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B&C 60Amp alt failure - repair experiences requested

Tim Lewis

Well Known Member
My 4 year old B&C 60 Amp alternator (BC 460-H) died today. I see 12.7V at the field plug of the alternator, no charge from the alternator.

B&C is closed till Monday, so a couple of questions to VAF members:

1. I switched to B&C for reliability. The B&C manual advises no need for maintenance such as brushes replacement before engine TBO. It is pitched as a "run to engine TBO" alternator. So I confess I'm surprised to see my 460-H fail in less than 600 hours. Are others seeing failures of the 460-H this soon?

2. How fast does B&C typically turn a repair/replacement/loaner alternator? I have only a few days until a fairly high priority trip.
 
My experience with B&C is excellent. I have no doubt that they’ll do what they can to get you back together and happy.
 
Hi Tim,

Try disconnecting your field plug/connection and measuring the resistance from the field terminal to ground. I don't know the exact resistance for a B&C alternator but I'd guess in the 3-6 ohm range.

Also, any chance that there's a intermittent or poor connection between the field wire and the alternator?
 
External Regulator

Pretty sure that alternator uses an external regulator, I would check that first.

There is also a troubleshooting guide in the installation manual that will take you step by step through checking it out...
 
Hi Tim,

Try disconnecting your field plug/connection and measuring the resistance from the field terminal to ground. I don't know the exact resistance for a B&C alternator but I'd guess in the 3-6 ohm range.

Also, any chance that there's a intermittent or poor connection between the field wire and the alternator?

Good idea. Variable in the 1Mohm range. Seems likely bad brushes.
 
B&C does operate with an external controller/regulator. Should be the LR3D model and the manual has the troubleshooting directions.

These folks are nothing short of outstanding when it comes to warranty or repair coverage. I had the voltage regulator go bad on the way to OSH two years ago. Stopped by their booth and they helped troubleshoot the issue. Once the issue was determined, they overnight FedEx’d a new one to OSH and I installed it while there. No charge (unit or shipping) from them despite the fact that it was 4 years past the warranty expiration. “It should last as long as the airplane”.

Just last week I was talking with them about a VAC2 inverted oil pickup that was leaking at the 90 degree fitting. Their response was to send a brand new unit, despite mine being 5 years past the warranty period, all at no charge. “It should not leak”. When they received mine back, turns out it was a copy unit made by Raven. Even so, they said keep the new unit at no charge, that’s how good they are. Payment will be going their way because this is the kind of company we need to stay in business.

I don’t own “stock” in B&C but from my personal experience, the next airplane I build will have their equipment installed. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised on Monday when you talk to them.
 
I had a B&C LR2 regulator on one plane for 32+ years. The voltage adjustment pot stopped adjusting, so I sent the LR2 in for repair. I received a new LR3 no charge!! This is the kind of company Bill built, and continues under the leadership of his son Nathan. I use nothing but B&C starters, alternators, regulators and 90* oil filter adaptors.
 
B&C Resolution

I investigated getting my B&C 460-H repaired by B&C in time for a planned trip. Next day air shipping to/from B&C was $125 each way. Overhaul at B&C was $305, plus a $50 AOG charge. That cost exceeded the cost of a new alternator (latest model is LX60) from B&C ($525 plus ground shipping), so I just bought the new alternator.

I sent my failed alternator (ground shipping) to B&C and asked for consideration, since it failed at 570 hours. Nathan (B&C) replied:

I’m sorry the BC460-H failed earlier than expected. As TJ and I were investigating it, we believe you may have received a unit that was part of a production issue back in 2017. Your unit’s rear bearing failed, causing the rotor to make contact with the stator and destroying the brushes. This damage is consistent with the issue from that time. While we always do our best to intercept any units affected by a quality escape, it appears that yours slipped through the cracks. In consideration of this, I would be happy to offer you a 50% refund for the LX60 you just purchased.

I accepted that offer.

Vendor comparison: When my previous alternator (Plane Power) failed due to a manufacturing issue (stator shifted), Plane Power would not provide any consideration. That's why I switched to B&C.
 
I investigated getting my B&C 460-H repaired by B&C in time for a planned trip. Next day air shipping to/from B&C was $125 each way. Overhaul at B&C was $305, plus a $50 AOG charge. That cost exceeded the cost of a new alternator (latest model is LX60) from B&C ($525 plus ground shipping), so I just bought the new alternator.

I sent my failed alternator (ground shipping) to B&C and asked for consideration, since it failed at 570 hours. Nathan (B&C) replied:



I accepted that offer.

Vendor comparison: When my previous alternator (Plane Power) failed due to a manufacturing issue (stator shifted), Plane Power would not provide any consideration. That's why I switched to B&C.
Just as a recent datapoint - I thought I had an issue with my PP alternator, and contacted them. They shipped a brand new one to me in Switzerland totally at their cost. Turns out there was not even a problem with my alternator, and I'll give them one back next time I go to the US. Couldn't have asked for better service from Hartzell/PP.
 
B&C overvoltage troubleshooting experience (new LX60)

When I installed the new B&C LX60 alternator on my RV-10, I used the new LX60's "improved" field plug. I cut my old field plug off the field wire (the wire from regulator to alternator) and used B&C's newer plug, which is supposed to have improved reliability.

Within an hour of operation, my B&C regulator started repeatedly popping the field circuit breaker, apparently due to a transient overvoltage .

I spent hours troubleshooting the whole voltage regulator circuit with expert phone support from TJ at B&C (he is awesome). All was nominal. As a possible cause, TJ suggested that there have been rare cases where there is apparently internal voltage arcing inside the field plug. I replaced the "improved" field plug with my old field plug (from my B&C 460-H), and the problem disappeared.

Apparently, there was arcing inside the "improved" field plug, which caused transient voltage spikes in the field voltage, which then caused transient spikes in the alternator output voltage, which tripped the B&C regulator's OV protection (16V for 5 ms) circuit.

The only observable data from my EFIS was an increase in bus voltage from 14.2V-14.4V (previous) to 14.4V-14.6V (during the OV trip events)

I've put about 10 hours on the plane with the original field plug, no OV trips. EFIS-reported bus voltage stays in the 14.2-14.4V range now.
 
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