Alternator Failure?

[Steve]

Sounds like a good time to upgrade to a Plane Power unit. It comes with the pulley installed...

Steve

[Chris B]

Sounds like a good time to upgrade to a Plane Power unit. It comes with the pulley installed...

+1, if you haven't already bought the parts.

The Plane Power unit is superior in every way. I wish that I had upgraded sooner.

Chris

[ricksigler]

I need to remove the alternator and take it down to my A&P. Has anyone removed it themself? The tension bolt is easy, but it looks like the air filter and housing will have to be removed to get to the main mounting bracket. I've got the diagram printed out from the manual, but the instructions don't say anything about removing the filter and housing. Thanks.

Rick

[Steve]

It will be easier if you remove the alternate air mechanism. It is attached by only 4 metric hex head cap screws. The most difficult part is removing the cotter pins on the two alternator attachment bolts. With the prop off it is easier. If your prop hasn't been overhauled recently you may want to replace the O-ring while you have it off. Put a little DC-4 on the new one before you reinstall. Good luck...

Steve

[ricksigler]

Thanks Steve. I thought so. Those pins do look like they'll be fun. Just had the prop OH'd not long ago, but will have to take it off again to replace the belt. Second time should be easier.

[PapaSierra]

I bought a Backup Alternator from Premier Aircraft for about $5k installed. A switch and ON/Overload light is placed on the panel to the right of the BAT/ALT switches. The system is switched "ON" after startup and if at any time during flight the primary alternator fails (or falls below the ability to handle the electrical load demand) the backup alternator kicks in with the light glowing. If the light blinks the load is too high and the POH insert recommends shedding loads as needed to return the light to a steady glowing state.

The alternator mounts in the position on the engine where they would mount an A/C compressor. It is direct drive, no belts with negligible CG impact.

I really like the peace of mind that this alternator brings as everything relies on electrical power! That way I can keep my emergency batteries OFF for the REAL emergencies!

Lastly you can continue your flight to your destination, even take off and return to home base, and have the main alternator serviced when convenient. That's my kind of travel insurance!

[smoss]

A bit of perspective on the alternator and battery... I have the RG24-15M battery. When the battery was about 1 year old, with a bit of distraction, the master was accidentally left on as I happily wine tasted in Napa for the weekend. Outside temp was about 20 C. My data log SD card was in, and happily recorded it's eventual shutoff, at 2 hours and 20 minutes later! Volts did not drop below 20 for over 2 hours, then there was a precipitous drop near the last few minutes. 3D GPS fixed was maintained until the very end. While none of my lights were on, and I am pretty sure the avionics switch was off, so TCAS, etc. was not active, the radios and all primary systems were live and logging during the entire time. This is a true testament to the heartiness of the bigger battery option, and very reassuring to me that even in the face of an alternator failure, with some prudent conservation, I would never be out of range of a safe landing.

[ricksigler]

Went out to the airport today to work on the plane. The new alternator and belt came in yesterday. I marked and removed the spinner (easy with a drill and phillips bit). I cut and removed the safety wire on the prop bolts and with a nice long ¾ inch wrench broke the bolts loose. I then removed the air filter which is held on by a adjustable band clamp. Screw driver worked, but it also has a bolt type head, but because of the angle you have to go into the screw driver worked better. The filter pulls straight off with the clamp. Then I took the alternate air housing off. It is held on by four 3/16 hex head bolts. They had thread lock on them, so I had to use a long allen wrench and adjustable wrench to break them loose. The housing has four spacer sleeves between it and the alternate air mechanism. One remains attached to the control cable but the other three come loose. It now looks like removing the alternator will be easy. I'm going to get my A&P to come up and help me to finish removing the prop and putting it back on. I'll also let him finish the alternator removal and installation. I'll post an update if anything unusual happens.

Rick

[Steve]

Rick:

If you have time, take some pictures of the process. If you can post them here it may help someone who has to do it in the future...

Good luck with the R&R.

Steve

[Antoine]

Next week I will be taking part in the installation of my new PlanePower alternator. Since we are not replacing the belt, the prop should not come off. I will make some pictures.