*POP* then electrics go dead?

ZeroPapaGolf

ZeroPapaGolf

Well-Known Member
My battery was weak the last time I went flying, so I checked it and it needed water. I added distilled water then put it on a charger overnight. Put it back in the plane and go to crank up. I hit the starter and after a few turns of the prop, I hear a loud POP from back by the battery, and the whole electrical system goes down. I turn the key off, master off, and wait a second, scratching my head thinking WTF? Repeat and this time it doesn't even crank, I get the pop as soon as I move the key to Start. So I wait 5 and try it again.....now when I turn the master on nothing happens, no gyros spinning up, nothing.

Any ideas what's wrong? The battery is fine still, and the only other thing I could find back around it was a round canister shaped thing about 2" tall with several wires coming off of it. I'm guessing that's where the pop came from.
 
"Any ideas what's wrong?"

Your positive bank balance is set to auto self-correct.

:pirate:
 
Something doesn't sound right. You had just done maintenance on the battery and reconnected it and as soon as you engaged the starter something went wrong.

Without any additional info, like kind of plane, kind electrical system, kind of battery, I just see what happened, happened right after you connected the battery.

So, is it what you did to the battery? Or could it be how you connected the battery? Maybe it wasn't grounded properly.

Those are just generalized answers though. Without being there it's hard to see everything.
 
Okay, let me add a little bit:

Aircraft: Beech C-23 Sundowner, 12v electrical system.
Battery: Wet cell, servicable type, (oh yeah, it's red too...)
Battery is connected properly.

So yes, it does seem to be connected to the battery, as it happened right after I serviced the battery.
 
If you think that the pop came from the 2'' canister check the POH electric system diagram to see what it is Any wires connected from the battery + to the 2'' round thing?[ could be the starter relay or contactor]
Did you check all the breakers,does the electric clock works?
Does the ammeter shows a discharge with the master on or the alternator side on?
 
All breakers are in. No electric clock. The ammeter meter does not change with any combination of master or alternator switch.

I will look into the POH about the canister.

Thanks!

EDIT: Missed a part of your questions. Yes, there are some wires connecting the battery to the canister. I will have to go look at it again to tell you any details though.
 
I talked to him last night and he told me to bring him the battery and he would load test it and go from there (unfortunately my plane is kept on a small field with nothing).
 
I took the battery to him today, it tested fine. So I did some serious cleaning to it's terminals and the cables in the aircraft, and guess what? It works now. However I think I've also narrowed down another problem. The alternator does not appear to be charging correctly. I did a few touch-and-goes then got fuel; the first time I started up the prop whipped right around, the second time I started it barely turned enough to fire up.

So it looks like I'm finally getting all my electrical issues narrowed down.

Thanks guys!
 
Well, I went out this afternoon to do a full analasys of the electrical system and different RPMs and switch settings and.......drumroll please.......I'm back with the same problem.

W. T. F.

I hit the starter and it just whirred a little and never engaged the bendix (right word there?). So I shut everything off and went to peck on the starter. Got back in and flipped the master back on. CHUNK. same sound from back by the battery. I did however listen better this time and it's not a sparking *snap* but rather the sound you get when you throw the switch on a large electrical box. A solid clunk as soon as you hit the master, the another clunk a millisecond later.

My uninformed guesstimation is that it's a relay (starter something-or-other?) trying to open, but it doesn't have enough current to stay open. So I've come to this timeline:

-Battery dead
-Charge battery overnight
-Plane starts fine, appears normal, but starts weak after shutdown.
-Go next day, apparantly dead battery.

So one of a few things: There's a short somewhere; the alternator doesn't work; or the sky is falling.

Also, after I landed yesterday, I looked down and between my boots was a white plastic "thing". It was about 3/8" on one side with coarse threads, and 1/4" on the other side with fine threads, with a hex head in the middle. So either someone dumped a parts kit behind the panel, or I'm shedding parts from somewhere.

Thus I'm going to charge the battery and fly it to the mechanic. Unfortuantly that will result in most likely a full electrical failure before I arrive (45 minutes to 1:15 depending on winds). I'm guessing I should leave the radio off except for takeoff and landing, and minimize what electrical stuff I use?

thanks!
 
Turns out the solenoid was bad, and the battery was bad. But really all that was wrong is my wallet wasn't light enough. That's fixed now though, and we're good to go. :( :) :)
 
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