Alternator Reliability Poll

[F1Boss]

Originally Posted by DwightFrye

So I've been a bit unhappy with how my PlanePower alternator has been behaving. For the PC-680 battery to be really happy it needs a charging voltage of about 14.5v, as I understand it. My alternator -had- been putting out 14.0v, as measured by my EFIS. I now notice that in cruise flight I'm only getting 13.9v, and since it is internally regulated there is nothing to be done about it.

At this point my feeling is that my battery is being recharged slowly, and may not ever be making it to a full charge. This seems .. to put it bluntly .. not good.

I'm looking for an opinion.

snip

Opinions? Is it time to pull it out before I DO end up with a hard failure? If I do pull it out, I'm inclined to go the B&C route myself.

You could go to a genuine alternator shop and ask 'em to install a regulator set at 14.5v. Or, you could buy said regulator and put it in yourself - takes about 15 min to do this. The ND regulators fit perfectly, so either option is viable in your case.

As I mentioned in another post, ,it seemed that fellas bring their plane here to let their alternators die in peace. I take 'em to a local shop for a new regulator, or I do it myself if I have one on the shelf. Piece o cake to do this fix.

That being said, I have removed the PP gear drive alt from my plane after repeated shear coupling failures @225TTSNEW, and installed the B&C version with the remote and ADJUSTABLE regulator. This action also keeps me from whining to HET, who don't seem to care.

Carry on!
Mark

[alpinelakespilot2000]

Originally Posted by DwightFrye

For the PC-680 battery to be really happy it needs a charging voltage of about 14.5v, as I understand it. My alternator -had- been putting out 14.0v, as measured by my EFIS. I now notice that in cruise flight I'm only getting 13.9v, and since it is internally regulated there is nothing to be done about it.

You may be just fine. If you search the threads a bit you'll notice that many have reported that their EFIS's read about .3 or .4 volts lower than what the battery is seeing. This is certainly true for me and my Dynon D180 which reads about 0.3V lower than my main bus. Something about diodes in the EFIS or something like that. You should check yours if you haven't already.

The other thing, while there may be an "ideal" for Odyssey batteries in theory, there also seems to be a pretty good history of Odyssey's going long with a variety of voltages. Have you been having troubles with your battery? If not, I wouldn't worry too much about what your voltmeter reads as long as its reasonable.

[DwightFrye]

Actually, I have had some trouble. My first PC-680 went for years, but the second one died within a year. My third left me unable to crank at Osh, but revived after about an hour on a charger. That was after two very short legs as I worked my way through the WX, each (obviously) with an engine crank event. My sense is that a few cranks with only a 15 minute flight to recharge left my battery weak. So my confidence in the charging behavior has become diminished.

[dave4754]

I am building and intending to use a rather heavy Prestolite alt, it came with the engine but from what i have heard here Plane Power alt. fail.

So i am about to use the Prestolite with a Plane power regulator, any comments or ideas on that ? hmmm is this taking advantage of the OP?

If so please disregard.

[kiwipete]

Vans 60 amp started playing up (occasionally dropping off line) after 300 hours replaced the regulator ( cheap fix) and it's been fine the last 200 hours.
It would just occasionally stop charging at low rpm. So never really let me down.
As the aircraft is setup for it, I'm happy if occasionally I have to replace the regulator.
For my -10 I've gone externally regulated. With a PP 70 amp which came with my engine and a B&C standby vacuum pad alternator.

[BillSchlatterer]

B&C 60 Amp with B&C Regulator.... 5 years .... 540 Hours .... no blast tube .... no problems.


RV7a O-360 CS

I really like the B&C stuff, looks good usually is good and there stuff is nice. Pricy but nice I'd do it again.

Bill

[N427EF]

Been flying for the last 400 plus hours on a PP alternator, so far so good.
I don't like to see the many problem reports of PP alternators and I am thinking of installing a back up alternator on the vacuum pad for that reason.

[ao.frog]

I have 140 hrs on my PP 60A alternator with no failures so far...

On my first -7, (sold two years ago) with the same type alternator, the new owner got a (aft?) bearing failure at approx 350 hrs...
Maybe he'll chime in with the details.

[pw3633@yahoo.com]

I have a Plane Power 60 amp Model AL12-EI60/V (PP) it has failed at 85 hours. I purchased a new IO-360 engine from Vans fall of 2013 and started flying June of 2016. The PP came with the engine and has approximately 9 calendar months of flying time. I called PP and I was told the 2 year warranty is from time of purchase and they would not replace it. This is the only company I dealt with that has enforced this policy.

If I was in the building phase, I would not purchase anything from this company. The alternator was out of warranty before my first engine start.

[kevinsrv7.com]

Originally Posted by pw3633@yahoo.com

I have a Plane Power 60 amp Model AL12-EI60/V (PP) it has failed at 85 hours. I purchased a new IO-360 engine from Vans fall of 2013 and started flying June of 2016. The PP came with the engine and has approximately 9 calendar months of flying time. I called PP and I was told the 2 year warranty is from time of purchase and they would not replace it. This is the only company I dealt with that has enforced this policy.

If I was in the building phase, I would not purchase anything from this company. The alternator was out of warranty before my first engine start.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Could you give details of the symptoms of your alternator failure so others have a heads up!