I replaced my EPI-800 system this winter with a Grand Rapids engine monitor.

I am offering my old EPI-800 for sale with the transducers (except the fuel

probes, and the CHT and EGT probes). The system includes the

fuel-level-interface, clock, and OAT/CAT options. In Sept., 1997, the system

cost me $3694.00, without the fuel probes. The transducers were all working

the last time I flew with it on 11-29-09.

I replaced the system because of an intermittent problem. For the past three

summers, it would intermittently reset, as if power had been cycled, during

periods of warm ambient temperatures and under high vibration. Starting in

the late spring, as temperatures warmed, the system would reset on takeoff

roll and sometimes also during initial climb. A reset would also sometimes

occur on a practice instrument approach shortly after applying power on the

missed approach. After the reset, which would take 1 or 2 seconds, the

system would operate normally for the rest of the flight. Sometimes there

would be several resets in a row, during the high-power phase of the flight,

but the rest of the flight would always be okay. In the fall, as ambient

temperatures dropped, the resetting would stop. I thought the problem would

get worse and something would eventually fail, so I could identify the cause, but it didn’t.

Before I decided to make the change, I checked the ground and power

connections many times. I replaced the internal battery, and I checked the

boards for cracks and obvious problems. I also checked and replaced the large 5 or 10 ohm

resistors that Brent wrote about 1 or 2 years ago -- the ones that were

causing the VMS-1000 DBU to brown-out. I found no problems.

This winter, when I disassembled my panel to replace the system and make

some other upgrades, I found the main 60-amp line from the alternator a

little loose at the Alt breaker. The screw must have loosened over time. In

the warmer temperatures, I think this connection became a little looser as

the screw expanded, and vibration caused enough electrical noise on the bus

to cause the EIP-800 to reset or reboot.

When I decided to replace the system, I thought the DBU had a problem. Now I

think it is probably okay and was just reacting to bad power. I am offing

the system for sale to someone who has an EIP-800 and wants a source of

spare parts. Anyone want this system for $400? All the transducers, displays, and backlighting worked as of my last flight

with the system, 11-29-09. The limits are setup for a Lycoming IO360. Photos attached.

Mike Reinath

LNC2 N3602M