I drove up to Newton, Kansas today to buy a replacement connector for the alternator. Several things I learned and I will pass them along for what they are worth. First the company is very good to deal with. I have been driving for 11 hours so I'm just going to itemize the rest without any effort to compose something sensical:
(1) The two parallel contacts in the alternator field connector (three pin connector) are wired to the same point internally - the field - and the third pin is not connected internally.
(2) When I bought my alternator from Aircraft Spruce in 1999, B&C Specialty Products were instructing customers to connect only on pin the left vertical pin.
(3) The customers were happy until they had flown around 200 hours and then they started having problems (just like I did - low voltage light and 5 amp C/B poping).
(4) A few years ago they determined that the single pin connection on the field was not adequate after around 200 hours of operation, so they developed a fix. Connect both of the vertical pins to the input field wire and put a blank pin in the other hole. The electrical engineer "Tim" said their approach is the crimp the input and another wire about 8 inches long into one of the vertical pins and the other end of the 8" wire to the other vertical pin in the mating wire bundle connector. If either pin has contact current will flow through the connector interface and into the internal common field termination point. The main idea is to stabilize the connection physically with the three mated pins as well as the plastic connector body. Tim told me since the fix was incorporated they have had no failures of field connections assembled in this manner.
(5) I may be the last guy with the one field wire and two open socket configuration but if you have it as well it probably will fail at around 200 hours of operation.
(6) The symptom are flashing low voltage light and the 5 amp circuit breaker trip. Tim says when the connection gets loose spikes occur in the circuit and there is a "crowbar" protective circuit that will trip the C/B.
(7) The pins, once inserted, may be removable but it is not easy. There is a retention tang on the flat - bottom side? - of the pins that latches upon insertion into the connector. The connector also has a plastic positioner (?) molded into the body on the opposite side of each pin hole. I broke the plastic positioned getting mine out. I tried sliding a release device under the pins to unlatch the pin and I tried flattening the rolled edges to clear the positioner. with more study I'm sure one could remove the pins without damaging the connector but I never got there.
(8) The web site for the company is http://www.bandc.biz but the connectors are not listed and Aircraft Spruce doesn't have them. This is what one of the sales people (they are really good to work with) sent me about the order process:
Robert,
You need our L-60_CONN. This is $12.00, and is in Stock. It is not on our
web site, click on the parts button on the left, scroll down to the bottom
and there you will see Misc. parts, click on any of them items there, scroll
to the bottom of that page and under Misc. part order one item and in the
comments section of the order form enter that you need part number
L-60_CONN.
Or you can just call me with your credit card number.
Thanks,
Todd Koerner
B&C Specialty Products, Inc
316-283-8000
www.bandc.biz
(9) The connector in a bag with three pins cost $12 as Todd said - I bought two of them.
(10) On the web site they provide down loadable troubleshooting instructions.
(11) Tim said they do not trust the crimps (I do) and advised a touch of solder on the wire and terminal at the forward end. If you do this the positioning is very important. Capillary action will cause the solder to follow the heat and if any is on the back of the terminal the solder will extend up the wire strands removing any flexibility (which is why you used stranded wire in the first place). Some time in the 1960's the aerospace industry moved away from solder pins to crimp pins for this and quality/reliability consistency reasons. One of my jobs in the Air Force was maintaining FH homer at K-2AB. At least 90% of the failures was the solder joint on the keyer that sent out .._. .... .._. .... every 30 seconds - we just didn't know back then.
(12) This information ONLY applies to the B&C Specialty Products L-60 light weight 60 amp alternator.
Bob Axsom
(1) The two parallel contacts in the alternator field connector (three pin connector) are wired to the same point internally - the field - and the third pin is not connected internally.
(2) When I bought my alternator from Aircraft Spruce in 1999, B&C Specialty Products were instructing customers to connect only on pin the left vertical pin.
(3) The customers were happy until they had flown around 200 hours and then they started having problems (just like I did - low voltage light and 5 amp C/B poping).
(4) A few years ago they determined that the single pin connection on the field was not adequate after around 200 hours of operation, so they developed a fix. Connect both of the vertical pins to the input field wire and put a blank pin in the other hole. The electrical engineer "Tim" said their approach is the crimp the input and another wire about 8 inches long into one of the vertical pins and the other end of the 8" wire to the other vertical pin in the mating wire bundle connector. If either pin has contact current will flow through the connector interface and into the internal common field termination point. The main idea is to stabilize the connection physically with the three mated pins as well as the plastic connector body. Tim told me since the fix was incorporated they have had no failures of field connections assembled in this manner.
(5) I may be the last guy with the one field wire and two open socket configuration but if you have it as well it probably will fail at around 200 hours of operation.
(6) The symptom are flashing low voltage light and the 5 amp circuit breaker trip. Tim says when the connection gets loose spikes occur in the circuit and there is a "crowbar" protective circuit that will trip the C/B.
(7) The pins, once inserted, may be removable but it is not easy. There is a retention tang on the flat - bottom side? - of the pins that latches upon insertion into the connector. The connector also has a plastic positioner (?) molded into the body on the opposite side of each pin hole. I broke the plastic positioned getting mine out. I tried sliding a release device under the pins to unlatch the pin and I tried flattening the rolled edges to clear the positioner. with more study I'm sure one could remove the pins without damaging the connector but I never got there.
(8) The web site for the company is http://www.bandc.biz but the connectors are not listed and Aircraft Spruce doesn't have them. This is what one of the sales people (they are really good to work with) sent me about the order process:
Robert,
You need our L-60_CONN. This is $12.00, and is in Stock. It is not on our
web site, click on the parts button on the left, scroll down to the bottom
and there you will see Misc. parts, click on any of them items there, scroll
to the bottom of that page and under Misc. part order one item and in the
comments section of the order form enter that you need part number
L-60_CONN.
Or you can just call me with your credit card number.
Thanks,
Todd Koerner
B&C Specialty Products, Inc
316-283-8000
www.bandc.biz
(9) The connector in a bag with three pins cost $12 as Todd said - I bought two of them.
(10) On the web site they provide down loadable troubleshooting instructions.
(11) Tim said they do not trust the crimps (I do) and advised a touch of solder on the wire and terminal at the forward end. If you do this the positioning is very important. Capillary action will cause the solder to follow the heat and if any is on the back of the terminal the solder will extend up the wire strands removing any flexibility (which is why you used stranded wire in the first place). Some time in the 1960's the aerospace industry moved away from solder pins to crimp pins for this and quality/reliability consistency reasons. One of my jobs in the Air Force was maintaining FH homer at K-2AB. At least 90% of the failures was the solder joint on the keyer that sent out .._. .... .._. .... every 30 seconds - we just didn't know back then.
(12) This information ONLY applies to the B&C Specialty Products L-60 light weight 60 amp alternator.
Bob Axsom
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