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SL40 Won't power up

jlfernan

jlfernan

Well Known Member
Attempting to sell a friends RV-12. Annual was done today and I took it for a quick taxi and to get all the temps up. When I began the radio worked fine. Five minutes into it, the radio turned off and would not power on. Radio shop bench tested it and it worked. Returned to the plane and again it will not power up. Fuse is fine, any ideas?
 
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Meter the power through the fuse then to the radio, also make sure it's grounded properly.
 
Well, if the fuse is good and the radio is good, it can only be a few things. Is the fuse block connection itself getting power? Have you tested it with another fuse just to make sure?

If those are good, then test continuity between the fuse block and the 12V power pin in the D-sub socket in the back of the radio stack. You should be able to see which pin assignment it is from a schematic. I've found a short piece of 0.025 safety wire attached to the ohmmeter lead will fit in the socket just right.

If you want to test that pin for power after all of that, don't let the lead touch anything else(that's hard to do), or your fuse won't be good no mo'. :rolleyes:
 
I've switched the fuse, the avionics switch lights up so I'm assuming power is going through it. It's not switched. I'm hesitant about checking the pin because the safest way would probably do it from the avionics bay and to remove the cover will mean risking scratching some very nice paint. I'm getting an error on the Skyview that indicates the backup battery is not installed/missing. It's there. It's just the plane has sat for a few months and the voltage on this battery has dropped to 8.2. Any chance the radio is linked to the Skyview and because of this low voltage, it's diverting power from the radio. Just grasping at straws.
 
Look for simple/obvious things. After months of sitting is the main battery low? When you taxied it was the alternator/regulator putting power back into the battery? Have you checked to make sure all the cable connectors along the way from the power source to the radio are well seated? And are the pins in those connectors well seated?
 
More suggestions.

If your Kitlog is up to date you haven't yet developed the technique of getting the avionics bay cover on and off without damage. It can be done if you are careful. It helps a lot to have two people. There are a lot of builders in your area. Get some help.
 
Painter's tape

Don't be afraid to put tape on all the sharp/rough edges that the top skin could rub against when you are removing it and definitely get a helper if you are doing this for the first time.
 
Think we figured it out. Had another RV-12 owner bring SL40 over an plugged it in. Well guess what? it worked perfectly. Took it back to the radio shop I had gone to before. He plugged it in and again it worked. The tech then asked if the aircraft was was 12 or 24 volt because he was using a 24v supply to power the radio. What he came up with is the power supply inside the radio is dying. While we were talking, the radio started giving off a burning smell. We unhooked it and it will now be on it's way to Garmin. We'll see what happens.
 
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