Another VR failure

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by MMiller

and It sounds like Vans thinks it's a builder issue.


Mike

At times these forums are worse than playing the game telephone.....
Stories get full of twists and exaggerations....

Go back and read what I actually wrote. I said "some" of the failures have been caused by installation errors. I never said anything beyond that.
I only said that much, because so many incorrectly imply that all failures are from the same basic cause. They are not. You wouldn't believe what some builders have done......

[rv8ch]

Originally Posted by rvbuilder2002

...You wouldn't believe what some builders have done......

So you are saying that all builders are idiots? /s

[bruceflys]

rv8ch, Scott wrote that SOME builders do unbelievable things, you seem to have read ALL builders.

[joedallas]

I don't think that Vans have no control over the warranty of clams to Rotax.

Vans sells a lot of engines for Rotax and if they can't get any help what chance do the builders have.

This is something that I think Vans should try to help get a better response from Rotax and a faster turnaround time.

If in a reasonable time and it was not installed wrong, then vans should replace it and send the bad one back to the their Vendor.

This has been a problem for a long time and Vans should get to the bottom of this.

My View

Joe Dallas

Originally Posted by MMiller

Dick,
I understand your frustration but you can't entirely blame Vans, they have no control over warranty claims.

Based on the posts above it sounds like Rotax is still blaming the failures on the RV-12 design, and It sounds like Vans thinks it's a builder issue.
Don't expect this to get resolved by either Vans, Rotax or Ducati...we are on our own.

Mike

[olderthandirt]

Thank you Joe for joining me in idea Van's Aircraft should back a part that only lasted 26.7 hours. It was properly installed or it would not have last that long...and it was inspected by Rotax Mechanic when they fixed initial charging problem...it is a bad part period...look at page after page of people having problems and replacing them with John Deer Regulators with some success...again thanks

[Piper J3]

Originally Posted by olderthandirt

Thank you Joe for joining me in idea Van's Aircraft should back a part that only lasted 26.7 hours.

I don't think Joe implied that Van's should warrant the failed part. I think everyone here is pretty much in agreement that the component manufacturer (in this case Rotax) should provide warranty claim.

However, Van's does design the RV-12 for the Rotax engine and should at least help the flying fraternity find a solution to the Ducati short-life problem. Van's should have Rotax's ear based on volume.

[olderthandirt]

So now we are getting somewhere, we at least a few are in agreement this part is faulty at least till Scott McDaniels chimes in...with the buying power of Van's I can't imagine they cannot do something better..I don't expect them to pay for more Ducati regulators..or cover warranty without compensation..but maybe look to something that works...so those of us flying can keep flying without agonizing warranty claims or experimental fixes!!!!!!!!!!!!

[scottmillhouse]

My regulator that is installed in the interior under the panel shelf as per current RV-12 plans just went out at 118.8 hours. No clear indication of a coming failure. Just started the engine up with no charging and the regulator stone cold. It worked fine on the previous flight. A friend had a spare that when swapped works perfectly. As others said the regulator was hot but you could still hold your hand on it. Also the connectors looked good with evidence by grip marks of a strong deep clean connection.

There is a lot of finger pointing but an almost $200 part should last more than a year. My $10 Autozone automotive regulator in my RV-9 lasted 500 hours and about 6 years and it only cost $10 to replace. Scott- what has been Van's experience on VR life with the demonstrators for both the engine and panel locations? If it is longer, please share the secret with us.

[Piper J3]

So you installed a new Ducatti?

[salto]

We had a lot of failures with the electrical system in our fleet of radial powered crop dusters due mainly to demands we put on the system driving the night lights during spraying ops.
We found a fix by hooking an 80 uf capacitor onto the alternator. Smoothed out the spikes and no more electrical failures. Simple fix and resolved a very frustrating problem.