Interesting VR failure

[Bryan Cotton]

1.0 this morning, voltage got to 13.6v. Going to try for a longer flight and see what I get. No battery warning light, which is a nice change

[Bryan Cotton]

1.2 hours, rolls loops and immelmanns. Voltage got to 14.0.

[Bryan Cotton]

Another 1.4 hours. Somewhere after an hour we got 14V again. It spends a long around 13.5V, probably recharging the battery.

[Area 51%]

I had a very light electrical load on Chett.
It never took more than 15 minutes to show 14.3 or higher.
You might consider an amp meter to find your actual usage. Or turn everything except the ignition off after reaching altitude to see if the alternator is even capable of putting out the required power.

[Bryan Cotton]

I always turn the ignition off above 1000' and run on the magnetrons. With no electrical load on the ground, I got to 14.5 pretty quickly, as shown in the picture above.

[Area 51%]

Charging voltage isn't necessarily the same as available battery voltage.

Take a well depleted battery or one with a bad cell, put it on a charger, and the voltage will show as whatever the charger is set for as an output. Typically well over 14v. Turn off the charger and the battery voltage will quickly revert back to it's depleted voltage and lack of amp-hours.

Showing 14.5v with no load only demonstrates the VR is doing it's job. Because it takes more than an hour to get to that point (or not at all) in flight would indicate either a weak charging system, or a higher draw than the system is designed for.
In either case, the charging system is working close to 100%.

Since these charging systems seemingly were designed and built by the same company that engineered the iceberg detection equipment on the Titanic, I would expect the lifespan of the alternator to be short.
.

[LarryEWaiex121]

Bryan,

Thanks for the information. I'm going to add a dedicated ground as suggested. Can't hurt.
I retired just under two years ago from selling Kubota and New Holland equipment.
I watched for years the struggles with Jabiru and their Kubota supplied regulators.
I looked up the regulator they were using and its off a 1983 year vintage tractor.
As it turns out, the issue with the Kubota regulators was the amount of energy being passed through the system compared to its application on a tractor with minimum output required.
The wires and connectors were literally melting off the unit.
I had one fry on my Waiex when it had the original Jab Gen 1 solid lifter engine.
I wish I had that one back. I'd install it in this Onex and make it a rocket ship!
Since 2016 I've been running the Camit 3300 and virtually all the issues that befell the Jabiru have been addressed on this engine. Other than a overheat issue on #3 that has been rectified, it's been a tank for 525 hrs and climbing.
Well now, back to the electrical matter on the Onex. Thanks again for your insight. Every little bit helps. This little Onex is a real hoot! I'm too big for it but I'm dedicated to maximizing the potential of this plane so I can confidently let it go to someone and they get to experience success with a well sorted out aircraft.

Larry

[Bryan Cotton]

W
yellow wire (1) is the sense wire & turns on the regulator

Dale
3.0 Corvair/Tailwheel

Dale, where do you hook your yellow wire up? On the output of the master contactor?

[daleandee]

W
yellow wire (1) is the sense wire & turns on the regulator

Dale
3.0 Corvair/Tailwheel

Dale, where do you hook your yellow wire up? On the output of the master contactor?

It could go there. Mine is wired to my two way master switch. 1st position on the master switch is ground for the master contactor, 2nd position powers the voltage regulator by energizing the yellow wire.

Here is a page from Mark Langford's Corvair site where he explains the wiring (about 1/2 way down the page). On his regulator there are only five wires but it's using a case ground instead of a dedicated wire. He's using a different regulator so you can't really follow the position of the wires:

http://www.n56ml.com/corvair/dynamo.html

[Bryan Cotton]

Thanks Dale!