Second P-mag failure
The other P-mag failed a run-up today. This is a clip of the email I sent Brad at emagair:
I re-installed the repaired #634 unit and flew with it for one hour
yesterday. Both ignitions performed fine throughout the flight. I
checked that both units were firing after the flight before I put the
airplane away. Max temp on the indicator sticker that you put on the
repaired unit currently reads 190deg. F. Today I prepared for another
flight. This would be the first flight of the day. I started up and
was at the run-up pad within about 3min. The other mag (serial# 633)
was not firing at all. After identifying the ignition failure, I
switched off power to that ignition, then grounded the P-lead (full
ignition unit shutdown). Then turned it back on, un-grounding the
P-lead and applying power. It was still not producing ignition.
Back at the hangar, I pulled the cowl and checked all wiring and
switching. It was all fine. I checked the timing and it was correct
with normal LED indications. I pulled the aircraft back out and
started it again (no cowl). The failed ignition (633) ran fine. I
shut down and put the cowl back on and prepared to taxi back out to
the runway. Before I taxied out, I did a quick mag check and it
(#633) was failed again. Obviously, P-mag serial# 633 and I will not
be flying together.
Update:
I talked to Brad on his cell at Oshkosh and asked him to ship me another unit. It was a very short conversation (crappy cell connection). I am certainly considering my options at this point. I don’t know exactly what I’m going to end up doing. I am going to install the replacement ignition that he sends, but you won’t find me going too far from the airport for a while. That large fly-off area isn’t worth much when the confidence isn’t there. There may yet be a good old Slick magneto in my future. I don’t know. In my email to Brad, I also invited them to come inspect my installation if they were interested or had any doubts about the source of my “intermittent” problems. It is only about an hour flight from their shop in Dallas to my hangar at GTU. Obviously I’ve been through my installation and wiring with a fine tooth comb and instrumented every circuit having to do with these mags, even to the extent of having a multimeter on each ground and power circuit during runs to see if there were any changes with the engine running.