I have had to let my plane set in the
hangar for about 6 months due to some family problems. Today I pulled it
out and cranked it up with the intention of making a flight.
I encountered several problems.
- the
mixture graph on the EM-2 rose to the top and stayed there. The engine
would respond to changes in the mixture knob on the EC-2, but not the
graph. I suspect that the O2 sensor has failed. Is this max
out of the graph a symptom of O2 failure?
- the
oil pressure was fluctuating rapidly between 20 and 70 for quite some time
after the start. Could this be just the fact that all the oil had
drained during the shut down? I had checked the oil level yesterday and
it was down about a half quart, so plenty of oil. It seemed to
settle down somewhat after the plane warmed up. OAT was 68 F.
- the
fuel pressure was also fluctuating between the teens and 45. I don’t
know what the real pressure was but plan to try and check it with a
mechanical gage tomorrow.
- oh
and the strobe quit working as well. When I turned the master on to
check fuel level, I noticed the strobe didn’t work. I flipped
the switch a couple of times and the strobe made about 6 or 7 strobes,
then quit for good.
Maybe all these things are related?
Bill B