After about 9 hours in my new RV-4, my battery started getting weak, and I noticed my 5A ALT FIELD circuit breaker started popping a few times during the flight. I have a 60A Plane Power alternator wired per their and Bob Knuckoll's plans. After a reset it would stay set for 10-15 minutes. Not sure what the problem was, I looked down at my Odyssey battery after my flight and noticed the plastic around the red positive terminal was slightly melted - not good!.
Thinking I might have a bad battery, I replaced the old battery with a new Odyssey and went flying. All was well on the first flight (no issues), then on the second flight the same thing happened - the ALT FIELD CB popped. I reset it a couple of times, then left it popped and returned to the airport.
I pulled the cowl, and the only thing I saw wrong was some oil in the alternator - the oil came from when I pressure oiled the engine (before my first engine start) and made a mess when I disconnected the plastic oil line I was using on the top front of the case. I'm guessing that up to 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil might have gone into the alternator. I cleaned up what I could but I'm sure I only got about half of it.
Is there any chance this left over oil could be causing my problem? My engine monitor is showing 14.5 volts (when the CB is in) and 12 volts when it is popped, so it doesn't seem as if my voltage regulator has gone bad. I don't see any chafed wires or other obvious problems.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Rick
Thinking I might have a bad battery, I replaced the old battery with a new Odyssey and went flying. All was well on the first flight (no issues), then on the second flight the same thing happened - the ALT FIELD CB popped. I reset it a couple of times, then left it popped and returned to the airport.
I pulled the cowl, and the only thing I saw wrong was some oil in the alternator - the oil came from when I pressure oiled the engine (before my first engine start) and made a mess when I disconnected the plastic oil line I was using on the top front of the case. I'm guessing that up to 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil might have gone into the alternator. I cleaned up what I could but I'm sure I only got about half of it.
Is there any chance this left over oil could be causing my problem? My engine monitor is showing 14.5 volts (when the CB is in) and 12 volts when it is popped, so it doesn't seem as if my voltage regulator has gone bad. I don't see any chafed wires or other obvious problems.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Rick