Don't Do This
 

A few weeks back I had a dead battery (don't ask) So I pulled out my trusty jumper and connected it in to a charged Odyssey 925 battery. The jumper cables and my plane have the Cessna/Piper 3-pronged plug. I had used this once before in 2015 but this time it didn't work. The Volt meter showed no voltage at the plug so I opened it up:



I think I know what happened.

-Marc

Ok?
 

For those of us who are clueless,

What Happened?

Clearly the magic smoke escaped.

Guessing a cell in the dead battery failed short.

I'm guessing the receptacle has the +/- swapped.

Connection to battery
 

Snap crackle pop and nasty burning smell.
Maybe reversed polarity when connecting jumper clips to the Odyssey?

My guess is:
 

This jumper came with my plane when I bought it. When I first opened the plug I thought I had a "Chernobyl", but on closer examination I came to the conclusion that couldn't have happened as the red plastic of the case was intact with no signs of excessive heat.

I have no idea who wired the plug but what I think happened was the "technician" used acid-core solder that ate up the wires. The ground was completely eaten through. The positive was damaged but still intact.

The "charred" look on the wire insulation was probably from the torch used to solder the copper wires.

I cleaned up the connectors and will remake the solder joints using appropriate solder and flux.

-Marc

If they used the "plumbing" style of flux, wonder did they do the same for your other wiring for everything?

Guessing your right, as no noticeable heat to the plastic.


Best regards,
Mike Bauer

There is nothing else that gets soldered, but like I said, I don't know who made this jumper cable. I seriously doubt the builder (who I know) would do that.

The flux we use on copper pipes (Everflux) is water soluble, but it's nasty stuff. We always wipe the outside of pipes off with a wet rag after sweating joints.

-Marc

Hi Marc,

Ouch, just did a repair on a shower head, two weeks ago, did not wipe with a wet rag. Guess will do that now....Fixing damage from renters who moved out. Was planning on mudding drywall earlier today, now, know why decided to wash walls in living room and others before fixing/adding drywall patches.

Thank you, learned something.

Best regards,
Mike Bauer