Dynon Skyview shows Negative amp irratically of between -4 amps and -56 amps.... Voltage shows reduction from 14.5 volts down to 12.4 volts.

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johnso29

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Dynon Skyview shows Negative amp irratically of between -4 amps and -56 amps.... Voltage shows reduction from 14.5 volts down to 12.4 volts.
 
airguy said:
Are you saying that the voltage is dropping at the same time the amperage is going high? That would indicate a short circuit somewhere.
Click to expand...
I agree with Airguy, my ‘short circuit’ incident suddenly manifested itself , after 18 years, with the Aternator ‘B’ wire massively shorting out & cut through #1cyl temp probe. 😳. I had not noticed the wear on the snap bush as it was also ‘protected’ , I thought, by some high temp silicone for added insurance. It happened in cruise over some rough terrain. Find the cause before you fly it again is my recommendation.😉
 
More generally this means that the battery is not being charged by the alternator. I just went through this...12.x volts and negative amps.

I connected a multimeter to the alternator, started the engine, and saw 12.x volts. Replaced the alternator and got back to 14.x volts and positive amps.

Definitely get a multimeter and check everything. I had to make some long leads for the multimeter but it helped rule out a couple of wires.
 
I have had a Plane Power rubbish alternator do funky stuff because the stator wiring was cracking off its terminals.
Could be an internal alternator short if you can't find anything in the external wiring.
 
Afaik- the PMA’d Plane Power Alternators do not have the ‘issues’ that the Experimental AL12-E160 has.
A ‘search’ will find the common faults associated with the (Experimental) E-160.
You could try to fix these-
Stator wiring breaks.
Regulator fails.
Bearings spinning in the case.
& the disintegration of the splined coupling (vac pump pad mounted units).
Sure, you could do any or all of the above if you want to save money, however I’d suggest most of us just want them to be much more reliable.
After having replaced 8 of them (including my own & for various builders) over a 12 month period + another 2 for a IFR RV10 builder - his main PP alt failed at 195 hrs & (he then bought 2 B&C - Main & vac pad units for me to install) & just before he arrived the # 2 PP units coupling totally disintegrated = both had failed within 201 hrs since new.😳😳
Plane Power E160 = NEVER again will i buy or install one. YMMV
 
The PMA ones in fact do have the same problems.
One of the operators I look after changed out his fleet (twin pistons) to Plane Power.
The aircraft operate remotely, and come back for scheduled maintenance.
The amount of flights we had to take to site, to swap out dead alternators made him remove them all and go back to the originals.
He has a large box in the workshop full of PP alternators, unless he's already thrown them in the skip.
Their external voltage regulators like the R1224 are really good, but the alternators are as bad as the experimental ones.
 
GKC Aviation said:
The PMA ones in fact do have the same problems.
One of the operators I look after changed out his fleet (twin pistons) to Plane Power.
The aircraft operate remotely, and come back for scheduled maintenance.
The amount of flights we had to take to site, to swap out dead alternators made him remove them all and go back to the originals.
He has a large box in the workshop full of PP alternators, unless he's already thrown them in the skip.
Their external voltage regulators like the R1224 are really good, but the alternators are as bad as the experimental ones.
Click to expand...
“Afaik- the PMA’d Plane Power Alternators do not have the ‘issues’” - I’ll have to talk to the LAME who told me this 🤣🤣.
How did/does a company get away with this ? & Private Equity entities just makes it worse 🙄.
 
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