Another VR failure

[olderthandirt]

Sorry I know this has been beaten to death, but today my Ducati VR is probably on last leg..I have 26.4 total hours on plane and VR is under panel....today it was showing at idle -.1 and -.2 and in air +2 and battery discharged to 12.6 after hour of flight..it started out 13.7 because I have a battery maintainer on it...if everyone agrees it is going out I have a JD VR which I can install with a modified plate...just asking

[Phantom30]

Originally Posted by olderthandirt

Sorry I know this has been beaten to death, but today my Ducati VR is probably on last leg..I have 26.4 total hours on plane and VR is under panel....today it was showing at idle -.1 and -.2 and in air +2 and battery discharged to 12.6 after hour of flight..it started out 13.7 because I have a battery maintainer on it...if everyone agrees it is going out I have a JD VR which I can install with a modified plate...just asking

If it turns out bad....make sure you send into Van's a failure report. 26.4 hours is ridiculous. From a class I attended last weekend; it seems only to be "epidemic" in RV-12s.

[bajapilot]

I have to agree Ric, I have over 1100 hrs on my Rans S-7S with original regulator. I have about 170 hrs on my RV-12 and mine is going TU. Only getting anywhere btw 12.8 and 13.7 volts the last few flight.

I'm very involved with the Rans community and with many hundreds flying I don't hear of many VR failures. Something about the RV-12.....

Bill

[Alan Carroll]

Originally Posted by olderthandirt

Sorry I know this has been beaten to death, but today my Ducati VR is probably on last leg..I have 26.4 total hours on plane and VR is under panel....today it was showing at idle -.1 and -.2 and in air +2 and battery discharged to 12.6 after hour of flight..it started out 13.7 because I have a battery maintainer on it...if everyone agrees it is going out I have a JD VR which I can install with a modified plate...just asking

Not sure what battery the RV-12 uses but Odyssey says in their manual the battery is good if it shows 12.65v or better open circuit (no load).

[Phantom30]

I do believe it is time to get to the bottom of our RV-12 voltage regulator problem. I've read all sort of reasons...heat, vibration and installation errors being the cause.

Scott just recently stated installation error being the most likely cause of our problem. I really have a rough time swallowing this.... Not fully inserting pins or plug. Just maybe the plug being supplied doesn't allow for complete seating on the voltage regulator.

Why is this a RV-12 issue? Other Rotax (other a/c) don't seem to be experiencing the level of failures.

Just saying, maybe it is time for some "factory" help; as failures have occurred with the regulator moved away from heat. AND Scott is probably onto the cause...being electrical connections (just don't believe it is installation error)!!!

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by Phantom30

AND Scott is probably onto the cause...being electrical connections (just don't believe it is installation error)!!!

What I actually said was "A lot of failures have occurred as a result of installation error (plugs not fully seated in the regulator, or wires not fully seated and locked into the plug)."

I didn't say it was the primary cause (I have no way of knowing what the actual percentage of the total failures is).

A lot of failures have occurred with melted connectors and/or input pins in instances where the pins weren't fully seated.
My primary point being that there is not one single cause for the failures, and that at least some are like installer induced.

[Phantom30]

Originally Posted by rvbuilder2002

What I actually said was "A lot of failures have occurred as a result of installation error (plugs not fully seated in the regulator, or wires not fully seated and locked into the plug)."

I didn't say it was the primary cause (I have no way of knowing what the actual percentage of the total failures is).

A lot of failures have occurred with melted connectors and/or input pins in instances where the pins weren't fully seated.
My primary point being that there is not one single cause for the failures, and that at least some are like installer induced.

Scott, I'm not climbing onto you or Van's(couldn't be happier with the support given)....just saying, there has to be more to this then "faulty installation errors". My reading into this points to poor pin/lug engagement....as the "heat problem" has been addressed.

[Plummit]

Originally Posted by rvbuilder2002

What I actually said was "A lot of failures have occurred as a result of installation error (plugs not fully seated in the regulator, or wires not fully seated and locked into the plug)."

A lot of failures have occurred with melted connectors and/or input pins in instances where the pins weren't fully seated.

I would think that given the above, there may be a problem with the plugs or the instructions to assemble the wiring/plugs to the VR. More than two similar failures indicate to me that something needs to be improved. That's my take anyway.

-Marc

[rv7charlie]

Originally Posted by Alan Carroll

Not sure what battery the RV-12 uses but Odyssey says in their manual the battery is good if it shows 12.65v or better open circuit (no load).

I think that what you're reading is that a lead-acid battery is at full charge at 12.65 volts.

But if the engine is running and you see only 12.65 volts, that means the alternator isn't charging the battery, since it takes at least 1.5V above battery voltage to push a charge into the battery.

Charlie

[Phantom30]

Originally Posted by rv7charlie

I think that what you're reading is that a lead-acid battery is at full charge at 12.65 volts.

But if the engine is running and you see only 12.65 volts, that means the alternator isn't charging the battery, since it takes at least 1.5V above battery voltage to push a charge into the battery.

Charlie

For the optimum charging of our batteries voltage should be 14.3...I think our regulator puts out around 14.1 volts.(which is fine) when everything is running right.