ALERT: Gear-up light comes on with doors open!

Ernie Martin · #1 01-08-14, 03:19 PM

Thanks, Herb. I know what the problem is: low battery. I hadn't flown in almost a month, engine barely started. It has happened before, and I normally wait 5 or 10 minutes into the climb before retraction when I know the battery is low, to give it a chance to charge. This time I plain forgot.

But the key point in my message is NOT why doors didn't close. It's that the gear-up light can come on -- giving you a false sense that all is well -- and leave you flying with the doors wide open.

Ernie

edasmus · #2 01-09-14, 09:44 AM

Thanks for the info Erinie. I'm glad everything turned out well for you. Chalk it up to a learning experience. I am certainly filing this one into my memory bank as I fly my own plane (which as I am sure you know, is identical to yours).

Ed

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hharney · #3 01-09-14, 08:58 PM

I don't know if the battery would be the cause of that or not. I sounds to me like there could be other areas of the system that warrant inspection. Battery's are something we all take for granted. If it starts it must be good but what happens if the alternator system goes blink? How long is your battery going to last to get you back to the ground? Something that I have thought a lot more about and especially after reading the article from the link below. A simple battery minder will help to extend the life of a battery especially if it gets low use. It has caused me to reconsider my complacency about batteries.

http://www.avweb.com/news/features/K...g221073-1.html

Ernie Martin · #4 01-09-14, 09:48 PM

I "recondition" the battery every 6 - 9 months by adding distilled water and trickle charging at a constant 28.4 Volts. For the first 2 - 3 months after that, the gear breaker never pops. It also never pops if the aircraft is used regularly, even if reconditioning hasn't been done for a while. And it never pops at the end of a flight. In short, it pops only on retraction on the first flight after the aircraft has been unused for weeks and if the battery has not had reconditioning for a while. So, yes, I think it's the battery.

Ernie

edasmus · #5 01-10-14, 10:06 AM

For Christmas I just received two "smart" aviation battery minders designed specifically for the the Gill batteries I use (12 volt in a PA24 Comanche that I also fly and 24 volt for my C337). I purchased them from batteryminders.com, MODEL: BatteryMINDer 24041-AA-S2 for our C337's using Gill batteries. They have other models specifically for the battery you use so read the fine print if using Concord or other sealed batteries. One should be able to find what they need for whatever battery they prefer to use. These units are designed to charge and then maintain the battery and should be left on continuously when not flying the aircraft. They contain a microprocessor and provide the battery with exactly what it needs to stay properly charged (this is the claim anyway). The units were $200 and if they double the life of the battery (which sounds likely), they would pay for themselves easily. More importantly however is flying with the confidence that the battery is as it should be and starting performance would be top notch.

I hope they work as advertised. Mike Busch speaks high of these units as well if any of you folks agree with what he preaches.

Good Luck,

Ed

Ernie Martin · #6 01-10-14, 03:48 PM

Thanks, Ed, but I tie down on the ramp, far from any outlet.

Ernie

edasmus · #7 01-10-14, 11:12 PM

The batteryMINDer folks do not permit these units being exposed to the elements however it's probably less than 10 minutes to remove battery and take it home and then reinstall on preflight. An inconvenience for sure but not completely out of the question especially if you know the airplane is likely to sit idle for a month.

Just a thought.

Ed