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Message-ID: <1b4b137c0708061435g7811aa04m91283aca7f6f873a@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 17:35:08 -0400
From: "Tracy Crook" <tracy@rotaryaviation.com>
Sender: rwstracy@gmail.com
To: "Rotary motors in aircraft" <flyrotary@lancaironline.net>
Subject: Re: [FlyRotary] Alternator drawing current at rest.
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Definitely not.  Unplug the regulator plug and see if drain goes away.
Might be a bad regulator or wiring error.

Tracy


On 8/5/07, David Leonard <wdleonard@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> That current draw for the coils did seem high, so I checked further into
> it.  Turns out it is the alternator drawing the 3 amps, not the coils.  It
> gets warm to the touch.  Is that normal?
>
> Dave Leonard
>
>
> On 8/5/07, Tracy Crook <tracy@rotaryaviation.com> wrote:
> >
> > Yep, you found the answer before I hit 'reply'.   Firing an open coil
> > can do damage but not necessarily every time.
> >
> > For a quick & dirty coil/igniter test, clean off the nose of the plug
> > wire socket and test with a plug wire installed and see if you can get a
> > spark an inch long from the other end to the engine block but *don't *get
> > any pink body parts in the way.   Sometimes a weak or damaged coil can fire
> > a spark plug gap but still have a weak output.  An inch long spark is more
> > or less a passing grade.
> >
> > I never measured the resting current (no spark triggers) of a set of
> > igniters but 3 amps sounds very high.
> >
> > Tracy (finding more errors in my -8 installation)
> >
> >
> >  On 8/5/07, David Leonard <wdleonard@gmail.com > wrote:
> > >
> > > Well, after doing research, I find that I should never fire the coils
> > > without being connected to a grounded spark plug...  because the spark has
> > > to go somewhere....  Doh!  Hope I didn't hurt anything!!!
> > >
> > >
> > > Dave Leonard
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>
>
> --
> David Leonard
>
> Turbo Rotary RV-6 N4VY
> http://N4VY.RotaryRoster.net <http://n4vy.rotaryroster.net/>
> http://RotaryRoster.net <http://rotaryroster.net/>

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<div>Definitely not.&nbsp; Unplug the regulator plug and see if drain goes away.&nbsp; Might be a bad regulator or wiring error.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Tracy<br><br>&nbsp;</div>
<div><span class="gmail_quote">On 8/5/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">David Leonard</b> &lt;<a href="mailto:wdleonard@gmail.com">wdleonard@gmail.com</a>&gt; wrote:</span>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<div>That current draw for the coils did seem high, so I checked further into it.&nbsp; Turns out it is the alternator drawing the 3 amps, not the coils.&nbsp; It gets warm to the touch.&nbsp; Is that normal?</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Dave Leonard<br><br>&nbsp;</div>
<div><span class="gmail_quote">On 8/5/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Tracy Crook</b> &lt;<a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="mailto:tracy@rotaryaviation.com" target="_blank">tracy@rotaryaviation.com
</a>&gt; wrote:</span> 
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<div>Yep, you found the answer before I hit &#39;reply&#39;.&nbsp;&nbsp; Firing an open coil can do damage but not necessarily every time.&nbsp; </div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>For a quick &amp; dirty coil/igniter test, clean off the nose of the plug wire socket and test with a plug wire installed&nbsp;and see if you can get&nbsp;a spark an inch long from the other end to the engine block&nbsp;but <em>don&#39;t 
</em>get any pink body parts in the way.&nbsp;&nbsp; Sometimes a weak or damaged coil can fire a spark plug gap but still have a weak output.&nbsp; An inch long spark&nbsp;is more or less a passing grade.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>I never measured the resting current (no spark triggers)&nbsp;of a set of igniters but 3 amps sounds very high.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Tracy (finding more errors in my -8 installation)<br><br>&nbsp;</div>
<div><span>
<div><span class="gmail_quote">On 8/5/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">David Leonard</b> &lt;<a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="mailto:wdleonard@gmail.com" target="_blank">wdleonard@gmail.com</a>
 &gt; wrote:</span> 
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<div>Well, after doing research, I find that I should never fire the coils without being connected to a grounded spark plug...&nbsp; because the spark has to go somewhere....&nbsp; Doh!&nbsp; Hope I didn&#39;t hurt anything!!!</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Dave Leonard<br><br>&nbsp;</div></blockquote></div></span></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>David Leonard<br><br>Turbo Rotary RV-6 N4VY<br><a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://n4vy.rotaryroster.net/" target="_blank">
http://N4VY.RotaryRoster.net </a><br><a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://rotaryroster.net/" target="_blank">http://RotaryRoster.net</a> </blockquote></div><br>

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