M20R Posted Friday at 12:58 AM Report Posted Friday at 12:58 AM On a recent flight the landing gear down failed to come on even though the gear was down. I checked the lower indicator and it showed gear down. i slowed the aircraft and the gear horn did not come on. I recycled the gear and finally the landing gear light came on. Anyone else ever had this problem and what was the fix? IS it the bulb or the wiring or a switch.
Andy95W Posted Friday at 03:26 AM Report Posted Friday at 03:26 AM Probably the bulb just wasn’t making good contact in the socket. If it happens again, try tapping it with your finger or knocking gently with your knuckle next to it.
FLYFST Posted Friday at 01:08 PM Report Posted Friday at 01:08 PM Was the gear down indicator also off on the panel, in addition to off on the floor indicator? If so, check the gear down switch in the belly for proper operation. Hopefully a replacement switch for the M20R will be easy to find, and affordable. I found mind blowing prices for M20J substitute switches to the replacement switch of the original switch, when available and sometimes within weeks to months, especially if it’s a Honeywell switch. Buying a used switch may work or not and only delays replacement with a new switch.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
PT20J Posted Friday at 01:29 PM Report Posted Friday at 01:29 PM Most likely the gear warning breaker tripped. Mine did that recently. It hasn’t done it again, so I have no idea why it tripped. That breaker powers the annunciator light, the floor light and the warning horn.
Aerodon Posted yesterday at 02:07 PM Report Posted yesterday at 02:07 PM Having experienced a mechanical failure with a gear leg after several flights of 'it just needs an adjustment', all I can say is investigate this properly before flying again. Aerodon 2
PT20J Posted 17 hours ago Report Posted 17 hours ago My bad, I somehow missed the part about the light coming on after recycling the gear, so my comment about the breaker is not pertinent. You said you slowed down and did not get the gear horn. Did you pull the throttle back enough to be sure to actuate the microswitch?It depends on how it’s adjusted but it needs to go almost to idle. Also, do you know that the throttle switch/gear horn was working before this incident? It’s not something we hear a lot in normal operation. The gear up and down switches are DPDT. One pole of each switch controls the gear motor (through relays) and the other pole controls the warning circuits. It’s possible for one pole to be bad and the other good. The best (and safest) way to troubleshoot gear issues is to put the plane on jacks and ground power and open the belly. The good thing about Mooneys is that the floor indicator is mechanical and is the primary indicator. If it aligns properly, the gear is down. The lights and horn are secondary indicators. 2
Hank Posted 14 hours ago Report Posted 14 hours ago 2 hours ago, PT20J said: The good thing about Mooneys is that the floor indicator is mechanical and is the primary indicator. If it aligns properly, the gear is down. The lights and horn are secondary indicators. This. Checking the floor indicator on short final is part of my landing procedure, VFR and IFR. It saved me once when I was vectored 20 nm out at 7500', then turned inbound and cleared to land #8.
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