C162 Skycatcher - Strobe Preflight

[Jeremy1823]

Hi all, new to the forum.

Just got a new (to me) skycatcher, low hours about 100 hours and noticed on the preflight the other day that the strobes would only flash for a good 10 seconds or so before turning off. Did this multiple times, and was concerned there was a wiring issue (impacted both sides). Have heard from some that because it’s on battery load, it will automatically turn off and not resume until engine is started and RPMs begin to build up the amp load. Have not tested this myself just yet, but wanted to see if this was a common issue in Cessna’s.

Thanks!

 

[Salty]

Hi all, new to the forum.

Just got a new (to me) skycatcher, low hours about 100 hours and noticed on the preflight the other day that the strobes would only flash for a good 10 seconds or so before turning off. Did this multiple times, and was concerned there was a wiring issue (impacted both sides). Have heard from some that because it’s on battery load, it will automatically turn off and not resume until engine is started and RPMs begin to build up the amp load. Have not tested this myself just yet, but wanted to see if this was a common issue in Cessna’s.

Thanks!

I noticed that they don’t fire unless your rpms are up. I made it a practice to always cycle the switch after throttling up for takeoff, which always worked for me.

 

[Jeremy1823]

I noticed that they don’t fire unless your rpms are up. I made it a practice to always cycle the switch after throttling up for takeoff, which always worked for me.

Thanks!! Very helpful.

 

[GeorgeC]

Welcome to PoA!

 

[asicer]

I noticed that they don’t fire unless your rpms are up. I made it a practice to always cycle the switch after throttling up for takeoff, which always worked for me.

Noticed the same behavior with the 162 that I flew.

 

[Jeremy1823]

Noticed the same behavior with the 162 that I flew.

Good to hear, appreciate it!! Going to take it out this evening for a run-up once the sun goes down a bit and hopefully be able to confirm as well!

 

[flyingron]

Don't know about the groundcatcher but I've seen voltage regulators that don't bring the charging online until you bump the rpms up after start. You can go back to idle once you've goosed it to life.

 

[flightdelayed]

Hi all, new to the forum.

Just got a new (to me) skycatcher, low hours about 100 hours and noticed on the preflight the other day that the strobes would only flash for a good 10 seconds or so before turning off. Did this multiple times, and was concerned there was a wiring issue (impacted both sides). Have heard from some that because it’s on battery load, it will automatically turn off and not resume until engine is started and RPMs begin to build up the amp load. Have not tested this myself just yet, but wanted to see if this was a common issue in Cessna’s.

Thanks!

Per the Whelen installation guide "Note: The anti-collision light will automatically shut-off after 9-10 flashes if a failure is detected." Likely, the slightly higher amperage created by higher off idle RPMs are masking the internal fault. If so, when the engine is returned to idle or a slightly lower amperage condition the strobe will shut-off as noted and will NOT restart without cycling the power supply.