Danceswithcumulus
I'm New Here
Its been a year since I installed dual emags, and I thought I would share my observations. First, they have performed flawlessly to date. When I switch between mags during the runup I see zero rpm fluctuation between L,R, and Both. That's pretty dang impressive. The auto plugs work great and look great after 50 hours of use.
Now the bad part.
I am doing my first annual inspection on them this week and I was shocked to read the manuals instructs me to: "Remove ignition and examine shaft and drive gear condition." I am then told to "Look for excessive play (lateral and axial). Shaft rotation should be free, with no catching, flat spots, or grinding."
Excuse me - why is this necessary? Mechanics aren't required to remove and inspect magnetos annually, so why should you have to remove E-mags to inspect them? Shouldn't such issues have been identified and resolved by intense trial evaluation on a test aircraft before selling them to the public? I have time to vent because I didn't see this removal requirement coming and didn't buy two new mag gaskets, so now I have to wait a week for them to come by mail.
More fun came. To remove an Emag you must remove the green wire harness attachment plug. This attachment is held in place with two small flathead screws that are deeply recessed in the plastic housing. A very small screwdriver is needed. Yesterday I tried several small screwdrivers and to my horror the face of one of those screws is now stripped flat and it wont loosen. That means to remove the E-mag I had to remove the three wires that feed it. Here is where the fun really began. The wires are held in place with guillotine clamps and the screws that tighten them are on the backside of the green attachment module, between the emag and the engine. You cant get a screwdriver in there with the emag bolted in place. Had they put the screws on the other side, they could be accessed easily. So that means you have to remove the emag and and hold it with one hand while loosening the wire clamps with the other, all in a cramped engine compartment. I later received complaints about the creative yet unwanted profanity coming from my hangar.
While on the topic of that green attachment, using guillotine wire receptacles to hold wires in a high vibration environment seems like a bad idea to me - its asking for wires to fail. Dont tighten them enough and they wiggle out over time. Overtighten and it cuts strands and then the rest break over time. I have had both instances happen in 12 months and yes I have the wires secured with an adel clamp. I wish the designers had employed a robust permanent wire harness so that the connections to power, ground, and P-lead can be made well away from the emag. That harness should be several feet long so that it can be secured to the engine mount and the connector can be of your choosing and location of your choosing. It would make removal and reinstallation of the E-mag much simpler.
Curious if others have had similar experiences to mine and have found work arounds. Anyone else had a screw face strip in the green module? How did you get it out?
Now the bad part.
I am doing my first annual inspection on them this week and I was shocked to read the manuals instructs me to: "Remove ignition and examine shaft and drive gear condition." I am then told to "Look for excessive play (lateral and axial). Shaft rotation should be free, with no catching, flat spots, or grinding."
Excuse me - why is this necessary? Mechanics aren't required to remove and inspect magnetos annually, so why should you have to remove E-mags to inspect them? Shouldn't such issues have been identified and resolved by intense trial evaluation on a test aircraft before selling them to the public? I have time to vent because I didn't see this removal requirement coming and didn't buy two new mag gaskets, so now I have to wait a week for them to come by mail.
More fun came. To remove an Emag you must remove the green wire harness attachment plug. This attachment is held in place with two small flathead screws that are deeply recessed in the plastic housing. A very small screwdriver is needed. Yesterday I tried several small screwdrivers and to my horror the face of one of those screws is now stripped flat and it wont loosen. That means to remove the E-mag I had to remove the three wires that feed it. Here is where the fun really began. The wires are held in place with guillotine clamps and the screws that tighten them are on the backside of the green attachment module, between the emag and the engine. You cant get a screwdriver in there with the emag bolted in place. Had they put the screws on the other side, they could be accessed easily. So that means you have to remove the emag and and hold it with one hand while loosening the wire clamps with the other, all in a cramped engine compartment. I later received complaints about the creative yet unwanted profanity coming from my hangar.
While on the topic of that green attachment, using guillotine wire receptacles to hold wires in a high vibration environment seems like a bad idea to me - its asking for wires to fail. Dont tighten them enough and they wiggle out over time. Overtighten and it cuts strands and then the rest break over time. I have had both instances happen in 12 months and yes I have the wires secured with an adel clamp. I wish the designers had employed a robust permanent wire harness so that the connections to power, ground, and P-lead can be made well away from the emag. That harness should be several feet long so that it can be secured to the engine mount and the connector can be of your choosing and location of your choosing. It would make removal and reinstallation of the E-mag much simpler.
Curious if others have had similar experiences to mine and have found work arounds. Anyone else had a screw face strip in the green module? How did you get it out?
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