- Joined
- Mar 11, 2017
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PA28-140, 1966..... I guess I should be thankful for the 3 years of pretty much trouble-free operation since acquiring my airplane. But between the cylinder I just replaced, and today's misadventure, the good luck-bad luck scales are starting to tip back to a balanced condition. So, on to today's story.....
I started the airplane, taxied to the end of the runway, performed the runup, no problems noted. Talked to another aircraft turning base and told him I would wait until he landed. Communication was loud and clear. After he cleared the runway, I lined up, pushed the throttle forward and began my takeoff roll. A few seconds in, verified airspeed was alive, and all engine instruments were good. Everything looked fine (I think.... but expectation bias is a possibility), rotated, and began my climb out. At about 6-700 ft, I noticed an unusual buzzing in my headset that had not been there just a few moments before when I was talking to the other aircraft. I glanced at the engine instrument cluster, and saw that the amp meter was pegged at max. Turning crosswind, I began turning off things, all lights, and transponder. No change to either the buzzing or the amp gauge. Entering downwind, the buzzing and amp gauge remained consistent. Just before turning base, the radio flickered in and out, but remained on and working. Landed without incident, and started to taxi to the hangar. Looked again at the amp gauge and it was now about midway, with engine RPM under 1000. Bumping the RPM up even a little bit moved the needle back to pegged. Got to the hangar and shut everything down. Turned the ignition off and took the key out. Here's where it got bizarre.... I verified everything was off and decided to turn the master back on to try to troubleshoot. As soon as the master was turned on, the engine kicked over. I flipped the master off, and of course it stopped. Not being a fast learner, I decided to try it again. This time, master on, no engine rotation. Pushed the starter, got a satisfying "click" but no rotation. Battery has enough power to run all the lights and radio.
Talking to my IA friend, we think it could be 1) bad starter relay 2) bad voltage regulator 3) bad battery 4) bad starter..... or a combination of any or all. And of course, possibly something else.
So, from this long-winded tale of woe, any suggestions of where to look first, troubleshooting tips, prayers to the aviation gods? Anything helps. I'm an A&P, and pretty handy in general, but electrical systems are far from my strong suit. And finally, AFAIK, all equipment is original.
I started the airplane, taxied to the end of the runway, performed the runup, no problems noted. Talked to another aircraft turning base and told him I would wait until he landed. Communication was loud and clear. After he cleared the runway, I lined up, pushed the throttle forward and began my takeoff roll. A few seconds in, verified airspeed was alive, and all engine instruments were good. Everything looked fine (I think.... but expectation bias is a possibility), rotated, and began my climb out. At about 6-700 ft, I noticed an unusual buzzing in my headset that had not been there just a few moments before when I was talking to the other aircraft. I glanced at the engine instrument cluster, and saw that the amp meter was pegged at max. Turning crosswind, I began turning off things, all lights, and transponder. No change to either the buzzing or the amp gauge. Entering downwind, the buzzing and amp gauge remained consistent. Just before turning base, the radio flickered in and out, but remained on and working. Landed without incident, and started to taxi to the hangar. Looked again at the amp gauge and it was now about midway, with engine RPM under 1000. Bumping the RPM up even a little bit moved the needle back to pegged. Got to the hangar and shut everything down. Turned the ignition off and took the key out. Here's where it got bizarre.... I verified everything was off and decided to turn the master back on to try to troubleshoot. As soon as the master was turned on, the engine kicked over. I flipped the master off, and of course it stopped. Not being a fast learner, I decided to try it again. This time, master on, no engine rotation. Pushed the starter, got a satisfying "click" but no rotation. Battery has enough power to run all the lights and radio.
Talking to my IA friend, we think it could be 1) bad starter relay 2) bad voltage regulator 3) bad battery 4) bad starter..... or a combination of any or all. And of course, possibly something else.
So, from this long-winded tale of woe, any suggestions of where to look first, troubleshooting tips, prayers to the aviation gods? Anything helps. I'm an A&P, and pretty handy in general, but electrical systems are far from my strong suit. And finally, AFAIK, all equipment is original.
