it easy to install. Ground wire is pre-attached. By the way, how did you rectify the pin situation? Seems it was intentionally designed to not be taken apart. A hangar fairy I know had problems with that too. Also, did you find the correct rivets or did you use screws and nuts? Quote
Fabio Posted December 5, 2020 Author Report Posted December 5, 2020 53 minutes ago, takair said: Many years ago, I made up some backing plates with nut plates on them that are attached to the stall vane body. Makes it easy to install. Ground wire is pre-attached. By the way, how did you rectify the pin situation? Seems it was intentionally designed to not be taken apart. A hangar fairy I know had problems with that too. Also, did you find the correct rivets or did you use screws and nuts? so basically to take it apart one has to push the pins in. I used a thin nail for that, then for the last part i used a needle. In my case I pushed them too far inside, so i couldn't get them out, but i solved the problem by taping the case properly. Concerning the rivets, for the mounting switch-outer case i used screws and nuts. It makes it easier to demount it, if there is the need to in future. For the front plate i used rivets (has to look good from the ouside you know). 2 1 Quote
Mark89114 Posted December 5, 2020 Report Posted December 5, 2020 Anybody have any idea on how to take apart the overpriced less than reliable switch on a TKS switch? Quote
carusoam Posted December 6, 2020 Report Posted December 6, 2020 The heated vane? The challenge with that is the heater material goes MIA... And an ordinary hangar fairy hasn’t gotten access to the replacement material just yet... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic... Best regards, -a- Quote
Mark89114 Posted December 6, 2020 Report Posted December 6, 2020 10 hours ago, carusoam said: The heated vane? The challenge with that is the heater material goes MIA... And an ordinary hangar fairy hasn’t gotten access to the replacement material just yet... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic... Best regards, -a- The issue, typically is the microswitch quits working as i assume the TKS fkuid gets into the switch, despite it supposedly being a sealed switch. 1 1 Quote
carusoam Posted December 7, 2020 Report Posted December 7, 2020 I see.... There is a thread around here where people were comparing vanes that stopped behaving properly... Some had the heater partially missing, fully missing, or like new... It took a few days to gather enough info to see what was happening... Thanks to MSers around the world... we got a bunch of pics in... and a real good feeling for what was happening... Best regards, -a- Quote
Blue on Top Posted May 6, 2021 Report Posted May 6, 2021 Great thread! I've heard rumors on price of this switch, but $1000 seems to be on the low end. Quote
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