Annunciator Panel Problem

[Glen Davis]

Help! My 1984 M20J has the original annunciator panel. The far right light is for “starter engaged”. During the test mode it does not light up, as it should.  I assumed it’s a dead bulb. My mechanic said he thinks the annunciator panel is a sealed cluster, so one bulb can not be changed.  Is this correct?  Thanks!

[kortopates]

Standard bulbs are used - not at all hard for a mechanic or Avionics tech to replace. I forget the bulb part no but I am sure it's in the IPC. A couple screws allow removal of the face plate after it's out of the plane.


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[squeaky.stow]

@Glen Davis 

Check chapter 7 of your POH. It is probably the same as the K. The Starter Engaged light is the only annunciator light that does not light up during the press-to-test.

Checking the bulb is easy. You can slide them out by hand and swap with another location in the annunciator panel.

 

[Glen Davis]

Oh my God.  I feel so stupid.  I just paid my mechanic to find a problem that wasn't a problem in the first case. Squeaky.stow, you are a genius!  Well, at least I'm  not alone as several others have offered suggestions on how to fix it!  Nevertheless, there's a lesson for me here which is to re-read the entire POH from time to time as there are fine nuances in it I've missed in previous reads.  Thanks again to Squeaky.stow and MS for a remarkable resource.  Glen N57540 M20J

[StevenL757]

@Glen Davis, not sure if you have he replacement part number, but I pasted it here if you need it...from Aircraft Spruce.  My cost was about $0.67.

AML BULB 7327

Part# 11-12419 $0.90/Each

[squeaky.stow]

 

 

.....or maybe I just made the same mistake myself, including the hours of troubleshooting.

But don’t tell anyone on Mooneyspace. Let’s go with the genius thing!

And Happy New Year!

 

[PT20J]

My 1994 M20J lights with self test. Not sure about the 1984. 

[Oldguy]

17 hours ago, PT20J said:

My 1994 M20J lights with self test. Not sure about the 1984. 

Not according to the POH for my '84; just you new J models. 

[squeaky.stow]

Looks like some time between 1984 and 1994, Mooney (or the annunciator OEM) figured out that this was a pretty poor design. A warning light that can’t be tested, and doesn’t ever illuminate in normal operations is kind of useless. If it is working it might give you enough warning to save your starter. If it is not working, by the time you figure that out, the damage is already done. A little late at that point. The 94 design makes a lot more sense. A light that illuminates every time you crank the starter gets tested on every start.