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disappointed in Skytec starters

wireweinie said:
Also, these lighter weight starters seem to be more prone to problems with bad grounds between engine and airframe.

Web
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There is a ground wire on both sides of the engine...at each motor mount, lots of grounds and most if not all would be adequate.
 
Is the battery negative cable connected directly to the crank case? If not, How is the crank case grounded to the airframe. What size cable? The ground path should not be multiple wire/cables but one correctly sized cable.

As to the starters themselves; have they all had the same failures? I.e. mechanical or electrical? And sorry, but I would not be surprised with 10 aircraft having 'issues' especially if they are similar age and from the same factory. Wouldn't be the first time.

Web
 
wireweinie said:
Is the battery negative cable connected directly to the crank case? If not, How is the crank case grounded to the airframe. What size cable? The ground path should not be multiple wire/cables but one correctly sized cable.

As to the starters themselves; have they all had the same failures? I.e. mechanical or electrical? And sorry, but I would not be surprised with 10 aircraft having 'issues' especially if they are similar age and from the same factory. Wouldn't be the first time.

Web
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We bought 3 identical aircraft, consecutive serial numbers. We had multiple examples of the same item failing on all 3 aircraft within a week of each other. Lesson learned!
 
astjp2 said:
Relay on firewall clicks,.
Click to expand...

Just because it clicks DOES NOT MEAN ITS DELIVERING FULL POWER TO STARTER UNDER LOAD, you must do the troubleshooting steps I described above to verify. You can even do them AFTER installing new starter... so you don’t burn up another starter. Don’t just swap starters without verifying that start system can deliver the right amount of power to the starter under LOAD.


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mike mcs repair said:
Just because it clicks DOES NOT MEAN ITS DELIVERING FULL POWER TO STARTER UNDER LOAD, you must do the troubleshooting steps I described above to verify. You can even do them AFTER i sty we starter so you don’t burn up another starter. Don’t just swap starters without verifying that start system can deliver the right amount of power to the starter under LOAD.


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Exactly what I was getting at earlier. Fakebook is ripe with these sort of complaints. There is one thread where the guy replaced the starter Solenoid FIVE times!!!!

Take time to troubleshoot.
 
mike mcs repair said:
I gave up on facebook(too much censorship and Ads...) join me at mewe.com / app instead.... link below in my signature to my account
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I don't have a censorship problem because I'm not interested in the politics of hate regardless of which side is spewing it. I don't get together with friends to argue about election stuff. I unfollow anyone who can't let go of politics. Pretty simple. For airplanes, dogs, grandkids, and the stuff real friends share? It suits me fine. People spend way too much time looking for reasons to be angry.
 
Geez, thanks Mr Pierce. I read through that and now I have to make an appointment with my Dr. to check for stomach ulcers. That post #1 is the perfect example of trying to fix an electrical problem without troubleshooting at all. And so much mis information given through out the rest of the thread. It's amazing to me that when some people are given direction on how to troubleshoot, their immediate response is a guess as to what they can do instead of the advised action.

Please! If you are not strong on electrical, ask questions! If you don't know where to start, ask questions! If you don't understand 'why', ask questions! It may seem quirky to work with but there are specific reasons why some actions are taken when maintaining or troubleshooting electrical systems. If your advisor cannot explain why his advised actions are necessary or if it's preceded by a phrase such as " well, my brother in law's a mechanic and he says . . ." find some one else.

Web
 
Let's see, he thinks he has a grounding problem and has a set of jumper cables.... shouldn't be too hard to figure out. Oh well, I'm sure the mixture and carb heat cables will do just fine.
 
Steve Pierce said:
From my experience if you switch over to the NL your problems will go away. Knew all the guys at SkyTec when they were in Grandbury and they came here and me there several times. Inside knowledge is a good thing. ;)
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I would love to switch but I dont think our 141/135 cert will allow me to swap models.
 
mvivion said:
Likely a school program? I ran one of those for seven years, not that big, but.....Students, and especially flight instructors are the WORST enemy of an airplane’s starter. And a few other parts.

Im not defending one starter over another, but has management at your school initiated a program to ENSURE everyone there knows how to start an aircraft engine?

Oh, I know....it’s not rocket science, right! But I can tell you that knowing how to start an engine WELL has prevented me from sleeping in bug infested swamps and with brown bears many times. Being “stuck” in Ekalaka, MTisnt near as bad, but....

Id highly recommend you create a short but pointed mandatory training for all, instructors especially, on how to start an aircraft engine. Sounds silly, I realize, but I guarantee it’ll pay for itself regardless of starter brand.

MTV
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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!
 
Steve Pierce said:
Thread here where the guy replaced everything and it still didn't work. I asked about using a multimeter. Said he had one.
https://www.shortwingpipers.org/forum/showthread.php?13916-Slow-starter
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I shake my head at your saying ground cable needs to be same size gauge as the SHORT GROUND STRAP/CABLE from engine to fuselage(I don’t do engine to mount, to many loose connections in engine mount lugs) basic electricity!!! Big cable Like you say doesn’t hurt, but is NOT anything but extra weight. Look at the chart in 43.13 for length and size. The only way your interpretation would be VALID is if you were running a long ground cable all the way to battery like on a composite airframe. But you are NOT, we are using the fuselage usually to conduct most of the flow. I have used same size wire, mostly out of laziness and not having proper smaller size on hand..... but preferably a #8 is plenty as a grind from engine case to one of those SMALL 8-32 screws poking through firewall

Remember a wire is like a leaky soaker hose, longer it is the more it leaks on the way, so if it’s longer you need bigger...


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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!
Click to expand...
skytec has a placard that is supposed to be put in the cockpit, says no more than 30 second and so many minute wait.
I would like to know if I can use the nose piece and mount from a 24 volt starter and convert it to 12...for a home built.
 
The ring gear is fine, the starter stops working. Quick tap of the hammer and it works again. Solenoid will click, tap starter. We are on the 6 month plan. Skytec NL. I have never had an issue with skytec for years. That changed when they got sold.


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They have had some solenoid issues, seen it on the Carbon Cubs quite a bit. Done several warrantee replacements on them due to starter failure but thaought it was indicative to the starter they were using. Always had excellent service out of the NL.
 
Who makes their solenoids? Cole Hersee in South Boston has been making high quality solenoids for decades. I kept having trouble with the Cessna supplied starter solenoid in my 185. Switched to a Cole Hrsee, no more troubles. Perhaps they make a suitable model?
 
Apparently Skytec is experiencing some issues with legacy starters but are working on it. We are on the 6 month plan currently. I will add that it does prop nice with the surefly electronic mag, even on the ice. The starter will click. That's all. Ring gear is good, solenoid is new, new copper starter cable from the starter to the solenoid, good engine ground. The entire starting system was replaced a few months ago. Got rid of the aluminum cable.
 
968 hours since new barely cranks, installed in March of last year. All that grease is since last 100 hr, just never seems to stop oozing
 

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astjp2 said:
968 hours since new barely cranks, installed in March of last year. All that grease is since last 100 hr, just never seems to stop oozing
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Where is the grease coming from? Has it been over greased getting into the electric motor? Perhaps it just needs a good internal cleaning. Grease and electricity do not work well together.
 
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