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kboatright1(at)comcast.ne Guest
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:34 pm Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting |
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We went from Atlanta to College Station, TX this weekend to see my wife's Aggies play (and lose to) Kansas..
Today, we made the return trip.
And about 30 miles from home the engine lost a little power (~100 rpm). Some in-flight troubleshooting showed that the Electroair ignition that I have on the right side had quit. I flipped the on/off switch several times, reset the breaker, etc. and the ignition didn't come back to life. That being the case, I left it off for the remainder of the flight and made sure to stay high enough to glide to an airstrip if the other ignition system (a magneto) decided to take the day off too.
And once we landed, I flipped it back on and voila', it was working fine. Which was a good thing. Sorta...
Because troubleshooting an intermittent problem is a pain in the tuckus.
I plan to check all of the connections between the battery, the breaker, the switch, and the ignition system. I'll check the ground connections too. Beyond that, I'll call the folks who are now supporting the ignition and see if they have any ideas.
Any other thoughts on how to troubleshoot this problem?
Thanks in advance,
Kyle Boatright
N46KB
[quote][b]
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rmkeith(at)gwi.net Guest
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 5:27 pm Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting |
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It sounds like the electronic ignition is getting hot and shutting down. I have a friend with a 9A that had a similar problem. The problem was the blast tubes for cooling the E-mag was not positioned correctly.
Russ Keith
Slow build 9A
[quote] ---
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dale1rv6(at)comcast.net Guest
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 6:04 pm Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting |
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Is the control unit in the engine compartment or cockpit? Some have had problems with wire fatigue right where they exit the mag timing housing. My controller is mounted inside, above the rudder pedals and have monitored temperature with digital sensor going to my Grand Rapids EIS and never had temps above 130 F (and no blast tubes on it). I thought E-mag was a much different animal vs Electroair?
Dale
RV6a 938 hrs
From: owner-rv-list-server(at)matronics.com [mailto:owner-rv-list-server(at)matronics.com] On Behalf Of Russ & Marilyn
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 9:27 PM
To: rv-list(at)matronics.com
Subject: Re: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting
It sounds like the electronic ignition is getting hot and shutting down. I have a friend with a 9A that had a similar problem. The problem was the blast tubes for cooling the E-mag was not positioned correctly.
Russ Keith
Slow build 9A
[quote]
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Larry Bowen
Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 802 Location: NC, USA
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 6:10 pm Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting |
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Sounds similar to my electroair troubles:
http://bowenaero.com/mt3/2004/10/more_ignition_w_1.html
http://bowenaero.com/mt3/2005/03/electronic_igni.html
http://bowenaero.com/mt3/2005/04/electronic_igni_1.html
--
Larry Bowen
Larry(at)BowenAero.com (Larry(at)BowenAero.com)
http://BowenAero.com
[quote] Quote: | From: Kyle Boatright (kboatright1(at)comcast.net)
To: rv-list(at)matronics.com (rv-list(at)matronics.com)
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 8:33 PM
Subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting
We went from Atlanta to College Station, TX this weekend to see my wife's Aggies play (and lose to) Kansas..
Today, we made the return trip.
And about 30 miles from home the engine lost a little power (~100 rpm). Some in-flight troubleshooting showed that the Electroair ignition that I have on the right side had quit. I flipped the on/off switch several times, reset the breaker, etc. and the ignition didn't come back to life. That being the case, I left it off for the remainder of the flight and made sure to stay high enough to glide to an airstrip if the other ignition system (a magneto) decided to take the day off too.
And once we landed, I flipped it back on and voila', it was working fine. Which was a good thing. Sorta...
Because troubleshooting an intermittent problem is a pain in the tuckus.
I plan to check all of the connections between the battery, the breaker, the switch, and the ignition system. I'll check the ground connections too. Beyond that, I'll call the folks who are now supporting the ignition and see if they have any ideas.
Any other thoughts on how to troubleshoot this problem?
Thanks in advance,
Kyle Boatright
N46KB
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[b]
| - The Matronics RV-List Email Forum - | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
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_________________ Larry Bowen
RV-8 SOLD,
RV-7QB in progress... |
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kboatright1(at)comcast.ne Guest
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Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 6:25 pm Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting |
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The coils (and control unit) are in the engine compartment. Today was nice and cool (probably 32F at our cruising altitude), so I tend to discount heat as an issue, since I probably have a couple of hundred hours on this system in 80F+ ambient conditions. Beyond that, we had been in a reduced power descent for about 5 minutes when the system quit working, so things should have been cooling off at that time.
I'll take a look at the timing housing wires. Never heard of that problem, but the number of these units in the field is relatively small, so forums like this are an outstanding place to share information and document a service history on 'em.
As far as I know, there is little or no commonality between the E-mag and Electroair systems.
KB
[quote] ---
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billsettle(at)bellsouth.n Guest
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 1:24 am Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting |
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Larry,
What are you planning on using on your 7?
Quote: | -------------- Original message from "Larry Bowen" <Larry(at)bowenaero.com>: --------------
Sounds similar to my electroair troubles:
http://bowenaero.com/mt3/2004/10/more_ignition_w_1.html
http://bowenaero.com/mt3/2005/03/electronic_igni.html
http://bowenaero.com/mt3/2005/04/electronic_igni_1.html
--
Larry Bowen
Larry(at)BowenAero.com (Larry(at)BowenAero.com)
http://BowenAero.com
Quote: | Quote: | From: Kyle Boatright (kboatright1(at)comcast.net)
To: rv-list(at)matronics.com (rv-list(at)matronics.com)
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 8:33 PM
Subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting
We went from Atlanta to College Station, TX this weekend to see my wife's Aggies play (and lose to) Kansas..
Today, we made the return trip.
And about 30 miles from home the engine lost a little power (~100 rpm). Some in-flight troubleshooting showed that the Electroair ignition that I have on the right side had quit. I flipped the on/off switch several times, reset the breaker, etc. and the ignition didn't come back to life. That being the case, I left it off for the remainder of the flight and made sure to stay high enough to glide to an airstrip if the other ignition system (a magneto) decided to take the day off too.
And once we landed, I flipped it back on and voila', it was working fine. Which was a good thing. Sorta...
Because troubleshooting an intermittent problem is a pain in the tuckus.
I plan to check all of the connections between the battery, the breaker, the switch, and the ignition system. I'll check the ground connections too. Beyond that, I'll call the folks who are now supporting the ignition and see if they have any ideas.
Any other thoughts on how to troubleshoot this problem?
Thanks in advance,
Kyle Boatright
N46KB
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rocketbob(at)gmail.com Guest
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 3:27 am Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting |
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Check the variable reluctance pickup for low resistance or open circuit. If that checks out check the gap between the gear and the pickup. This is the part that tends to break over time in the Electroair systems.
I was flying over the middle of Lake Michigan when mine did the same thing.
Regards,
Bob Japundza
RV-6 flying F1 under const.
[quote][b]
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brooksrv6(at)hotmail.com Guest
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 5:57 am Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting |
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If you monitor all 4 EGT's check them if it happens again to see if it's the whole unit, or just a coil. The temps should increase on the cylinders firing only one plug.
Chris
Windows Live Hotmail and Microsoft Office Outlook – together at last. Get it now!
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Larry Bowen
Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 802 Location: NC, USA
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:57 pm Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting |
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I'm going to try the mag/EI combo again. This time I'll use the P-mag it stable, otherwise a lightspeed.
--
Larry Bowen
Larry(at)BowenAero.com (Larry(at)BowenAero.com)
http://BowenAero.com
On 10/29/07, Bill Settle <billsettle(at)bellsouth.net (billsettle(at)bellsouth.net)> wrote:[quote]
Larry,
What are you planning on using on your 7?
[quote]-------------- Original message from "Larry Bowen" < Larry(at)bowenaero.com (Larry(at)bowenaero.com)>: --------------
Sounds similar to my electroair troubles:
http://bowenaero.com/mt3/2004/10/more_ignition_w_1.html
http://bowenaero.com/mt3/2005/03/electronic_igni.html
http://bowenaero.com/mt3/2005/04/electronic_igni_1.html
--
Larry Bowen
Larry(at)BowenAero.com (Larry(at)BowenAero.com)
http://BowenAero.com
Quote: | Quote: | From: Kyle Boatright (kboatright1(at)comcast.net)
To: rv-list(at)matronics.com (rv-list(at)matronics.com)
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 8:33 PM
Subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting
We went from Atlanta to College Station, TX this weekend to see my wife's Aggies play (and lose to) Kansas..
Today, we made the return trip.
And about 30 miles from home the engine lost a little power (~100 rpm). Some in-flight troubleshooting showed that the Electroair ignition that I have on the right side had quit. I flipped the on/off switch several times, reset the breaker, etc. and the ignition didn't come back to life. That being the case, I left it off for the remainder of the flight and made sure to stay high enough to glide to an airstrip if the other ignition system (a magneto) decided to take the day off too.
And once we landed, I flipped it back on and voila', it was working fine. Which was a good thing. Sorta...
Because troubleshooting an intermittent problem is a pain in the tuckus.
I plan to check all of the connections between the battery, the breaker, the switch, and the ignition system. I'll check the ground connections too. Beyond that, I'll call the folks who are now supporting the ignition and see if they have any ideas.
Any other thoughts on how to troubleshoot this problem?
Thanks in advance,
Kyle Boatright
N46KB
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| [b] http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?RV-List http://forums.matronics.com [quote][b]
| - The Matronics RV-List Email Forum - | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?RV-List |
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_________________ Larry Bowen
RV-8 SOLD,
RV-7QB in progress... |
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Barry Ward
Joined: 25 Aug 2006 Posts: 2
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:29 am Post subject: Re: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting |
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I have an Electroair system and although I have not had exactly the same problem I did have one with the pick up signal that I use to provide the RPM indicator.
The problem was a poor contact on the main Electroair Ignition unit. Mine which is a 1998 model had several spade connectors that connect the wires including the 12 volt power to the control unit. Probably over time (800 hours) the connector had worked loose plus some oil may have been the cause of the bad contact. I cleaned the contact and made it a tighter fit and since then there has not been a problem.
I would imagine that if your system started working again after a landing which may have vibrated the wires the problem is one due to a poor contact and not a component failure.
Hopefully when you have found the cause of the problem you will post the information.
Barry RV6A F-PRVM
| - The Matronics RV-List Email Forum - | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
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