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Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting

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kboatright1(at)comcast.ne
Guest

Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 4:34 pm Post 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

  

  

  

    [quote][b]

rmkeith(at)gwi.net
Guest

Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 5:27 pm Post subject: 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]   ---

dale1rv6(at)comcast.net
Guest

Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 6:04 pm Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting

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]    

---

Larry Bowen

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 802
Location: NC, USA

Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 6:10 pm Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting

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

	


[b]

_________________
Larry Bowen
RV-8 SOLD,
RV-7QB in progress...

kboatright1(at)comcast.ne
Guest

Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 6:25 pm Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting

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]   ---

billsettle(at)bellsouth.n
Guest

Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 1:24 am Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting

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

	




	
	
      [quote][b]

rocketbob(at)gmail.com
Guest

Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 3:27 am Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting

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]

brooksrv6(at)hotmail.com
Guest

Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 5:57 am Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting

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!

Larry Bowen

Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Posts: 802
Location: NC, USA

Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:57 pm Post subject: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting

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

	




	
[b]  http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?RV-List http://forums.matronics.com  [quote][b]

_________________
Larry Bowen
RV-8 SOLD,
RV-7QB in progress...

Barry Ward

Joined: 25 Aug 2006
Posts: 2

Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:29 am Post subject: Re: Ignition Problem - Troubleshooting

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

_________________
Barry

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