Voltage Regulator Failed

[BurnieM]

20 minutes ago, Blueadventures said:

I think the heat within the engine bay doesn't help; I put mine on cabin side of the firewall.

Motorcycle reg/recs are usually mounted under the seat and inside the side covers directly behind the engine, not too dissimilar to the Rotax engine bay environment. While motorcycles do not sit continuously at 5000 rpm they do regularly go to 9000 rpm.

 

Many motorcycle forums for the last 15-20 years have been recommending replacement with a Mosfet reg/rec.

 

[skippydiesel]

15 hours ago, Moneybox said:

 

I think the carburettor balance problem could be easily fixed. Balance them with the balance tube shut off then fit a little larger balance tube, that's if it really is a problem. 

Its not so much a problem as annoying.

Even the introduction of lever operation, of the carby's, is a step in the right direction. With levers operation you can have a single throttle cable, operating the carby's through the levers - probably never go out of balance😈

[skippydiesel]

13 hours ago, FlyBoy1960 said:

They have changed these,  Think fuel injected version.   No Ducati Regulator and no Bing carbs.

I have two problems with this;

• The horrific cost. The main benefit of FI is fuel consumption. Only high annual flight hrs (school?) are likly to see this pay off. 
• Complexity. I like the reactive simplicity of the carby variant.  

😈

[skippydiesel]

12 hours ago, Blueadventures said:

I think the heat within the engine bay dosen't help; I put mine on cabin side of the firewall.

Like you I put my Ducati VR on the cabin side of the firewall - it lasted about 150hr. I even had a cold air blast tube to help keep the heat down.

 

There have been some very interesting observations on the Rotax Owners Forum - Heat does not seem to be the whole story - Vibration is credited,  by many, as the real "killer". Some pretty negative commentary on the quality of the soldered connections = failure due to vibration.

 

I haven't tried this - Apparently you can dig out the putty like filler and do a simple continuity/resistance checks on the connections you uncover. Resolder the faulty ones and your Ducati VR can be put back into service.

😈

[skippydiesel]

1 hour ago, skippydiesel said:

 

• Complexity. I like the relative simplicity of the carby variant.  

😈

 

[onetrack]

If vibration is the problem causing regulator failures, then it's easy enough to acquire small rubber vibration isolation mounts (you can even get them from eBay Aerospace), and to install them between regulator and the aircraft frame. I do this with lead-acid batteries on generating sets where vibration can cause battery plate failure.

[facthunter]

Float Carby's are an anachronism on Aircraft. Plenty of things will cause them to flood.  Nev

[BurnieM]

12 minutes ago, onetrack said:

If vibration is the problem causing regulator failures, then it's easy enough to acquire small rubber vibration isolation mounts (you can even get them from eBay Aerospace), and to install them between regulator and the aircraft frame. I do this with lead-acid batteries on generating sets where vibration can cause battery plate failure.

On motorcycles heat transfer or rather lack of heat transfer away from the reg/rec is considered more of a problem. It is often recommended to mount the reg/rec directly to a metal frame member and put heat transfer paste between them.

 

[facthunter]

Not many flat sections on a Bike frame. I've seen regulators with an AL finned cast Base in front of the engine where it is relatively cool.. The best Mounts for regulators are Made of rubber. When you have an alternator you have to Turn it into DC(Rectify) as well as regulate the current. Nev

[danny_galaga]

2 hours ago, facthunter said:

Not many flat sections on a Bike frame. I've seen regulators with an AL finned cast Base in front of the engine where it is relatively cool.. The best Mounts for regulators are Made of rubber. When you have an alternator you have to Turn it into DC(Rectify) as well as regulate the current. Nev

Generally easier with an alternator, since you only have to regulate the rotor field current, not the whole output current.

[facthunter]

Some alternators require a bit  to be in the Battery to excite them or they won't come on line. Moral there. Never have the Battery dead flat and turn off the Alternator.   Nev

[skippydiesel]

6 hours ago, onetrack said:

If vibration is the problem causing regulator failures, then it's easy enough to acquire small rubber vibration isolation mounts (you can even get them from eBay Aerospace), and to install them between regulator and the aircraft frame. I do this with lead-acid batteries on generating sets where vibration can cause battery plate failure.

Its not that vibration is THE problem, its poor quality soldering - according to Rotax Owner Forum member, who  give detailed instructions on how to open, investigate & repair the Ducati VR.😈

[Moneybox]

17 minutes ago, skippydiesel said:

Its not that vibration is THE problem, its poor quality soldering - according to Rotax Owner Forum member, who  give detailed instructions on how to open, investigate & repair the Ducati VR.😈

I realise some might be concerned about a fire risk of using the Chinese copy but any electrical device can fail in the same way. At $45 a pop repair of the old one would seem like a waste of time. I'm not flying much at the moment so I can't prove its worth but for the ease of fitting I feel it's well worth a shot. We're right into gold prospecting season now so the plane is securely tied down for an extended period. 

[facthunter]

Time is Money for Most People and maybe you could spend time More Productively that resoldering Mother boards, etc. Ducati's these days are very digitalised. They would have to be on top of these things or the wouldn't sell their bikes. Nev

[danny_galaga]

4 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Time is Money for Most People and maybe you could spend time More Productively that resoldering Mother boards, etc. Ducati's these days are very digitalised. They would have to be on top of these things or the wouldn't sell their bikes. Nev

They look great in a living room 😄

[facthunter]

I have the Tiny Electric soldering apparatus but I don't reckon Many would, You need resin cored solder and Paste (non corrosive) flux also. Nev