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Hi All,
After more than 4 years and 300+ flawless flight hours with my PA-28-180, I recently had an alternator failure that has turned into a nightmare. I am hoping that someone on the forum will be able to assist.
My alternator was removed and sent for overhaul - so far, so good. When my mechanic and I started to install the overhauled unit yesterday, we noticed a few things that left us looking for answers. My mechanic is knowledgeable, but admittedly a bit light in experience with GA - he mainly works a day job on jet airliners. Thus, I look to ya'll for wisdom & help.
1. There appears to be a bracket behind my alternator bracket that supports an RFI filter. The bracket has broken, and I cannot figure out what its part number is OR if it is even required to be an integral part of the alternator install. I have scoured the aircraft logs, Piper Parts, Piper Service, and Lycoming O-360-A Parts manuals with zero luck finding any reference for this particular bracket.
Any ideas? Do I need my alternator's bolt to go through that for structural integrity of the mount, or is that tab like just a spacer to account for bracket item #27 that is missing on the other side? (See below for more on #27)
View attachment ImageUploadedByPiper Forum1496008543.298702.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByPiper Forum1496008565.194046.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByPiper Forum1496008585.329200.jpg
2. My alternator install seems to follow the "single-bolt with a spacer" between the alternator bolt tabs installation configuration as depicted in the parts manual for my model year.
View attachment ImageUploadedByPiper Forum1496008196.470536.jpg
The odd thing is, there is no sign of the bracket piece #27 in my install. It seems like the additional bolt length left by the missing #27 is being compensated for by the rear bracket noted above.
3. The new alternator looks almost exactly like the original Chrysler unit, the only notable difference is the width of the mounting tabs through which the mounting bolt passes. The spacer (slides over the bolt to prevent the alternator halves from being squeezed together) from the old alternator will need to be reduced by nearly an inch in order to fit the new unit.
Is this normal / typical? Is it potentially problematic or a minor fix?
Given that my airplane already appears to deviate a bit from the manuals, but has apparently operated this way for the 4 years I've owned it (plus at least 4 additional years based on conversations with former owners) I am curious - is there leeway when it comes to alternator installs?
Thank you in advance for any and all assistance!
1972 PA-28-180
S/N 28-7205259
After more than 4 years and 300+ flawless flight hours with my PA-28-180, I recently had an alternator failure that has turned into a nightmare. I am hoping that someone on the forum will be able to assist.
My alternator was removed and sent for overhaul - so far, so good. When my mechanic and I started to install the overhauled unit yesterday, we noticed a few things that left us looking for answers. My mechanic is knowledgeable, but admittedly a bit light in experience with GA - he mainly works a day job on jet airliners. Thus, I look to ya'll for wisdom & help.
1. There appears to be a bracket behind my alternator bracket that supports an RFI filter. The bracket has broken, and I cannot figure out what its part number is OR if it is even required to be an integral part of the alternator install. I have scoured the aircraft logs, Piper Parts, Piper Service, and Lycoming O-360-A Parts manuals with zero luck finding any reference for this particular bracket.
Any ideas? Do I need my alternator's bolt to go through that for structural integrity of the mount, or is that tab like just a spacer to account for bracket item #27 that is missing on the other side? (See below for more on #27)
View attachment ImageUploadedByPiper Forum1496008543.298702.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByPiper Forum1496008565.194046.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByPiper Forum1496008585.329200.jpg
2. My alternator install seems to follow the "single-bolt with a spacer" between the alternator bolt tabs installation configuration as depicted in the parts manual for my model year.
View attachment ImageUploadedByPiper Forum1496008196.470536.jpg
The odd thing is, there is no sign of the bracket piece #27 in my install. It seems like the additional bolt length left by the missing #27 is being compensated for by the rear bracket noted above.
3. The new alternator looks almost exactly like the original Chrysler unit, the only notable difference is the width of the mounting tabs through which the mounting bolt passes. The spacer (slides over the bolt to prevent the alternator halves from being squeezed together) from the old alternator will need to be reduced by nearly an inch in order to fit the new unit.
Is this normal / typical? Is it potentially problematic or a minor fix?
Given that my airplane already appears to deviate a bit from the manuals, but has apparently operated this way for the 4 years I've owned it (plus at least 4 additional years based on conversations with former owners) I am curious - is there leeway when it comes to alternator installs?
Thank you in advance for any and all assistance!
1972 PA-28-180
S/N 28-7205259
