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Message
Hi, Ed.....Yes, I have two MSD fuel pumps. They
are not on the same circuit, and each one has a 20 amp fuse.(which
will very soon be replaced by a circuit breaker that I can reset from the
cockpit). Once I was downwind, I turned the right pump off. Shortly
thereafter, the engine quit. I tried different throttle settings as it
was failing, but it was too late. Turned on the other pump, but the engine
had already quit. (yes, it happens very fast) I then focused on flying the
airplane and making the runway, and postponing the troubleshooting
until I was safely on the ground. (Later on the ground, found
the fuse blown on the left fuel pump). By turning off the right fuel pump
(which was working), it was unable to continue running with the left pump that
had a blown fuse. Don't know why the fuse was blown yet. I also checked the
gascolator and screen, and found very little sediment. There was, however a
piece of rubber in the bottom of the gascolator that appears to be the inside of
a rubber fuel line, that may have been a product of installing the reuseable
fittings. I understand that sometimes when inserting these fittings, a "flap" of
rubber can obstruct the fuel line. This is what it appears to be. We ran
the pump on the ground, and only a small amount of fuel came out the main
fuel line that I disconnected from the fuel rail. Upon reassembling the
gascolator and turning on the fuel selector, the gascolator did not fill with
fuel. (gravity fed, all downhill from the fuel tanks). We blew into the
hose, and then the gascolator filled with fuel. Seems there was some type of
restriction somewhere in the line upstream of the gascolator. I need to remove
all fuel lines and inspect for debris. I also had planned on pumping all of the
fuel out of the fuel tanks using the high pressure fuel pumps....that's when I
realized that they only run a few seconds after turning on the key, then shut
off with no engine rpm input. I don't know if the obstruction caused the fuel
pump fuse to blow or not.
I now recall reading
in the MicroTech manual that the fuel pumps shut off if it detects no spark from
the coils, so that it would not continue pumping fuel into an engine that has no
spark. This is obviously why the pump only runs for a few seconds when I first
turn on the ignition switch, then quickly stops pumping. We put a voltmeter to
the inline fuse, and found that it had 12.9 volts as soon as the ignition was
turned on, but after a few seconds, the pump stopped and there was no longer any
voltage at the fuse.
I'm hoping we can find what
caused the slight fuel obstruction in front of the gascolator....if we can't
find the cause, it would be difficult to regain confidence in the fuel system.
Too bad, because the engine was running strong and smooth, and the temps were
great!!! Paul aka deadstick Conner
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, May 01, 2005 6:30 PM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Ed's new rotor
housings
Paul,
Sorry to hear about the fuel pump - Did I ever
mention I NEVER use fuses for flight critical components - always circuit
breakers. More fundamental though is I assumed you were flying with two
fuel EFI pumps. I have two and both are on for take off and landing,
strongly recommend two EFI flue pumps! Strongly recommend don't fly with
just one operational pump! OR are you telling us that you have two
pumps, but both pumps were on the same circuit??
But, enough, great to hear you are becoming an
accomplished glider pilot - keep doing that and you are going to catch up with
someof the rest of us - which you probably really do not want to do.
Glad to hear you made it down safe and sound. Look for more details on the
incident.
Ed
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, May 02, 2005 10:53
AM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Ed's new rotor
housings
Good luck Rusty (with both the flying and the
Dominator/single rotor). I did fly today, good news/bad news.
Flew without the thermostat and temps were great. Climbed like a rocketship
and temps never went above 165 until the engine quit. Fuel pump fuse
blown, and a wiring problem. Will address it on another post.
Made an uneventful deadstick landing on the runway, made the first turn-off,
but didn't have enough speed to coast all the way to my hangar....had to
push it the last 200 feet. Paul Conner
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, April 30, 2005 10:56
PM
Subject: [FlyRotary] Re: Ed's new
rotor housings
Paul Conner, flying tomorrow (temps
should be around 80 degrees and sunny in Mobile, AL). Maybe I'll
look across the bay and see Rusty in the air.
I'll be there. I'll be the one circling 2R4 and
pissing off the Navy :-)
Seriously, I have lots of things to do on the plane,
but I think I've scrapped all that in favor of just flying it
tomorrow. My number one priority right now is getting
the Sonerai engine running, and the airframe cleaned up, so I can
sell it. By as early as next weekend, I should be
the owner of that Dominator I sent you pics of. Just add rotors
and a single rotor engine
:-)
Rusty (and a drain for my
garage)
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