Dgamble
Well Known Member
I was contacted by the owner-not-builder of S/N #26. It's equipped with a Dynon D-180 with a Garmin 496 GPS - it's all pretty standard except for a standalone ADSB box.
He has had the airplane for four years and has gone through 3 batteries. In comparison, I have had my plane for 8 years and the original battery is still going strong.
He has gotten to the point where he needs to keep a battery tender on it. It seems to be incapable of holding much of a charge.
My best guess is that something in the airplane is drawing power even when the plane is shut down, but I can't find anything that would support that belief.
There are three wires coming off of the positive terminal on the battery: the bigger cable for the main power, a smaller cable that goes to the connector for the battery tender, and a thin fused wire that goes off into a jumble of other wires, so I don't know what's its purpose is, so I'm a bit suspicious of it.
He has also been told by a mechanic that it's normal to need a new battery every year. I'm a lot of suspicious about that theory.
Any ideas?
He has had the airplane for four years and has gone through 3 batteries. In comparison, I have had my plane for 8 years and the original battery is still going strong.
He has gotten to the point where he needs to keep a battery tender on it. It seems to be incapable of holding much of a charge.
My best guess is that something in the airplane is drawing power even when the plane is shut down, but I can't find anything that would support that belief.
There are three wires coming off of the positive terminal on the battery: the bigger cable for the main power, a smaller cable that goes to the connector for the battery tender, and a thin fused wire that goes off into a jumble of other wires, so I don't know what's its purpose is, so I'm a bit suspicious of it.
He has also been told by a mechanic that it's normal to need a new battery every year. I'm a lot of suspicious about that theory.
Any ideas?