Lost remote Compass

[nozzleandbuster]

Lost remote Compass
Today at 3:24am Quote Modify Remove Hi, I have a D10A with a remote compass and internal battery. Strange thing happened: I fly daily and yesterday the internal clock on the EFIS was wrong and the remote compass was not found. I reset the clock (I actually thought it received clock sync from the linked gps) and cycled the power a couple of times. It is difficult to get the the internal battery so, I haven't removed it yet. I tried a test of battery life and found that it is very weak...2 minutes or so.

I removed and reconnected the connection to the remote compass.

I think the problem is internal to the EFIS (because of the compass and clock issue). I am pretty sure that the battery is no good any longer. It is 2 years old. If it becomes this weak, could it cause the remote compass to fail? BTW, I don't have Dynon autopilot so, I have version 4.2.? installed. Any ideas? Thanks
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[dynonsupport]

First, we always recommend running the latest firmware since we do fix small bugs as well as add features.

A few questions (you might just want to give technical support a call at 425-402-0433 to get into this with our technical support staff):

Does the clock reset every time you power cycle? Or did it change just the once, and now it's holding the time after you reset it?

The battery will last for more than 2 years under normal circumstances, unless perhaps if it were allowed to be discharged, and then sat around for two years. To check the current charge level of the internal battery, what is the voltage on the "I" line of the EFIS VMETER?

Also, is the internal battery working in that it's backup up your system? (30 second timer when shut down, keeping the time correct, other than the reset you experienced)

It's not clear if your compass came back after reseating the connection. What was the verdict there?

 

[nozzleandbuster]

Thank you for your reply.  I called support and spoke to Mike today.  The copass did not start working and is not working now.  As for the battery, it holds a charge and will power the efis for at least 2 minutes after shutdown (if I let it).  I will figure out exactly how long is lasts and find the voltage on the "I" line.  I am not sure about the clock...I will see tonight when I fly it.  

I am going to investigate the cable connecting the remote compass.  That is what Mike suggested to try first.  By the way, the EFIS works fine without the compass (I just don't get the compass tape, wind arrow and OAT).  Thank you for your reply

 

[nozzleandbuster]

Well I figured it out. When I originally installed the remote compass, I had to splice the wire. I found a little moisture in the area of the splice and used a hair dryer on it. Everything immediately started working perfectly. The compass, the battery and the internal clock started working as expected. Can you see a way that moisture, in that cable, could short and cause these specific problems?

Dynon is great! Thank you very much.

 

[dynonsupport]

Yes, the power wire to the EDC, if shorted to ground, can cause these issues.