Mine failed just over 150 h. It's mounted inside the panel, to keep it out of
the
heat of the engine. I really do not believe the error rate of this component
is environmental heat related. It's more of a quality issue. Some time ago there
was a similar thread, and if i remember correctly there was a German origin
alternative offered.
Anyhow, in my case there happened more then bargained for. The red lamp came
during
flight, and shortly after a low voltage warning. Since i can switch everything
over to the second power system, i was not worried, and did the 3 hrs 30
mins leg to the rotax dealer as intended. There the engine was checked for
damage
after the wheel up landing, and i mentioned the probable regulator failure.
However, the charge lamp was and stayed out. During the test flight thereafter
i noticed that there was still no charge. My assumption was that the red lamp
had burned out, and that everything would be fine after i would have replaced
the regulator. That assessment was wrong, as later turned out. After about
one hour in the next flight, smoke appeared in the cockpit, and i asked for an
immediate landing at a nearby airport. In the 5 minutes it took to land the
plane, the smoke started to vanish. The smell was something i had smelled
before,
but could not immediately place. Examination sho
wed that the large smoothing capacitor had cooked itself empty.
The sequence of events has been, that this regulator developed a fault, and put
AC current to the battery and capacitor. After a while the 30 amp battery fuse
had blown, with the result that the charge control lamp does not light. After
that fuse had blown, the full AC power of the charging coils was released on
the capacitor, which gave way, causing an emergency landing.
Lessons learned: Do not keep flying with a red lamp on. Do not assume anything,
check and correct before the next flight. Having an alternative system is great,
but creates overconfidence on the downside.
Question unanswered: There is text on the regulator: Do not take the battery
off
line with a running engine. If you look at the Rotax manual, that is exactly
what the main switch or contactor does. Maybe the regulator blew up dangerously
when i tried to recycle the main switch. Also a blown battery fuse takes the
battery off line. On the other hand, there is no fuse in the charge coil
circuit.
In this case, the connector shows melting marks, and solder has dripped
---From the one of the AC connector tabs.
In other words: There is no protection from defect rectifiers in the regulator.
IMHO there should be a fuse in the circuit too. Unless i get contradictionary
information, that fuse will be there after the next service stop.
Regards,
Jos Okhuijsen
Visit - www.EuropaOwners.org
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