Charging.. Seems simple.. What am I missing?

[Tram]

OK guys..

Maybe some of you have seen my off the wall questions - we did not build our 6 so there are some things that the builder did that is leaving us scratching our head..

I am trying to track down an some bugs in our strobes.. Sometimes they work.. Sometimes they don't..

I'm almost to the point of pulling the entire panel and redoing it just so I know what is what.. Many of the leads are labeled in a fashion that is starting to "disappear" (read masking tape with "Strob Pax Sd" written on it..)

Anyway, we came across a lead that is on a bus - one side running to the + side of the battery.. The other side of the bus is "12v Bat for Charging."

So.. There is a "terminal" for the positive, where would I ground the charger? Anywhere on the frame?

I'll probably slap myself when someone answers this, but I'm puzzled.. LOL..

Thanks again!

Jeff

 

[chaskuss]

Jeff,
Yes, you could place the negative lead of your charger anywhere that you could obtain a good ground. Providing that the builder followed the recommendations of THE AEROELECTRIC CONNECTION, there should be a central grounding point located on both sides of the firewall. This would be the ideal place to mount the negative lead of the battery charger. A photo of the single point ground can be seen here.

http://www.aeroelectric.com/Pictures/Grounding/gnd_bus.jpg

It will have a lot of ground wires running to it.

Charlie

 

[Tram]

Charlie-

Yeh, we have the grounding post on the firewall.. I thought that might a sufficient place to ground, but before I went crazy I thought I'd check and make sure..

Thank you for the reply!

Jeff

 

[L.Adamson]

In my 6A, I have the right side "cigarette lighter" type receptical connected to the hot side of the battery with a fuse. My charger has the other end on it's hot lead, and the normal alligator clip for the ground. I just latch it on to a bolt that holds the landing gear leg in place. The lighter receptical is used for the passenger headphones during normal operation.

L.Adamson --- RV6A

 

[chaskuss]

A simple tool

In my 6A, I have the right side "cigarette lighter" type receptacle connected to the hot side of the battery with a fuse. My charger has the other end on it's hot lead, and the normal alligator clip for the ground. I just latch it on to a bolt that holds the landing gear leg in place. The lighter receptacle is used for the passenger headphones during normal operation.

L.Adamson --- RV6A

Larry,
Your post jogged my memory of a small tool I purchased for working on cars. [I own a small auto repair business] With this tool, you could easily charge your plane's battery, assuming you wired the cigarette lighter receptacle to the battery bus. This tool plugs into the cigarette lighter receptacle. It has a small light to indicate that you have power and ground. It also has two posts, where you could connect a small battery charger. See

http://www.lislecorp.com/tool_detail.cfm?detail=496

It's also very handy for doing electrical troubleshooting on vehicles with cigarette lighters. I generally use it for easy access to vehicle power and ground when using a test light or VOM. You should be able to find this tool at your local auto parts store or local mobile tool vendor. I got mine from my local Cornwall Tool dealer.

Charlie Kuss

 

[Tram]

Ok guys.. I hate to sound unknowledgeable, but you have to learn somewhere.. I guess I just do not understand exactly what is going on with my airplane..

Was out in the hangar today and tried to run the charger to the wire listed as "12v + Bat for Charging" and then ground via the ground post.. I also tried to ground on the exhaust and other parts of the frame.. I got nothing.. I am unable to get the charger to charge.. The charger faulted and told me I had it hooked up incorrectly.. Bad connection..

I think, regardless of this post LOL, I am pretty handy with electrons.. I fly all electric remote control aircraft, several making over 150amps and 5000watts.. and until this even thought I had a pretty good handle on how electrons flowed..

Anyway, I may pick up one of the above tools.. Seems pretty handy, I could easily wire up an adapter for my charger to use it..

Anyone have any idea where I may be boning this up?

Thanks guys

Jeff

 

[Norman CYYJ]

Try turning on the master switch. It is possible that the guy that built the plane put the charger wire on the buss side of the master solenoid and not the battery side. Just a guess.

 

[L.Adamson]

until this even thought I had a pretty good handle on how electrons flowed..

As I remember, electrons actually flow from negative to positve..........yet we design everything by going from positive to negative. I still haven't figured that one out. Or maybe I just remembered wrong..

L.Adamson ---- RV6A

 

[Caveman]

Jeff, Have you tried just hoooking the charger up directly to the battery posts? Does the wire labeled "12V Bat for charging" have a switch installed that needs to be closed? I believe some people wire their aux power this way. Pictures would help us have a better idea of the system.

 

[Tram]

Try turning on the master switch. It is possible that the guy that built the plane put the charger wire on the buss side of the master solenoid and not the battery side. Just a guess.

Yeh, I'll give that a shot.. My 12v "cigarette outlet" is only hot with the master on..

As I remember, electrons actually flow from negative to positve..........yet we design everything by going from positive to negative. I still haven't figured that one out. Or maybe I just remembered wrong..

LOL.. I guess you are right.. See.. Told you I only "thought" I had it figured out..

Jeff, Have you tried just hoooking the charger up directly to the battery posts? Does the wire labeled "12V Bat for charging" have a switch installed that needs to be closed? I believe some people wire their aux power this way. Pictures would help us have a better idea of the system.

Oh yeh, works like a charm.. I'm just looking for a way to be able to charge it without doing the circus act of crawling under the panel, taking off the case and taking it all apart..

 

[L.Adamson]

Jeff, Have you tried just hoooking the charger up directly to the battery posts? Does the wire labeled "12V Bat for charging" have a switch installed that needs to be closed? I believe some people wire their aux power this way. Pictures would help us have a better idea of the system.

From what I've read, Jeff's plane has the battery box aft of the firewall between the left and right rudder pedals. It's kind of a pain to get under there, as you have to remove the battery cover while feeling like your standing on your head. I have the same setup.

....which is the reason I put a fused cigarette type receptacle underneath the right side of the panel, that connects directly to the battery side of the master relay. Same connection as the clock.

And BTW---- with the 680 battery, I use an old Dayton charger which gets up to it's required voltage. My newer and fancier Sears charger won't do it.

L.Adamson --- RV6A

 

[Tram]

From what I've read, Jeff's plane has the battery box aft of the firewall between the left and right rudder pedals. It's kind of a pain to get under there, as you have to remove the battery cover while feeling like your standing on your head. I have the same setup.

Yep, that's the setup I have.. Tons of fun.. Especially when you're off somewhere and need a jump start, then you get to try and crawl in there with the engine running and put it all back together..

....which is the reason I put a fused cigarette type receptacle underneath the right side of the panel, that connects directly to the battery side of the master relay. Same connection as the clock.

I think this is what I am going to be looking at.. I really wish we had built the plane, but oh well.. So I'm getting to retrofit lots of stuff..

The plane is a work in progress..

My Short list:

• Charging Solution
• Eyeball air vents
• "Spiffy" up the interior..
• New Canopy Struts
• etc..
• etc..
• etc..

 

[dhall_polo]

use the multimeter

Sounds like you're hooking stuff up, like chargers, to see what works. That's asking for it.

Are you testing your connections with a multimeter first? You can determine valid ground points, common connections, voltages, and all electronic goodness with the multimeter first. If my strobe was acting up, I'd isolate the strobe and test it on the bench. Also check the quality of the connectors at both ends with a simple pull test. Then check voltage and continuity on the lines. Good luck. I can imagine it takes a little head scratching to come up to speed on someone else's work.

Oh, I highly recommend the battery tender jr or power tender jr. It comes with a little pig tail that can be hooked up directly to the battery terminals. This makes it very easy to connect and disconnect the charger to/from the battery. These products can also be left on the battery for long periods.

Don


Don

 

[Tram]

Are you testing your connections with a multimeter first? You can determine valid ground points, common connections, voltages, and all electronic goodness with the multimeter first.

Yes, I am checking with a voltmeter..

If my strobe was acting up, I'd isolate the strobe and test it on the bench. Also check the quality of the connectors at both ends with a simple pull test. Then check voltage and continuity on the lines.

It's both wing tip strobes.. When they work, they work.. When they don't, they don't..

Good luck. I can imagine it takes a little head scratching to come up to speed on someone else's work.

I appreciate it.. Yeh, the labels the builder made for all electrical connectors were written on masking tape, which is 10 years old.. Needless to say, some of the has disappeared..

 

[pierre smith]

Yes and no...

As I remember, electrons actually flow from negative to positve..........yet we design everything by going from positive to negative. I still haven't figured that one out. Or maybe I just remembered wrong..

L.Adamson ---- RV6A

I taught basic and advanced avionics in the Army back when the earth was cooling.

Electrons do indeed flow from negative to positive "in the external circuit" but flow from positive to negative within the source (battery).

Best,

 

[Tram]

Well, I'm going over to the hangar Sunday to take a look at things.. Went ahead and ordered a Battery Tender Plus..

Going to hardwire the pig tail, but first I'll figure out what's what..

 

[Tram]

Well, for what it's worth, I had time to tinker with the plane a bit today.. I isolated the strobe issue.. Bad circuit breaker..

Didn't get to work out the charging issue, but the Tender should be here soon..