[Al Lipper]

Al Lipper on December 21, 2017 at 5:34 pm #18518

Thanks!

Happy Holidays, Steve!

Al

[STEVE]

STEVE on December 21, 2017 at 1:14 pm #18517

It wasn’t that hot but I was only able to touch it after I taxied in, shut down, got fuel, started, taxied to the hangar, pushed my Comanche into the hangar and removed the cover at the access panel at aft end of the baggage compartment

[Al Lipper]

Al Lipper on December 21, 2017 at 1:06 pm #18516

Hi Steve,
Thanks for checking. Would you say it was too hot to keep a finger on for more than a couple of seconds?

Al

[STEVE]

STEVE on December 21, 2017 at 9:13 am #18515

Hi Al;
I finally got up in the air last week and when I got back to the hangar after flying and fueling, the battery contactor was definitely on the warm side. Easily over 100 deg F.
Sorry it took so long to get back to you; I had to make a drastic change to my schedule due to a family health issue.

[STEVE]

STEVE on December 15, 2017 at 7:19 am #18512

Unfortunately haven’t been able to get up yet. Looking for a good window this weekend.
Steve

[Al Lipper]

Al Lipper on December 13, 2017 at 1:23 pm #18511

Hi Steve,
Thanks for checking. Please let me know what you find.

[STEVE]

STEVE on December 13, 2017 at 8:07 am #18509

Hi Al;
Good question. I’ve never checked my battery contactor to see if it’s hot during operation. I’ll go flying today and let you know what I find. As you know the “coil section” consists of thousands of very fine wire windings. When current flows through these windings a magnetic field is created that’s sufficient to pull the movable steel slug down to close the T shaped contacts thus connecting the power in and power out lugs.
I hate to sound like a mechanic that troubleshoots by throwing expensive parts at a problem, but it you want to change the battery contactor, the best deal right now seems to be a SkyTec solenoid. They’re available from Aircraft Spruce and Specialty for around $70.

[Al Lipper]

Al Lipper on December 11, 2017 at 11:03 pm #18508

I have a 1984 Saratoga SP (Just got it last year). I noticed that the battery relay gets quite hot. I was doing a GPS database update, so I had the avionics on for a while. I just happened to touch the battery relay and it was too hot to hold my finger on. Maybe 125-150 deg F. Specifically, it was the coil section that was hot. The terminals were cool to the touch and all connections tight.

Is this normal, or do I have a problem?

Thanks.
Al