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Hot tail strobe light (really hot !)

P

Pilottonny

Well Known Member
I connected my strobes to make sure the power supply was not going to be un-used to long (see Whelen manual). I just plugged in all three strobes, right in the power supply, so there is no shorts, or wrong wiring. After five minutes the tailstrobe was getting very, very, very hot! You can not touch it, not even after it has been off for 5 minutes, it is really cooking! It will not be possible to install it this way, because the Rudder-bottom-tip will just melt! I used my battery charger to supply power. This is obviously not the best power supply, but as is in the manual, it is best to use lower voltage to allow the capacitors to regenerate if you have not used the system for a longer period. It also mentions that the system will do 3-flashes instead of 2-flashes when the power is below "charging voltage". There is no mention about the tailstrobe getting hot though, in the manual.

Before starting this new thread, I checked using the search option and found that some more people came across this problem and mention it in another thread, but there is no answer for the problem in that thread.

Does anybody know what the reason is for this problem and how to solve it?

Regards, PilotTonny.

 
Hello Tonny,

I don't know if it is right or not, but I have also noticed that my tail strobe/light can be hot enough to burn my fingers if I touch it within a few minutes of getting out of the plane (figured out by picking up the tail one day to put it up on a sawhorse!). It hasn't melted off in 250 hours, and there is no discoloration of paint or other signs of distress. Not saying that's the way it should be....but it's the way mine is...

Paul
 
Normal

YEP HOT, very hot. The wing NAV lights get hot as well. Normal

Also when you test you master relay, it also will be too hot to touch, also normal.
 
I asked the Whelen guy about this at Oshkosh. His answer was "don't plug your strobes directly into the power supply to test them. Make sure you've got a decent length of wire between the strobe and the power supply."

PJ
RV-10 #40032
 
battery chargers

have alot of ripple and higher than a normal operating system voltage to boot this and the shorter wires may be alittle more than normal for the strobes. just some random thoughts.
 
Maybe not related

I had my tail bulb expode and it ended up as powered glass.
The Strobe failed with the explosion although it looked intact.
The plexy cover survived. Maybe it was hot and malleable.
Pete.
 
Hail VAF.net Warrior Tonny,


Pilottonny said:
I connected my strobes to make sure the power supply was not going to be un-used to long (see Whelen manual)...
I used my battery charger to supply power. This is obviously not the best power supply, but as is in the manual, it is best to use lower voltage to allow the capacitors to regenerate if you have not used the system for a longer period.
Click to expand...


A typical automotive battery charger supplies a MUCH higher then "normal" voltage ( at unregulated peaks ) then just the battery, or charging system.

Charge the battery, disconnect the charger, and try again.

Any type of lightbulb gets HOT, and some get FRIGGEN WAY HOT.

You wouldn't be able to touch the 12V brake lamp on your vehicles 3rd brakelight, without burns, if used for the same amount of time.
 
Last edited:
Hail VAF.net Warrior PJSeipel,

PJSeipel said:
I asked the Whelen guy about this at Oshkosh. His answer was "don't plug your strobes directly into the power supply to test them. Make sure you've got a decent length of wire between the strobe and the power supply."...
Click to expand...

A properly designed high-current system would MINIMIZE the voltage drop in the supply wiring.

The "Whelen guy" comment suggests this system generates excess heat in the wiring to perform normally. .... I find that scarey for an areoplane.
 
I've had this problem and it was because the tail light is flashing twice as often as the side strobes. It fires WITH the side strobes and then once on its own. It shouldn't do that. It should alternate and file as often as the side strobes.

Truth be told, though, I was testing it with the strobes directly into the power pack.

One thing I found, however, is if you plug in just the tail strobe and power up, make sure it fires correctly, power down, and THEN plug in the side strobes, the timing works properly.
 
Tail-Strobe/Navlight gets very hot!

Hello Builders

I read that the strobeunit not should lay around unused for month, so I connected it to a power source and let the strobes flashing for 5 minutes.

Then I want to take it apart and store it again, but I burned my fingers on the Tail-Strobe/Navlight unit:eek::eek:

The Wing-Strobe/Navlights get also a bit warm, but not hot. The tailunit gehts at the complete casing (which is aluminum) hot. I could bring a plasticbag to wrinkle with the tailunit, it hurt when I touched it, so I guess, it is a bit more than 60?Celsius hot.

IS THIS NORMAL?

Shop Temperature was around 20?C, the tailunit gehts the full strobe burst and the wingunits spare one.
Strobesupply is a Whelen HDACF, Tailunit a A500A-V-14, Vans Light-System 6

Thanks for any advise before I do more testing.

Regards, Dominik
Switzerland
RV-7A
 
It's normal. You're dumping a lot of energy into those flashtubes. A small part of that energy kicks off some photons and creates light. The rest is just heat.
 
strobe heat

I'm prepping my wing tips by installing nav & strobe lights.

I bench tested the wing tip lights and, WOW, does the strobe get hot.

I'm worried about damaging the plexiglass lens with the heat.

Has anybody had this issue? Will the heat damage anything? Should I provide some sort of ventilation (small holes)?

Thanks in advance for any input!

Dave
finishing up RV9 wings
 
I saw some RVs at OSH that had the strobe tubes mounted close to the lens, and you are right - the heat distorted the lens.

I'm going to find a way to keep the tube in the center of the tip - as far from the lens as possible.

Good luck,

dave
 
Dave,
What kinduv nav/strobes do you have? I've been looking the Aeroflash units (156-0039) and have not ordered yet 'cause I was unsure how they would fit .. clearance to the lens is one of my concerns.
 
hot strobes

I'm piecing together a lighting system.

The strobes are from "Strobes n More".

The nav light is an LED cluster I found on the internet (very bright).

I searched "hot strobes" and came up with some threads that basically acknowledge the heat problem but I didn't find a solution suggestion.

The strobe power supply has a "low power" setting. Maybe I should use it.

Also I plugged the tube directly into the power supply. Maybe 15' feet of cable will reduce the voltage some.

I thought about drilling some some holes in the bottom area of the lens and a single hole at the top. I was thinking I could get some cooling air through there and also provide drain holes for inadvertant moisture.

I'll just have to think about this....

Dave
 
I recall ne of the earlier threads about hot strobes advised not to plug directly into a power supply ... said to always assure you have some length of wire in there as it does lessen the overheating.
 
What do you do,when you have a power supply in the wing tip, so as not to have electrical interference? The supply wire cannot be long.
Ron
 
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