Failing KCS-55A gyro

[J0nathan225]

On 9/6/2016 at 3:03 PM, PTK said:

Yes. Had same issue a few years ago. It was in the gyro. It cost me about 300$. Take it to a good avionics shop. May also want to speak with Bob Bramble, (913)680-4169. Very knowledgeable on King and honest gentleman.

 

Well I flew the beginning portions of my IFR checkride today partial panel due to my HSI not (keeping up or reading the right heading for a good 20 mins of the flight). I've had issues with it being slow to slave properly over the last few weeks. Is Bob still the guy to go to, does he do repairs or just give guidance?  THANKS!

I'm in lower Alabama if anyone has some good shops to recommend. 

[Bryan]

+1 interested, too.

I am going to check the connection to my flux detector/gate.  I read earlier in the thread that we could try contact cleaner to clean the (blue?) connection.  Where would this be located.

[Oldguy]

19 hours ago, J0nathan225 said:

Well I flew the beginning portions of my IFR checkride today partial panel due to my HSI not (keeping up or reading the right heading for a good 20 mins of the flight). I've had issues with it being slow to slave properly over the last few weeks. Is Bob still the guy to go to, does he do repairs or just give guidance?  THANKS!

I'm in lower Alabama if anyone has some good shops to recommend. 

I am in central Alabama and had Bob rework mine a couple of years ago. Once I got it back, I saw how fast it was supposed to spin up and realized how badly mine had been working previously.

Yeah, Bob Bramble is still the guy from what I know and experienced.

[MIm20c]

I’m not sure Bob can still get the parts from BK? BK has limited the number of repair shops. Might want to look for a used unit. 

Without a doubt I’d buy @LANCECASPER ‘s unit that Bob recently overhauled. 102a

 

[jonhop]

On 4/12/2016 at 8:25 PM, Jerry 5TJ said:

MTBF, as I recall, is on the order of hundreds of hours of run time

Old thread but @Jerry 5TJ; can you provide a number on the MTBF for the KCS-55A gyro system? Mine has started to act wonky on long climbs to altitude i.e. hdg warning flag and an indicated heading that is flat out wrong based upon my INS/pilotage system and backed up by my GTN-650. It's corrected in short order by un-slaving the unit, waiting a minute and slaving it again once level at altitude. I have no records of any maintenance on the system or components, so I'm guessing an overhaul is due. That said, I'd like an estimate for how long an overhaul of the KI525A HSI and or the KG102A will last. If it's 200 hours or less; that will impact my decision to replace with newer technology...

Edited December 20, 2018 by jonhop

[LANCECASPER]

It's usually the KG102A.

[jetdriven]

These gyros cost a fortune to overhaul but are pretty cheap used I would just start pulling swapping them. treat them like throwaways

[smccray]

On 12/19/2018 at 11:03 PM, jonhop said:

Old thread but @Jerry 5TJ; can you provide a number on the MTBF for the KCS-55A gyro system? Mine has started to act wonky on long climbs to altitude i.e. hdg warning flag and an indicated heading that is flat out wrong based upon my INS/pilotage system and backed up by my GTN-650. It's corrected in short order by un-slaving the unit, waiting a minute and slaving it again once level at altitude. I have no records of any maintenance on the system or components, so I'm guessing an overhaul is due. That said, I'd like an estimate for how long an overhaul of the KI525A HSI and or the KG102A will last. If it's 200 hours or less; that will impact my decision to replace with newer technology...

I have a complete KCS55A system working when removed from an A36 bonanza.

[jonhop]

On 12/20/2018 at 2:07 PM, jetdriven said:

These gyros cost a fortune to overhaul but are pretty cheap used I would just start pulling swapping them. treat them like throwaways

@jetdriven,Thanks... Just checked ebay and there were several available anywhere from .5 to 1 AMU. There were two overhauled units for 1.2 and 1.4 AMUs so I'll have to inquire as to the overhaul cost.

8 hours ago, smccray said:

I have a complete KCS55A system working when removed from an A36 bonanza.

@smccray, I'll let you know if I decide to change something out.