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Charging Over Voltage D-180

Piper J3

Well Known Member
Original battery from 2012 (700TT) was getting weak so I bought new Odyssey PC-680 and installed yesterday. Flew 2.5 today and had overvoltage warning. I have dual screen D180 and John Deere VR AM101406 which I installed about five years ago. When I got the warning, I switched EFIS to EMS and saw voltage at 15.0 - 15.1 in cruise flight. Amps varying +1 to +2. I’ve never had over voltage warning prior to today.

My friend has Legacy RV-12 w/ Dynon HDX and he sees 13.9/14.0 volts in cruise flight.

So, the usual questions….

• Is 15.0/15.1 volts too high for charging Odyssey PC-680?
• Where can I find Van’s list of settings for Red, Yellow, Green arcs for Legacy RV-12 w/ Dynon D180? I don’t want Dynon data file, just want to verify settings are correct.
I just found 12 D180 PRESETS
• Anybody else having this problem?

Thanks in advance...
 
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Same here

There may be some strange electrical disturbance in the air over northern Ohio. Also today my previously steady (for 190 hours) 14.5 charging volts went to 14.6 bouncing off 14.7 in the yellow zone. Nothing else similar - RV-7A, Earthx battery, Van's PP alternator.


Gary Kohler
Skypark 15G
 
Bad connections can cause high voltage. If all connections are good, then replace the regulator.
eBay item number:164832291787 costs $20
Or search for AM101406 or MIA881279
Yes, 15 volts is too high. 14 volts is good. 13.8 to 14.2 is OK.
 
Bad connections can cause high voltage. If all connections are good, then replace the regulator.
eBay item number:164832291787 costs $20
Or search for AM101406 or MIA881279
Yes, 15 volts is too high. 14 volts is good. 13.8 to 14.2 is OK.

Thanks Joe. Raining today, so I'll check again for bad connections / corrosion and then probably replace VR with spare JD unit I keep in baggage compartment travel kit. Weather tomorrow is looking good - planning flight test with voltage monitoring.

Labor Day - does that mean "working on airplane"?
 
Outstanding… I just replaced the John Deere AM101406 with spare that I carry in the baggage compartment. All good with 13.9 V in cruise flight.

I think the old JD VR took a dump and then proceeded to ruin the Odyssey battery. The VR was installed at 100TT and so it lasted 600 hours. Not bad for $20. I’m adding item to inflight checklist for verifying voltage during cruise flight.

It’s always something Gilda….
 
Outstanding… I just replaced the John Deere AM101406 with spare that I carry in the baggage compartment. All good with 13.9 V in cruise flight.

I think the old JD VR took a dump and then proceeded to ruin the Odyssey battery. The VR was installed at 100TT and so it lasted 600 hours. Not bad for $20. I’m adding item to inflight checklist for verifying voltage during cruise flight.

It’s always something Gilda….

I may be wrong but I am pretty sure that the settings file for the D-180 set voltage warning limits that would have been giving you an over voltage warning if the voltage went above 14.5
 
I may be wrong but I am pretty sure that the settings file for the D-180 set voltage warning limits that would have been giving you an over voltage warning if the voltage went above 14.5

Right, I bought my RV-12 from original builder and now find some of the EMS presets are incorrect. I just finished putting correct values in, and as you point out, I should now get correct early warning for VR over-voltage failure.
 
The John Deere Voltage Regulator AM101406 that failed is mounted in original position on the firewall shelf. When I installed this VR to replace the Ducati that failed at 100TT, I added a thick aluminum subplate for additional heat dissipation. The VR is “potted” to the subplate with thermal paste to aid heat transfer and the subplate itself is spaced up off the firewall shelf so cooling air can circulate underneath. The John Deere VR lasted 600 hours. Looks like the VR was running somewhere between 175F – 200F.

The RV-12 is tightly cowled. In flight is no problem, but on the ground, and after engine shutdown, temps rise and cook all the electronics, fuel lines, and carb float bowls. I use a 12 volt fan to extract heat thru the oil door when the plane is parked.
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I put a blast tube on my John Deere voltage regulator which is mounted using heat conductive paste in the original firewall shelf location. I also installed a thermocouple on the regulator and monitor the temperature on the Dynon D-180. The maximum temperature I have seen is 155 degrees F on an 85 degree F day. That maximum temperature occurs after takeoff when the battery is recharging after engine start.
 
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