Caramon13
Pattern Altitude
So, had my first for real diversion this weekend (probably won't be my last).
I had planned on a rather uneventful flight to KAPF for an early dinner. I was excited because I got off work early and had tons of time to kill before the holiday weekend. I filed IFR because I just recently got my rating and wanted to do an approach in, and also knew there'd be clouds at my filed altitude.
Got about halfway there and during my cross-check saw that the ammeter started looking a lot like a windshield wiper, going full right and back full left. I thought I also smelled a slight tinge of electrical.
The ammeter eventually settled on 0 and I checked my newly installed M803 which measures volts used and saw a drop from above 12 to 11.9 backing up my assumption that the alternator was no longer "alternating" .
I notified ATC who recommended KPGD (Punta Gorda). It was a short distance away and I thought I could make it back to my home airport, but ultimately decided nah, not worth it. I accepted the ATC suggestion and diverted, declining emergency services.
I shut down everything non-essential to save on battery power, strobes went off, autopilot, anything that I didn't really need at that moment.
The airport was close so I kept the radio on, and landed while the battery was still showing about 11.9 volts so, all happened pretty quickly.
Turns out there was a mechanic on field still (this was after 4 PM, right before the holiday weekend) and he helped me get going again.
There was a bolt missing from where the alternator connects to the starter, and the bolts to the left of the missing bolt were not torqued properly (I later found out). This all likely happened when I had the starter installed. The missing bolt and other loose ones caused the alternator to "swing". My guess is the combination of a few weeks of that plus the bumpy air that day pulled the wire loose from the alternator and it was just swinging in the breeze. It was probably arcing electricity (hence the smell I mentioned earlier).
Attaching a picture of the wire properly connected to the alternator after the fix, imagine the red cap still in place but the wire just swinging freely loose behind it, that's how it was.
Got that resolved and the mechanic found a proper bolt back in. He also fixed a hose that was loose. At the end of the day I flew out of there around 5:30 PM and was back home safe by the end of the day.
I spoke to the mechanic's that put the starter in about this when I landed as I was a bit annoyed at the prospect of driving home from Punta Gorda on a heavy travel day due to a flipping BOLT missing...
The day turned out VERY differently then what I expected but thanks to all the training I had obtained during my PPL I was confident in what I had to do. It also helped to have a clock with volts on it to back up my findings with the ammeter.
I intend to have everything thoroughly checked before going back up, sucks because I missed out on a really perfect weekend of flying due to this too.
I had planned on a rather uneventful flight to KAPF for an early dinner. I was excited because I got off work early and had tons of time to kill before the holiday weekend. I filed IFR because I just recently got my rating and wanted to do an approach in, and also knew there'd be clouds at my filed altitude.
Got about halfway there and during my cross-check saw that the ammeter started looking a lot like a windshield wiper, going full right and back full left. I thought I also smelled a slight tinge of electrical.
The ammeter eventually settled on 0 and I checked my newly installed M803 which measures volts used and saw a drop from above 12 to 11.9 backing up my assumption that the alternator was no longer "alternating" .
I notified ATC who recommended KPGD (Punta Gorda). It was a short distance away and I thought I could make it back to my home airport, but ultimately decided nah, not worth it. I accepted the ATC suggestion and diverted, declining emergency services.
I shut down everything non-essential to save on battery power, strobes went off, autopilot, anything that I didn't really need at that moment.
The airport was close so I kept the radio on, and landed while the battery was still showing about 11.9 volts so, all happened pretty quickly.
Turns out there was a mechanic on field still (this was after 4 PM, right before the holiday weekend) and he helped me get going again.
There was a bolt missing from where the alternator connects to the starter, and the bolts to the left of the missing bolt were not torqued properly (I later found out). This all likely happened when I had the starter installed. The missing bolt and other loose ones caused the alternator to "swing". My guess is the combination of a few weeks of that plus the bumpy air that day pulled the wire loose from the alternator and it was just swinging in the breeze. It was probably arcing electricity (hence the smell I mentioned earlier).
Attaching a picture of the wire properly connected to the alternator after the fix, imagine the red cap still in place but the wire just swinging freely loose behind it, that's how it was.
Got that resolved and the mechanic found a proper bolt back in. He also fixed a hose that was loose. At the end of the day I flew out of there around 5:30 PM and was back home safe by the end of the day.
I spoke to the mechanic's that put the starter in about this when I landed as I was a bit annoyed at the prospect of driving home from Punta Gorda on a heavy travel day due to a flipping BOLT missing...
The day turned out VERY differently then what I expected but thanks to all the training I had obtained during my PPL I was confident in what I had to do. It also helped to have a clock with volts on it to back up my findings with the ammeter.
I intend to have everything thoroughly checked before going back up, sucks because I missed out on a really perfect weekend of flying due to this too.
. I know the "someone" that he was talking about and the guy who did the work is relatively new to the shop. Still, the mechanic I talked to is the top dog and probably should have noticed a bolt missing.
