disappointed in Skytec starters

Kyle Wolfe said:

Mike, care to elaborate on how to start an engine “well”? I grew up around machines including airplanes, but all I’ve ever been told is to crank no more than 15 secs. Wait 1 minute. Try again. After 3 tries it’s time to trouble shoot.

Interested to hear what else I’ve missed!

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Kyle
You should be able to prop a 0320/0360/0470 by hand so if you have to crank it than more 4 -6 blades with the starter it is time to trouble shoot, or learn how to properly start it as Mike suggested. Both my cub and 180 usually start on the second blade unless I screwed up.
DENNY

Steve Pierce said:

How much voltage at the starter?

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Yes, and while cranking.

Web

If you have a min/max feature on your multimeter it is handy when diagnosing starter circuit issues on any vehicle.

Jerry

Talked with Western Skyways about warranty on one with 318 hours on it. They said that they will add it to their pile, they have a bunch of warranty ones. so its not just me from what it sounds like.

Western skyways warrantied the starter.

Found this,

https://www.diamondaviators.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5345

Well I got 280 hours on the starter before the solenoid failed...Mechanically

Good thread, I learned a lot. Enough to troubleshoot and fix the issue with my starter.

Turns out the engine-case-to-airframe ground cable has a crimp-on connector (to the engine case) which was barely loose … but loose enough to introduce resistance and keep the starter from engaging. I used the largest pair of vice grips I have to clamp down on the crimp and tighten it up. Now, the starter works as it should.

Now, my question to you guys: what is the proper tool to crimp that heavy of a gauge of crimp connector? I am fairly certain that the vice grips didn’t crimp as well as it should be crimped.

i love skytec starters never a problem gotta figure out how to start your plane

aviatoraf said:

Now, my question to you guys: what is the proper tool to crimp that heavy of a gauge of crimp connector? I am fairly certain that the vice grips didn’t crimp as well as it should be crimped.

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Here is a pic of mine. It's just a no-name knock off version but if you do a search on line you'll find a lot of choices. One detail to watch for is if the crimper is made for insulated or un insulated terminals. Choose the correct one for you as the jaws are different.

Web

Thanks guys. Looks like this one will work:

https://www.amazon.com/IWISS-Termin...qid=1631909368&sprefix=cable+lug+crimp&sr=8-5

If you think you'll only need it for this one crimp,
and don't really want to buy one,
NAPA or a similar auto parts place might be able to crimp it for you.

sixmile said:

i love skytec starters never a problem gotta figure out how to start your plane

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we have 13 injected Lycomings and one carb one. Students suck at starting, constantly flood starting and half throttle…

astjp2 said:

we have 13 injected Lycomings and one carb one. Students suck at starting, constantly flood starting and half throttle…

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If student suck at starting injected Lycomings perhaps the problem is the instructors. I never had a problem starting mine.

cubpilot2 said:

I’m well aware of that and agree. I’m my case this was on a fresh rebuilt airplane. Everything new. Wiring to the starter was new and correct along with its own ground cable going completely to the battery. No shortage of current.

When this problem came up, all avenues of troubleshooting were completed, as we needed to get going.
Never believed that a new unit would fail like these did, much less that only the factory was the only ones allowed to work on them.

My 180 Cubs Skytec is about nine year old, so must have been better quality then.

The first starter failed in 12 hours. Something melted or corroded and was leaking from the unit. The second was a bendix solenoid failure in less than 15 hours. No parts to fix so back for warranty.

I posted the first episode here. https://www.supercub.org/forum/showthread.php?55479-Sky-Tec-NL-starter-failure-Warning-signs

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Well the 149 NL starter on the 180 cub finally failed. 380 hours. Internal solenoid failure again. Bat voltage good to the starter and dead as a hammer. Worked great right up to failure with no warning. This was a pre Hartzell unit.

It has now been swapped to B&C which works fine. No more Sky-tec for me. Alaska is no place to have a starter fail out in the bush. Especially on skis…..or floats.

I had the one-way bearing in the 149NL start slipping. No parts just buy a new one...
I cleaned and re-oiled the bearing. We will see what happens when it goes back on.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using SuperCub.Org mobile app

Sky-Tech repaired

I finally made time to teardown the 149 NL removed from my 180 hp cub which had an internally solenoid failure. It is long past warranty so let’s see what the hec is going on…..

I found that the failure was caused simply by corrosion / rust to the solenoid plunger section.
The motor section was in excellent condition. No sign of any overheating.
This is a pre Hartzell unit so is over ten years old but only about 380 hours since new, with lots of starts as my flights are short with lots of cycles.

These units are well sealed, so moisture inside must be a result of condensation which I assume is from heat buildup during starting then fairly rapid cooldown, although the motor area showed no signs of corrosion.

All that was needed was to clean all of the corrosion up, lubricate where needed and reassemble. No excessive pitting was noted.

Unit tested great!

I would recommend that periodic disassembly and cleaning be given these to avoid becoming stranded. There is no way to clean or lubricate this area without complete disassembly.

My first Sky-Tec failure came at only 10-12 hours, which the factory said was caused by corrosion. They did not elaborate as to prevent it.
I did not tear into the two early failures as it would have voided the warranty.

Hopes this helps as these have gotten expensive @ 899.00 each plus 200 for core.

Total teardown and cleaning took about an hour.

FYI, wE have parts at Flightwidgets and soon will be a repair station for the Skytec starters. In the mean time your A&P can install our parts to fix your starter. Craig at FW

chwilliams5 said:

FYI, wE have parts at Flightwidgets and soon will be a repair station for the Skytec starters. In the mean time your A&P can install our parts to fix your starter. Craig at FW

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Looking at your website it appears these are for experimental use only?

Steve Pierce said:

Looking at your website it appears these are for experimental use only?

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Yes but I have many A&Ps buy parts to repair starters. Soon we will be able to repair them for certified use. Same parts.