REFLECTOR: Starter problem

[Dave Philipsen]

Mel,

I believe that most circuit breakers will withstand more than rated 
current for a certain amount of time before popping.  Perhaps, as you 
say, it has been overworked and is now in failure mode.  The fact that 
your starter solenoid was clicking would seem to indicate that it wasn't 
getting enough voltage.  If your battery is good then perhaps you're 
getting a substantial voltage drop across that 5 amp breaker which would 
also indicate it is going bad.

On the other hand, I would not rule out a loose connection at the 
breaker.  I've seen breakers pop simply because a wire or connection was 
loose and caused a certain amount of resistance which translates to heat 
when the circuit is under load.  The heat is then conducted into the 
circuit breaker making it pop even though the circuit amperage is still 
within range.

These are just my opinions.  I'm not an expert on this but I do have a 
little experience in non-aviation electronics.


PUSHERPILOT at wmconnect.com wrote:
> My Velocity Std RG has a flown 110 hours now and when I tried to start 
> it the other day the start switch circuit breaker popped.  A friend 
> told me that the starter solenoid (on the starter) was clicking when I 
> turned the switch.  I took the starter to a repair shop and after a 
> complete check out they said that it was in perfect condition.
>
> I called Sky-Tec and was told that the solenoid pulls 6 amps.  I had 
> installed a 5 amp breaker, but it has worked until now.  At this point 
> I assumed that the breaker has been over worked and finally failed. 
>  To test this idea I connected a 10 amp breaker to a separate lead to 
> the solenoid and the engine cranked.  The problem now is that when I 
> tried the regular circuit with the 5 amp breaker it worked fine.
>
> Replacing the 5 amp breaker with a 10 amp would seem to be the fix, 
> but that is a real nasty job.  Ideas, suggestions?
>
> Mel Bina
>

-- 
Dave Philipsen
Velocity STD-FG
N83DP