rainman Posted January 12, 2012 Report Posted January 12, 2012 On another thread I mentioned that I had smoke in the cockpit of my 231 and had to declare an emergency and land. It turned out to be the resistor to the low boost pump that got fried. The mechanic where I had to land finally called today to say he needs to replace the pump and the resistor. I thought that there is a different system now in place that uses a voltage regulator in the line rather than the resistor. Anyone know more about this? The mechanic said he was aware of the change but that the voltage regulator is not available and the only way to go is the way it was. I'm an inexperienced pilot working on my instrument rating, and don't want to have that kind of drama again if I can avoid it. It also doesn't instill the kind of confidence in the plane I'd like my wife to have so she'll fly with me!
KSMooniac Posted January 13, 2012 Report Posted January 13, 2012 Call Don Maxwell or Dugosh and get their expert advice first.
Parker_Woodruff Posted January 13, 2012 Report Posted January 13, 2012 Quote: KSMooniac Call Don Maxwell or Dugosh and get their expert advice first.
rainman Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Posted January 13, 2012 Thanks guys, The mechanic at Stinson said he called Dugosh and they told him to put in a voltage regulator system, but when it arrived it was not the correct one and now he states the proper voltage regulator is not available. He's going to replace the resistor and the low boost pump. My plan is to then fly the plane to Dugosh (it's closest to my where I live) and have them check it out. It seems like a big expense if it's only fixed enough to ferry, but I need to know it's safe. A MSC is at least going to give me confidence once they've checked it out. Ray
sreid Posted January 13, 2012 Report Posted January 13, 2012 It's just my personal preference, but I wouldn't want someone else working on my plane if I didn't know exactly what they were doing to it, and this confusion was resolved. You might consider calling one of your experts yourself, rather than relying on second hand information. Steve
rainman Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Posted January 13, 2012 Some kind of computer glitch must have messed with my last response. Thanks Guys, The mechanic at Stinson (where I landed) spoke with Dugosh and they told him to install a voltage regulator for the low boost pump. He ordered it but it when it arrived it was the wrong one and a correct voltage regulator is not available. He proposed placing a new pump, new resistor, and basically having the same setup that I had before. My plan is to fly the plane to Dugosh once it's "fixed" and have them check it out and make any changes needed. Perhaps an expensive temporary fix just to get it to a MSC. The good news is Dugosh is pretty close to where I live in Boerne TX. Ray 1979 M20K, N226C
KSMooniac Posted January 13, 2012 Report Posted January 13, 2012 Is the new pump and resistor a loaner arrangement, or will you have to pay for that? Pumps aren't cheap, and I wouldn't relish paying for one if the mechanic is just guessing at things... Dugosh might even have a spare/loaner *if* one is required.
rainman Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Posted January 13, 2012 Thanks, The mechanic said the pump would only run if very high electrical power was put on it, and it should actually only draw low power. I'll call Dugosh in the morning to see if they have any input. They have spoken to the mechanic at Stinson at least twice already. Ray 1979 M20K N226C
231flyer Posted January 14, 2012 Report Posted January 14, 2012 I am really sorry you are experiencing such a hard time finding a competent mechanic to fix your 231; especially since you are less than an hour from Kerrville. I would strongly advise against flying with any kludged fix. Since the mechanic at Stinson seems at a loss I would call Cutter Aviation at SAT. I had a tach issue while visiting SAT in 2007 and the mechanics at Cutter were very helpful and knowledgeable. Else offer to drive one of the guys down from Dugosh or call Don Maxwell in Longview. I had an alternator MX issue in AUS and ended up flying in my mechanic from DTO to fix the problem since the guys on field were similarly clueless about Mooney systems.
jetdriven Posted January 15, 2012 Report Posted January 15, 2012 Get ahold of Ron Fisher. he is the local SAT area Mooney expert and will NOT bull shit you. PM me for his contact info.
rainman Posted January 20, 2012 Author Report Posted January 20, 2012 Byron, Thanks, I've got Ron's info, and you're right he has an excellent reputation. Good news today, after consultation with Dugosh and some searching, the mechanic at Stinson has found the proper voltage regulator (a new one) and it's on it's way. Hopefully, all this will be resolved next week. Thanks for all the input. Ray
rainman Posted January 25, 2012 Author Report Posted January 25, 2012 Byron, Ron Fisher is knowledgable about the system and he is now consulting with the mechanic at Stinson. There is a Service Bulletin on this item and a kitw is/was available for the repair with the wiring diagrams. Hopefully N226C will be flying again soon. Thanks to all for the advise and help. Dugosh was at helpful as they could be, but no one there had actually ever fixed one. Ray
Hank Posted January 25, 2012 Report Posted January 25, 2012 I've always heard that it's bad to let the smoke out of electronics. They never work the same after you do that. I learned that this also applies to Mooney electronics by experience. May I suggest not repeating my follow-up experience and fly the plane with the not-smoking-anymore part removed, regardless of what your A&P says you can do? Thankfully nothing failed until after I was below the clouds . . . . .
Awful_Charlie Posted January 25, 2012 Report Posted January 25, 2012 Quote: Hank I've always heard that it's bad to let the smoke out of electronics. They never work the same after you do that.
aviatoreb Posted January 25, 2012 Report Posted January 25, 2012 Quote: allsmiles Don't smoke in the cockpit!
Hank Posted January 26, 2012 Report Posted January 26, 2012 Quote: aviatoreb But then why do our airplanes come with ashtrays?
rainman Posted January 29, 2012 Author Report Posted January 29, 2012 Thanks for the humor guys. Charlie , I love that photo of the bottle of smoke! Hopefully, N226C will be flying again soon. I do want to give a shout out to the fire department at Stinson who used a thermalimager to immediately spot the hot part under the panel. They also very quickly disconnected the battery. It was just smoke and no visible flames....but it was a lot of smoke ! Ray
rainman Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Posted February 2, 2012 Sadly, N226C is still not fixed. The mechanic at Stinson can't get the low boost fuel pump to work (new/rebuilt) with the new resistor. The pump will only start if he hits the high boost switch for a second and then turns it off. It doesn't sound right or safe to me. Ron Fisher said he will try to help but is very busy and it may be a while before he can get over to Stinson. It's been five weeks and pretty frustrating. Also, now my instrument instructor will be gone for a month so that's going to be on hold as well. The guys at Stinson are very honest about their frustration as well, and would be happy if I could move the plane to another location. At this point everything is on hold.... still Ray
231flyer Posted February 2, 2012 Report Posted February 2, 2012 If your high boost runs consistently its probably the resistor value for the new pump/capacitor combination. The mechanic can try a lower value resistor or wire a potentiometer in parallel and try different settings. As long as the high boost runs reliably and the engine runs well on its own, I personally would consider a repositioning flight to Kerrville/Dugosh. If you are uncomfortable flying the 231 maybe you can pay a ferry pilot to make the short 20 minute hop for you. Lots of airports between SSF and KERV if you need to divert (including the long runway at Lackland). IMHO I would make a local flight above SSF to double check everything first - stay in the pattern so you can make a dead-stick landing if required. Also make sure you carry no more than 20 gallons of fuel on board for the short hop.
rainman Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Posted February 2, 2012 Thanks, good suggestion. I'll call Ron Fisher (my local Mooney expert) tomorrow and see if he's been able to get to Stinson. If he can't get to it, I'll call Dugosh and see if they'll take on the project if I can get it there. I bought the plane in June, and had the panel and interior redone in hopes that I could get on with learning to fly it and get my instrument rating. I must be patient...I must be patient... Ray
rainman Posted February 12, 2012 Author Report Posted February 12, 2012 Guys, Ron Fisher was finally able to get to Stinson to look at my plane and discovered that the "new/rebuilt" pump is actually defective so it now needs to be sent back.....The saga continues, it's been six weeks since the emergency landing and still no resolution. The other bit of insight is that the switch is supposed to have a breaker in it that limits the amount of current so the resistor can't burn, so I'll be replacing that as well. As I've said before..."maybe this week it'll get fixed"? Ray
Lionudakis Posted February 17, 2012 Report Posted February 17, 2012 Another aviation quality overhaul part. DOA
rainman Posted March 8, 2012 Author Report Posted March 8, 2012 N226C has been repositioned from SSF to Boerne after Ron Fisher was able to fix it. The second replacement pump and resistor work as planned, and I was able to fly it home. Ron was able to locate a new voltage regulator and will install it today. To their credit, the guys at SSF did not charge me for the "wasted labor", only the new pump and a couple of bucks for the resistor. Now I can get back to my IFR training. Thanks for all of the input. It took eight weeks to get it home! Ray
Cruiser Posted March 8, 2012 Report Posted March 8, 2012 Quote: rainman Guys, Ron Fisher was finally able to get to Stinson to look at my plane and discovered that the "new/rebuilt" pump is actually defective so it now needs to be sent back.....The saga continues, it's been six weeks since the emergency landing and still no resolution. The other bit of insight is that the switch is supposed to have a breaker in it that limits the amount of current so the resistor can't burn, so I'll be replacing that as well. As I've said before..."maybe this week it'll get fixed"? Ray
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