Gear down indicator

[lvpazik]

Advice, on my 1980 M20k 231, on the floor in the middle, is a "window" and I believe when the gear is safely extended the window has a "green" indicator. Challenge I have, especially with black carpeting, is "seeing" what the indicator is or isn't. Just plain hard to see through the window. Is this supposed to have some type of small light inside of it??

The window isn't new but it's not scratched up however if I could replace it with new I probably would....

Edited January 11, 2022 by lvpazik

[carusoam]

Find the light bulb…

Find the clear plastic replacement…

Get the right bulb… often a 24v bulb used in a 12v application…

Essentially a dim bulb is used to light a green spot, next to a barber pole on a rod…. The rod is driving the gear, when down the green spot is in the window…  

 

With this knowledge, you can probably find what is going wrong… swapping out the parts is a bit of a challenge… there are threads for that.

PP thoughts only… 

Best regards,

-a-

[ArtVandelay]

Chances are it’s a broken wire to the light.

[Guest]

There is a back light to illuminate the indicator, normally a GE 327(28volt bulb) is installed in 14 volt airplanes so they are dim at night.  Buy an LED equivalent from Aircraft Spruce and never replace it again.  It will be much brighter and highly visible.

Clarence

[testwest]

+1 for Clarence, I did that on our M20J, a new LED bulb and also fabricated a new little plexiglas window for the indicator. It is now highly visible even in daylight, while not being annoying at night.

[N201MKTurbo]

A couple of years ago, while redoing my interior, I took the whole mechanism apart, cleaned everything up and replaced the bulb. It wasn't that hard to get to. It was dirty more than worn out. It looks new now and works great.

[LANCECASPER]

With the belly off it's easy to get to from underneath.

[Yetti]

It's a square piece of plexiglass.   Remove the plastic on top.   My indicator piece was broken.   I made a new indicator pieces and used a vinyl printer to make the green indicator.

[stormflyer]

On 1/11/2022 at 12:33 AM, carusoam said:

Find the light bulb…

Find the clear plastic replacement…

Get the right bulb… often a 24v bulb used in a 12v application…

Essentially a dim bulb is used to light a green spot, next to a barber pole on a rod…. The rod is driving the gear, when down the green spot is in the window…  

 

With this knowledge, you can probably find what is going wrong… swapping out the parts is a bit of a challenge… there are threads for that.

PP thoughts only… 

Best regards,

-a-

What drives the gear window indications?  The mains, nose wheel or all three?  Is it mechanical or electric?   Is it associated / connected to the annunciation panel or completely independent?  Thank you. 
 

[N201MKTurbo]

17 minutes ago, stormflyer said:

What drives the gear window indications?  The mains, nose wheel or all three?  Is it mechanical or electric?   Is it associated / connected to the annunciation panel or completely independent?  Thank you. 
 

The plexiglass piece rides on the main gear bellcrank. So, all three.

[philip_g]

We put a 12v led in. It looks like the tip of the Luxor at night or maybe Gondor calling for aid