Backup battery questions

[hoyden]

Approximately how long will the backup battery remain charged enough to power up the display?

Are there any specific recommendations for how long the battery should be charged and how to maintain the charge over time when not flying?

I have found flying once a week for 1-3 hours does not charge the battery enough to power up my Skyview. Early on my Skyview had battery problems that seem to have been resolved after returning the unit twice. Now I wonder if the fixes might have altered the battery charging capability.

Nancy Jean

 

[preid]

I fly far fewer hours than you and have never had an issue with the battery. You need to have more than 12.25v for the battery to charge. I use a tricklecharger but that just keeps my battery active not the backup. I would think after 1-3 hours of flying you should have enough charge for the backup battery, but the manual states it can take up to 4 hours for a dead battery to be fully charged. I haven't looked in a while but under the (SETUP MENU > LOCAL DISPLAY SETUP > DISPLAY HARDWARE INFORMATION) you can view the state of the battery and it's level of charge. Check out page 9.3 on the installation guide for more tests you can do.

 

[dynonsupport]

When the battery status under SETUP MENU > DISPLAY HARDWARE INFORMATION > CHARGE STATUS says CHARGED, you'll have at least an hour of SkyView display power from the battery backup. A completely discharged battery takes 4+ hours to fully recharge, and that should last for months.

So, your amount of flying should keep the battery charged, provided you're not running SkyView for significant amounts of time (more than a few minutes) from the backup battery.

With the airplane engine running, hop into the SETUP MENU > DISPLAY HARDWARE INFORMATION and see what both the CHARGE STATUS and BATTERY STATUS say.

 

[hoyden]

Thank you for the suggestions.

I will do these steps this weekend, or the next time I fly and report back. My bus voltage reads 14 volts when the engine is running.

When I come back from flying Skyview stays on for a minute or two; from the time I shut down the engine, raise the flaps and turn off the master. Then I press the power down now Skyview button.

A few times I have turn on the master and Skyview powers up, and I do a database update. When I turn the master off Skyview powers off immediately.

 

[hoyden]

I flew today and the when I tried to power up on just the standby battery, the battery was dead. When I powered on the master I checked the battery status and it said "standby." A few minutes into flying I checked the status again and it reported 12.0 V and fully charged.

I flew for 1.5 hours and upon landing I checked the battery and it reported 10.5 V and discharging status.

I am beginning to suspect the battery is faulty. I installed the Skyview last year and twice I had to return it to the factory due to electronic failure. I wonder if the battery could have been an aggravating factor then.

 

[dynonsupport]

That does sound like the battery. Give us a call at 425-402-0433 or email at support at dynonavionics dot com (include a link to this thread if you email).

 

[hoyden]

I emailed Dynon Support this morning.

Thank you for your help,

Nancy

 

[jefflayton]

Forum Newbie here, just starting to plan my panel

A related question on the backup batteries: I'm assuming they provide backup power to the ADAHRS's, GPS Antennas, transponder module, engine monitor, ADS-B receiver, etc? If so, for how long?

Thanks

Jeff Layton
Buda, TX

 

[skysailor]

Jeff, the backup battery powers the screen it is attached to, the ADAHRS, SV-250 GPS (puck), and the ARINC 429. It does not power the transponder or any other GPS antennas. After installation, a fully charged battery is tested annually to allow the system to operate for one hour absent any other electrical supply. Failure to operate the system for the full hour from a fully charged battery is grounds for battery replacement. This is listed in the installation manual on 4-7. I will try to paste it below:

In the event of an electrical failure that causes SkyView to run on the SV-BAT-320, the SV-BAT-320 supplies power to the SkyView display it is connected to, along with any connected SV-ADAHRS-26X, SV-EMS-220/221, SV-ARINC-429, and SV-GPS-250 modules. Because of higher power requirements, the SV-BAT-320 does not power Autopilot servos, the SV-XPNDR-26X, or any other external device.

 

[dynonsupport]

The ADS-B is a separately powered serial device (like the transponder), so it won't get covered by the backup battery either.

 

[jefflayton]

Thanks folks. Having fun planning my panel!

 

[hoyden]

I flew yesterday for 1.9 hours and upon arriving at the hangar tried Skyview on the backup battery; the voltage was 10.5V and discharging.


I removed the battery and it will travel west on Tuesday.


Is there any problem flying without the battery, other than the obvious one that I will lose Skyview in the event of electrical failure?

Nancy

 

[skysailor]

The Skyview will operate normally in all modes without the battery as long as it receives power. You will notice no difference as long as the Master Switch is on.

 

[preid]

I flew yesterday for 1.9 hours and upon arriving at the hangar tried Skyview on the backup battery; the voltage was 10.5V and discharging.

Is there any problem flying without the battery, other than the obvious one that I will lose Skyview in the event of electrical failure?

Nancy

If you don't have a battery that can retain above 6v at start up you will lose the Skyview screen. I have a io540 that sucks everything out of the battery so the backup serves as my eyes to the ems during engine start up, otherwise you'll notice no difference without the backup battery.

 

[hoyden]

I have already experienced that sucking sensation. I turn on master power, Skyview comes up, crank the engine, Skyview reboots after engine is running. I look forward to having battery backup power reliably restored.

I have thought about getting the EMS but I already have a JPI EMD-700 and Shadin Econoflow fuel totalizer. If either of these instruments dies then I might reconsider the EMS option. The JPI has a very sweet download and data display capability.

 

[hoyden]

A happy followup: received a new battery from Dynon 3 weeks ago, installed the battery two weeks ago and flew without any problems. Flew again last week and Skview stayed up during the engine start. So nice to have the battery working!

Nancy