[Craig23]

AFS Help Needed. *PROBLEM SOLVED*

I powered up my panel again tonight. Everything has been working fine for days now, except that my AFS is not talking to the transponder yet. I turned everything off, then powered up my avionics master again. The AFS3500 went to the title screen, with the AFS logo at the top, and froze there. It won't turn on or off, either with ship's power or it's own battery. There is no response to any of the buttons.

It's Sunday night on a holiday weekend, so I can't call the company and I don't want to leave it frozen like this. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

 

[Craig23]

Nevermind

I called my electrical engineer friend and he had a simple solution. Unplug the backup battery. I did that, plugged it back in, and now it's working again. I'll call AFS on Tuesday.

 

[N402RH]

You can call me on my cell and we can figure out what happened.


(503) 701-5042

Rob Hickman
Advanced Flight Systems

 

[Craig23]

Thanks Rob.

Rob,

Once again your customer service is outstanding. I don't want to bother you on your weekend, so I'll give you a call tomorrow.

Thanks,

Craig

 

[Caveman]

You can call me on my cell and we can figure out what happened.


(503) 701-5042

Rob Hickman
Advanced Flight Systems

Holy cow! 1:40 a.m. on a Holiday and "THE MAN" himself responds to the call for help.

BTW, Rob and Travis recently helped me sort through some AOA issues caused by an overly aggressive wing installation crew. We had a small cut, (well okay, not so small) in the tubing where it had apparently got pinched below the bottom fuselage skin and the wing skin and went unnoticed. I was about to go crazy trying to diagnose it. I could not get my unit to calibrate correctly although at times it seemed to work. These guys patiently guided me down the right path while I tried my best to confuse the heck out of them with reports of all kinds of weird indications. It's a wonder they aren't nuts.

 

[N743RV]

I powered up my panel again tonight. Everything has been working fine for days now, except that my AFS is not talking to the transponder yet. I turned everything off, then powered up my avionics master again. The AFS3500 went to the title screen, with the AFS logo at the top, and froze there. It won't turn on or off, either with ship's power or it's own battery. There is no response to any of the buttons.

It's Sunday night on a holiday weekend, so I can't call the company and I don't want to leave it frozen like this. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Craig,

Is your AFS EFIS powered through your avionics master? I have a flying RV-7A and my AFS EFIS is powerd when the master swich is turned on (it was designed and wired by Pacific Coast Avionics). That way you can have it on during engine start without throwing too many switches. I've found that option ideal.

 

[SteinAir]

Craig,

Is your AFS EFIS powered through your avionics master? I have a flying RV-7A and my AFS EFIS is powerd when the master swich is turned on (it was designed and wired by Pacific Coast Avionics). That way you can have it on during engine start without throwing too many switches. I've found that option ideal.

So if you want to shut if off to shed it or something you have to turn your master switch off? Most all of the AFS units have internal batteries that make it easy to have it on during engine start without having to throw any switches.

Just curious.

Cheers,
Stein

 

[IowaRV9Dreamer]

how does that work?

Most all of the AFS units have internal batteries that make it easy to have it on during engine start without having to throw any switches.

Hey Stein - I know this is a thread diversion, but since the original issue is resolved....

If you want to run your AFS on its internal battery during engine start, wouldn't the idea be so it would be isolated from any alternator/engine starting transients? If so, what isolates it if not an avionics switch or relay?

If you have no separate bus switch, what is the sequence? Maybe something like this:

1) Turn on AFS with its own switch?
2) Turn on master & alt, start plane, get a stable bus voltage
3) (I assume the AFS draws power automatically from the bus)
4) FLY!!
5) Turn off engine, shut down master & alt
6) Turn off AFS with it's own switch?

I haven't figured this internal battery thing out yet, and want to under stand the effect it will have on my electrical system design.

Thanks for any insight,

 

[N743RV]

So if you want to shut if off to shed it or something you have to turn your master switch off? Most all of the AFS units have internal batteries that make it easy to have it on during engine start without having to throw any switches.

Just curious.

Cheers,
Stein

I don't know why I would want to shed the AFS 3500 EFIS....but if I did, I'd pull the circuit breaker. It doesn't draw much power and it's one of the things I'd keep running if I lost the alternator.

As for turning it on with it's own battery, the drawback is it only goes to 50% brightness. So in full sun (I'm from California) it would be hard to see....I've tried it.

Bob

 

[Craig23]

Avionics Master

To answer the earlier question, I do have the EFIS, along with my other avionics and autopilot, powered through the avionics master switch. I used the Van's wiring harness, but modified it and ran the wire from my avionics master to a fuse bus. Each component is individually fused. My plan would be to turn on the EFIS on battery power before start.

I don't know why the unit froze when booting up last night, but it seems to be acting normally now. I will call AFS in the morning to ask about that and a couple of other gremlins I'm chasing. I can't tell you how impressed I am that Rob would leave his cell number online at that time of night on a holiday weekend to help a customer. What great service!

 

[Paul the Overlord]

Hey Stein - I know this is a thread diversion, but since the original issue is resolved....

If you want to run your AFS on its internal battery during engine start, wouldn't the idea be so it would be isolated from any alternator/engine starting transients? If so, what isolates it if not an avionics switch or relay?

If you have no separate bus switch, what is the sequence? Maybe something like this:

1) Turn on AFS with its own switch?
2) Turn on master & alt, start plane, get a stable bus voltage
3) (I assume the AFS draws power automatically from the bus)
4) FLY!!
5) Turn off engine, shut down master & alt
6) Turn off AFS with it's own switch?

I haven't figured this internal battery thing out yet, and want to under stand the effect it will have on my electrical system design.

Thanks for any insight,

Yes, that's how to do it. When I built the panel for my 7, I put both screens on switches. I would start the EFIS on int batt. Start the plane, verify proper engine indications, master and avionics on, then switch the EFIS to the main bus (it will stay on). That way I could see all the engine data right away, instead of waiting for the EFIS to boot. That first 30 seconds is important if you have a problem with oil pressure. My current setup with the Dynon D180 works the same way.

 

[orchidman]

-- OR ---
Like I did in my -10, add an AUX or Esential battery. Mine is very similar to Tim's.
Sequence:
Esential battery on. EFIS's come up along with 430W and AP. They are completely independent from the alternator and main battery at this time.
When everything is stable and up and all other checks complete, the engine is started.
After engine running, alternator field is turned on and then Avionics switch is turned on.
On the AFS system, pin 15 is wired to the Esential buss and pin 1 is wired to the Avionics buss. I never have to use the internal EFIS battery.