Essential Tie Breaker
Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2014 12:49 am
Just need a little sanity check from you guys, please:
Today I managed to fly for about an hour with the alternator switch off; when the voltage warning chimed, I immediately realized what I did and flipped the switch on. Amp draw jumped up to 52 amps, presumably as the battery drew current to charge.
Within a minute or so, the 25a 'essential tie' breaker popped. Looking at the diagram, this seems to make sense: the path from the alternator to the battery is through the tie switch.
Sound right? Just seems like a heck of a lot of charging current for a battery that was reading 23.2v.
I left the plane on the external power overnight, with the battery breaker pulled; of course, looking at the diagram now sitting in my living room, I realize that without the battery switch on, the grounds aren't connected, so it's not charging. I'll have one of the line guys turn the battery switch on tomorrow for a few hours before giving it another shot tomorrow.
Today I managed to fly for about an hour with the alternator switch off; when the voltage warning chimed, I immediately realized what I did and flipped the switch on. Amp draw jumped up to 52 amps, presumably as the battery drew current to charge.
Within a minute or so, the 25a 'essential tie' breaker popped. Looking at the diagram, this seems to make sense: the path from the alternator to the battery is through the tie switch.
Sound right? Just seems like a heck of a lot of charging current for a battery that was reading 23.2v.
I left the plane on the external power overnight, with the battery breaker pulled; of course, looking at the diagram now sitting in my living room, I realize that without the battery switch on, the grounds aren't connected, so it's not charging. I'll have one of the line guys turn the battery switch on tomorrow for a few hours before giving it another shot tomorrow.