To those interested...
The B&C swap out for the PP alternator was straightforward, and even a non-builder/non-mechanic such as myself was able to accomplish the task easily, simplified by the clearly written instructions provided by the manufacturer. The old PP brackets had to come off and the new B&C went on but in the end, it was all worth the effort as the swap not only resulted in a steady and clean power supply, but the B&C setup was nearly 5lbs lighter than the PP. And, as I was told and actually found out, you can use the existing belt and even the 3 pin plug fit perfectly, with no add'l wiring needed at all on my end to complete the install.
Very pleased with the final result as shown below...the PP voltage would drift all over the place with output amperage doing the same....whereas the B&C is rock steady at just about all RPMs. Now that I have the old PP off, I intend to run it on the test unit at O'Reilly's Auto and see if I can discover what the issue is and what it will take to make it saleable.
Edited to add:
As stated, I took the offending PP alternator (along with one of its much older siblings I also own) to O'Reilly's to bench test it on their tester. The older unit passed the test with flying colors, so next up was the one giving me problems....and it too, passed the test w/no issues. As I told Brian Decker (the OP) now I'm kinda stumped with no smoking gun found. His comment to me it could be a flaky regulator, but I pointed out to him that I had complained to Hartzell back last fall and they had sent me a new one along with a set of new brushes. Could be a heat-related problem or....now I'm beginning to suspect the 3 pin plug, which was original to the aircraft back from when it was first built (2012). It seems to snap in w/no issues and probing it with a meter reveals good voltage...but I wonder if age, heat, and vibration effects on the plug may be causing problems. As I stated above, I'm using the same connector in the new B&C install and it appears to work fine (for now, anyways) however out of an abundance of caution I'm going to replace it with the new plug B&C sent me as part of the install kit that has all the strain relief, weather seals, and vibration isolating features mentioned in Post 1 of this thread. With that, I will have hopefully covered all bases and going forward will stick with the B&C line of products. (Two Plane Power alternators coming to the Classifieds soon!) Thanks again to Brian for kicking this thread off with his detailed autopsy report on these units and opinions on failure causes and replacement parts!
Volts/Amps from the Engine Monitor before the swap:
After:
The B&C swap out for the PP alternator was straightforward, and even a non-builder/non-mechanic such as myself was able to accomplish the task easily, simplified by the clearly written instructions provided by the manufacturer. The old PP brackets had to come off and the new B&C went on but in the end, it was all worth the effort as the swap not only resulted in a steady and clean power supply, but the B&C setup was nearly 5lbs lighter than the PP. And, as I was told and actually found out, you can use the existing belt and even the 3 pin plug fit perfectly, with no add'l wiring needed at all on my end to complete the install.
Very pleased with the final result as shown below...the PP voltage would drift all over the place with output amperage doing the same....whereas the B&C is rock steady at just about all RPMs. Now that I have the old PP off, I intend to run it on the test unit at O'Reilly's Auto and see if I can discover what the issue is and what it will take to make it saleable.
Edited to add:
As stated, I took the offending PP alternator (along with one of its much older siblings I also own) to O'Reilly's to bench test it on their tester. The older unit passed the test with flying colors, so next up was the one giving me problems....and it too, passed the test w/no issues. As I told Brian Decker (the OP) now I'm kinda stumped with no smoking gun found. His comment to me it could be a flaky regulator, but I pointed out to him that I had complained to Hartzell back last fall and they had sent me a new one along with a set of new brushes. Could be a heat-related problem or....now I'm beginning to suspect the 3 pin plug, which was original to the aircraft back from when it was first built (2012). It seems to snap in w/no issues and probing it with a meter reveals good voltage...but I wonder if age, heat, and vibration effects on the plug may be causing problems. As I stated above, I'm using the same connector in the new B&C install and it appears to work fine (for now, anyways) however out of an abundance of caution I'm going to replace it with the new plug B&C sent me as part of the install kit that has all the strain relief, weather seals, and vibration isolating features mentioned in Post 1 of this thread. With that, I will have hopefully covered all bases and going forward will stick with the B&C line of products. (Two Plane Power alternators coming to the Classifieds soon!) Thanks again to Brian for kicking this thread off with his detailed autopsy report on these units and opinions on failure causes and replacement parts!
Volts/Amps from the Engine Monitor before the swap:
After:
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