Dynon 180 reboots itself

[MrNomad]

On final approach today into Long Beach Airport, my Dynon 180 rebooted itself. It went off for a second and then immediately back on. The unit has an internal battery plus ship?s power so it?s unlikely that lack of power turned it off and back on.

Several months ago, I reported this problem to Dynon and they were very helpful. Their first attempt to resolve the reboot issue was to replace the D180 but after a few hours the problem returned.

Dynon?s software people examined their code and determined that the remote compass was the only device that could cause the D180 to reboot. They suggested that I disconnect the magnetometer attached to the D180 and fly the airplane that way. The rebooting stopped.



My installation has a D100 & a D180 and two magnetometers so the lack of one compass was not significant.

Dynon replaced my magnetometer and the D180 did not reboot for 6-8 hours. I thought the problem was gone, but today, on short final, the problem came back.

Dynon has been very helpful but if someone else can assist in resolving this issue, I?d REALLY appreciate it. Eventually, I plan to fly IFR and the loss of the D180 and therefore, the autopilot, could prove to be rather inopportune.

[breister]

Originally Posted by MrNomad

Several months ago, I reported this problem to Dynon and they were very helpful. Their first attempt to resolve the reboot issue was to replace the D180 but after a few hours the problem returned.

...

Dynon replaced my magnetometer and the D180 did not reboot for 6-8 hours. I thought the problem was gone, but today, on short final, the problem came back.

Your clue is in your post. Your problem is the wiring to the magnetometer - either a wire is broken internally, or the connectors are the problem (which could mean internally to the D180; the magnetometer, or the connectors on the harness).

I had problems with the magnetometer dropping off-line, and had to slightly bend a connector for better contact before it went away.

[MrNomad]

Originally Posted by breister

Your clue is in your post. Your problem is the wiring to the magnetometer - either a wire is broken internally, or the connectors are the problem (which could mean internally to the D180; the magnetometer, or the connectors on the harness).

I had problems with the magnetometer dropping off-line, and had to slightly bend a connector for better contact before it went away.

Thank you but we've already been down that path. I opened the Compass connector, ohm'd every wire, inspected the wire for its entire length, tested every wire to see if there was a short to the adjoining wire, ground, or one another cable, and all tests came up negative while we gently pulled & twisted the wires. All of the DB25 pins were securely in their socket. I believe the wiring came from Stein and his work is legendary in its high quality.

Given that we have two compasses and two wires from front to back, I could swap them to see if the issue follows the compass or the wiring.

I really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. Pls continue because I'd like to be able to rely on this device and prevent it from rebooting when I can least afford another distraction.

barry at arizonaairparks.com

[breister]

Originally Posted by MrNomad

Thank you but we've already been down that path. I opened the Compass connector, ohm'd every wire, inspected the wire for its entire length, tested every wire to see if there was a short to the adjoining wire, ground, or one another cable, and all tests came up negative while we gently pulled & twisted the wires. All of the DB25 pins were securely in their socket. I believe the wiring came from Stein and his work is legendary in its high quality.

Given that we have two compasses and two wires from front to back, I could swap them to see if the issue follows the compass or the wiring.

I really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. Pls continue because I'd like to be able to rely on this device and prevent it from rebooting when I can least afford another distraction.

barry at arizonaairparks.com

Ok, I'm going to nit-pick here because the only other "cause" I can think of is a fault on a circuit board. I see your writeup confirms that the wire BETWEEN the units is good, but I don't see you specifically confirm my suggestion to check the connectors on the units.

Did you open up both the D180 and remote magenetometer to insure that the wires to the connectors INTERNALLY were all sound? Did you slightly squeeze the female connector pins on all ports to make sure they were making solid contact with the male pins?

I was having the same problem, and Stein did mine, too - it wasn't his fault. I found that one or more of the female pins just weren't tight enough (no nasty comments here...)

Personally, I'm not extremely happy with D-Sub connectors in general. It is my experience that they do not always provide positive contact.

Just my 2 cents worth, and this does not rule out a bad unit.