W

Walt Shipley

Active Member
I'm getting close to first engine start of my RV-12 and I need to defer to the wisdom of those of you who have gone before me. Here are some of my areas of concern:

1. Prior to engine start, is it necessary to upload the latest Dynon firmware
to my FlightdekD180? My Dynon was shipped in January of 2011, prior to the 5.4.3 update.

2. When I turn on the master I've found the trim switch does not move the
elevator trim tab and the wing spar pin light comes on and stays on. Pushing the light button to over-ride doesn't make the light go out.

3. Spinning the prop with the starter (top set of plugs removed) for up to 15 seconds does not cause the oil pressure to change - stays at zero.

4. I've read the threads on downloading the electrical schematic from vans. I was able to download it, but when I went to open it, no joy. Evidently I need some kind of program that I don't have to open. This is a zipped file and I have WinZip 7, but it isn't working. Dang, this is frustrating.

Appreciate any help you can give ....

Walt Shipley
 
Mine is Skyview but I had a couple of the same problems you did. Although I had tested the trim servo with 12V before installing the avionics, it initially did not respond to the trim switch at all. I found that the adjustment potentiometer was all the way at one end. Several twists of it made the trim switch live, and it was later adjusted to the proper rate per the PAP.

I had no luck with the spin-the-prop method either and you will probably blow the 2A fuse because that circuit really draws 2.7A. I followed the rotax method. If you go to the hardware store to the fittings for running natural gas tubing, you can buy a cap that will seal off the oil tank as you need to do. Take one of the fittings used to plug the oil hose when it was shipped to you, so you can get the right size. I had some soft tubing that worked for pressurizing the tank.

There is another thread where people have converted the drawings to PDFs and they will email them to you. Try the potentiometer first.
 
Hey Walt - -

You don't need the update for first start. Did you turn all the switches on ? How much oil did you put in the tank ? When I change oil, I drain everything AND the cooler. I fill the tank to the very top. With the plugs out, you can see the oil go down in 5 seconds. If not, you may have a loose fitting. If the oil goes down, it will produce pressure fairly soon if you have the switches on. ( Not the mags obviously ).

John Bender
 
Some answers, hopefully helpful

Walt,
Some input based on my own and others past experience:

1. Dynon update not necessary at this point. I would not try a firmware update until these other issues are resolved.

2. Many have found that the trim pot needs to be adjusted to get the trim to move. It is very difficult to get to the pot on the D180 panel. One guy here was very patient and had good hands got it adjusted in place. Another had to take the mounting screws out of the panel and lift the control board to be able to get on the pot. The pot will put out maximum voltage and fastest trim movement when it is fully CCW. Don't move it past the stop or the trim will then not move and you will have to turn the adjustment screw back into range.

It sounds like you have to make some test and adjustments to the magnetic spar switches to get the warning light to go out, there are a number of posts on this in the forum.

3. The Rotax oil purge procedure looks more difficult than it is. They have you slightly pressurize the oil tank and turn the prop by hand. I would do it and document it in the the engine log book. The oil pressure will come up and you have done it like the book say and will therefore be in a much better position if you have to make a warranty claim (small chance). But one fellow here had a soft lifter after the purge was done as the book said to do it. It was replaced on warranty, the cylinder has to be removed to do a lifter replacement so it is no small matter. The engine and its parts are expensive, I would proceed accordingly.

4. The electrical diagram is downloaded as a compressed (zipped) AutoCad drawing file. Windows will unzip the file if you right click on the compressed folder and chose Extract All.
Most people do not have the AutoCAD program but there is an online AutoCAD reader that is free to use at www.autocadws.com. Van's explains in detail on their website how to use it to view the drawing. But it can be frustrating. That is why some of the great guys on the forum have offered to send out PDFs of the schematic which may be a lot easier to view and use.

You are not alone -- all of these things have happened before ;)

Tony
 
Bill, John and Tony, Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Now I have a pretty clear idea of a path forward.

Walt
 
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