What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Dead batteries spoil the fun

J

jpowell13

Well Known Member
I've been promising a good neighbor and aviation enthusiast a ride for ages. We finally got together Friday, preflighted, and belted ourselves in, flipped on the master and there wasn't even enough juice to light up the LED warning lights on the panel. Seems I had left my iLevil receiver on and connected to the USB outlet draining every last electron from my battery.

Oh well, just a minor setback, I removed the battery cover, jumped her off and let the alternator charge it for 20 minutes. Put the cover back on, belted up, hit the starter and had enough juice to turn the prop maybe two blades. (The battery's good, but 20 minutes wasn't enough due to the total discharge.)

Has it ever happened to you? Definitely not my first dead battery dilemma. How to jump off the engine without removing the battery cover. I know there are special connectors to do this, but what's wrong with the following?

15x26wz.jpg


Sorry for the fuzzy photo. It shows a spare cable from my wiring kit which is attached to the positive battery post. The other end is anchored to the throttle/mixture cables and protected by an insulating boot.

The idea is to push back the boot and attach the positive clamp from the jumper cables to the exposed lug. (The negative clamp will attach to the firewall.) Once the engine starts, disconnect the jumper cables, hand them off to the ground crew, reposition the boot and go fly. John
 
Last edited:
I have something similar, but mine is mounted via adel clamp and accessible through the oil-check door. So far, only use it for the occasional trickle charge and haven't had to jump start yet.
 
Paige, just bad photography. They're separated. I'll be adding more insulation at any potential abrasion points.
 
Is your usb not turning off with the battery master? If that happens again your battery will likely be toast.
 
That's just too easy to forget if there isn't a big red light in your face. We've all done it. The pros call it "human factors" but most of us call it idiot proofing (no offence meant I'm as guilty as anyone! :eek:)
 
Came across this thread after Stroh21's post and this has been something in the back of my mind for a while now:

I would like to have an external receptacle for my battery to have some sort of trickle charger on it so that the battery stays topped off if I don't fly for a week or so.

I'd like to have an automatic shutoff when the battery is fully charged.

What do people do for this sort of application? What circuits? What receptacles?

I now one can buy battery chargers which have the auto shut-off feature but they generally comes with alligator clips. I'd prefer a receptacle that I can plug the charger into.

I'd also like to be able to plug in a portable power pack/car jump starter in case the battery is too low and I'd prefer to be abel to plug that into the same receptacle.

Also, who makes good chargers?

Specifics:

RV-8
Battery mounted aft of the back baggage compartment.

Any ideas and/or solutions you've tried would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
No need

There really isn't a need for trickle chargers on a good battery. I have left battery's in my airport car go for 6 months without a charge and it starts right up.

For a receptacle for jump start, go to your welding supply or Amazon and get panel mount welding cable connectors and use them. Way less expensive and work great and some are color coded.

Gary
 
Last edited:
A few thoughts:

Jumping a dead battery to get an engine started yields;
- minimal electrical reserve for a prolonged period of flight
- the damage done to the battery is unknown - you have no clue if the battery has a shorted cell, won't hold a charge or what.

Today's Odyssey like batteries hold a charge for months. More than one of these batteries has been killed by someone leaving it on a "battery tender". If you really find a need to put a charger on one of these batteries do it when you are standing there with a volt meter watching what is going on - then remove it before you leave.

If you do run a battery to the ground, take that opportunity to go to your local Battery Mart or such and get a new one. That way you know you have a good battery and now you can use the old one in your lawn tractor.

I put two PC-625 in my RV-8A and RV-10 and replace one every two years - thus no battery is over four years old. This maintenance process provides assurance that I always have the battery reserve I designed into the plane - full IFR supported flight for at least two hours.

Carl
 
I put a small charge socket inside the front baggage compartment. I have a front mounted battery. I used a more robust version of a lighter socket that's used a lot on motorcycles. I connected it directly to the battery using an inline fuse at the battery for a short run of always on wire.

I simply open the door and plug in a battery minder to keep it topped up.
 
I wired a two prong Molex connector (it leaves the connectors buried pretty deep with no risk of shorting to ground) directly to Battery and Ground with 14GA wire and an in-line 15A fuse. It is anchored on the engine mount under the oil door. Right next to the sump heater connector. Very easy to connect a charger through the oil door opening.

I don't think that I would jump start my plane unless desperate. I like having juice in the battery in case I loose my alternator in flight (has happened twice to me on rentals as a low time pilot). You would be surprise how long it takes to charge, even with a high output alternator.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top