Hello Jim,
I too, am using an LED in substitution of an incandascent light. I don't ever
remember
it flickering while the engine is running.
I assume that your hall sensor reading the batt current will have a significant
reading right after starting the aircraft(while its chargine), before it settles
down to zero in cruise? ...just to verify its working somewhat..
According to a description in a regulator manual I have,
'The light should come on only when the system is not charging or is discharging
the battery'.
The battery charging voltage in cruise is 14.4, so it appears to be at a healthy
charging voltage. In other words, its not discharging.
Since the alternator/Ducati are producing power for your accessories, I'll take
that to mean the system is 'charging' to use the term in the first sentence.
Unless there is a short-term voltage dropout caused by a shorted coil or magnet
broken loose (could be found by a scope) or a wiring/connection issue, it seems
the regulator has a higher chance of being the culprit, IMO.
Just out of curiosity...it seems your original Ducati had the same issues, and
that is why you replaced it, before re-installing it later. Could it be that the
original Ducati's twerking is coming back around to roost? Maybe throw the
newer regulator back on and see what happens?
Greg
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com
[mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of h&jeuropa
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2018 9:02 AM
Subject: Europa-List: Alt Light Flickers
The alt light (its a LED, not incandescent) on my Rotax 914 (over 900 hours) has
started to flicker even when at cruise (5000 rpm). It has often flickered when
at low rpm and it always turns full on when the engine is not running. I
have two Hall amp sensors but I can only display one at a time. At cruise, the
amps being delivered by the Rotax system are about 8 to 10 which I what I expect
given the loads turned on. At cruise the amps measured at the battery are
roughly 0, the indication will vary a little from +1 or 2 to 1 or 2 which I
take to be instrument error. The bus voltage is around 13.3 prior to engine
start. After start it slowly climbs to about 14.4 after 20-30 minutes of
cruise.
The aircraft is wired in accordance with AeroElectric Z-16. The battery is an
EarthX ETX680 and its monitoring circuit does not show any problem. I switched
---From lead acid to EarthX ETX36 in 2014 and in March 2017 changed to ETX 680C.
Ive only had this problem recently. Everything was normal at first after
installing
the ETX680C.
In 2014 I added external diodes to supplement the original Ducatti (PN 343620)
regulator/rectifier and a few months later I replaced that Ducatti R/R as the
alt light was illuminating while operation seemed normal. The replacement was
the later model Ducatti (PN 362001) but I left the diodes in place.
I discovered (I think during 2017) that the Rotax system was not delivering a
high
enough voltage to keep the EarthX fully charged. I added a diode in series
in the C lead to boost the voltage. While troubleshooting the charging problem
I changed back to the original Ducatti which has operated fine until the recent
flickering issue.
I cant decide if I have a battery problem or a Rotax/Ducatti problem.
Jim Butcher
Europa XS
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