Click, click?.again!!

[Ironflight]

So back in September, we found ourselves with the Val at Van?s, and when Louise hit the start switch to taxi to the fuel pump, all she got was a ?click?. We told that story already in another thread, and the cure was a new starter solenoid. Things were just great, and the airplane has been cranking better than ever. Better, that is, until, I hit the start switch the other morning up at Big Bear for a little local flying, and all I got was a strong ?click? ? no starter motion. I watched the voltages on the busses as I tried again ? and got no significant drop ? so I knew right off that there was no current draw through the starter motor. I safed everything and went out to wiggle the prop ? nothing locked up there, everything was fine ? it was just as if the starter wasn?t doing a thing.

Since I obviously wasn?t going anywhere quickly, I pulled the cowling (always carry enough tools to at least get the cowl off) and started poking around. It didn?t take long ? as I put my hand on the cable connection to the starter, I noticed that it turned just a bit. Looking closer, it appeared that the nut wasn?t really tight. I got out a half inch wrench and spun the nut off ? and off fell a burned half of a lock washer. The nut had a little slag on the ?inside? face. Obviously, someone (and I am about the only one that maintains this bird) hadn?t gotten the nut quite tight enough (it might have been when I was doing the work at Van?s, or back when I changed jugs last spring) and because it was loose, there wasn?t a good electrical connection for the high amps seen at the starter motor. Eventually, the arc tracks built up enough resistance that it wouldn?t kick the starter in. A visit to a neighboring hangar produced a replacement lock washer, and in five minutes I was ready to put the cowling back on. We were airborne ten minutes later, enjoying a smooth, cool day above the mountains!

Lots of folks experience slow cranking or poor starting performance in their birds. There is a list of things to check when this happens ? starting with the battery, cable connections, solenoid, more cable connections, and the starter. In my experience, the problem is rarely a major component (battery, starter, etc). SkyTec has a great troubleshooting guide that almost always leads you to a bad connection or bad solenoid (which, it has been pointed out frequently; we really don?t need with the new-style starters). Even batteries frequently aren?t the cause ? and new ones get more expensive every day. In this case, I cleaned up the contacting faces with my pocket knife and tightened things up. Next time, I?ll have a little piece of emery cloth in my ?away bag?, just in case. Once again, the lesson is ? start with the simple stuff. Oh, and make sure that your connections are tight!

Paul

[n82rb]

so i guess this time it was the loose nut on the starter caused by the loose nut behind the stick?

bob burns

N82RB RV-4

[F1Boss]

Well, I would make some snappy remark, but this has happened to me enough times that I will use this opportunity to keep quiet.

Now, I have a simple 1 step procedure for electrical items that don't seem to perform: is it plugged in? If it is (all the way thru the system), then it is time to get the credit card out, as the smoke has leaked out of that particular device.

Glad to hear you found the problem right away!

Carry on!
Mark

[scsmith]

My Mom worked in the medical field.
She used to say, "Don't look for zebras in a horse coral."

[juscash]

Same thing happened to me the other day. First thing I thought! Oh boy the starter is gone. Popped the top cowl and started looking around. The cable on the starter contacter could be moved from side to side. Tightened the nut and the engine started.

[Subwaybob]

Originally Posted by Ironflight

bad solenoid (which, it has been pointed out frequently; we really don?t need with the new-style starters).

Paul

Um... what? How would you wire that? My Infinity grip has a 20 AWG wire I believe and I put an 18 AWG on my key switch. I have a 4 gauge going through my solenoid. Please let me know who that works sans the solenoid.

Thanks in advance.

[mannanj]

Originally Posted by Ironflight

Oh, and make sure that your connections are tight!

Paul

Who was QC? Did the procedure paperwork have a QC stamp?

[Ironflight]

Originally Posted by Subwaybob

Um... what? How would you wire that? My Infinity grip has a 20 AWG wire I believe and I put an 18 AWG on my key switch. I have a 4 gauge going through my solenoid. Please let me know who that works sans the solenoid.

Thanks in advance.

Take a look at SkyTec's web page on wiring - they make some funny comments about how "we" in the RV community wire our starters...

http://www.skytecair.com/Wiring_Diag.htm

Originally Posted by mannanj

Who was QC? Did the procedure paperwork have a QC stamp?

Oh, don't get me started on QC stamps! Seen too many of them pencil-whipped over the years....

[Richard Connell]

I had almost exactly the same issue.
The symptoms were slightly different though.
Depending on conditions, the starter would take a second or two to engage sometimes.
I put it down to a stuck solenoid. So i bought a new one. When I went to replace it, the first thing i found was the nut on the solenoid going to the starter motor, backed off about 1-2mm and welded in place from the arcing!
new nut and washer, problem solved. Another thing I run a spanner over at annual now.
cheers

[bird]

I have studied the diagrams from skytec. I thinks its all about the new starters having their own contactor internally. Their wiring diagram would work fine. One thing I do like about the alternative vans way is that you do not have that high ampere capable wire going to the starter hot all the time that the master switch is on. In the vans dwg. it would only be hot when the start button is energized. I kinda like that idea. Either way would work just fine though.

bird