Maintenance: Starter failure #2. Replaced with different model: 149-NL.

Update 28-Aug-22:  Since converting my engine to the -C3B6 (-EXP119), I had to revert back to the 149-12LS starter.

 

My factory original SkyTec 149-12LS starter failed at 43 hours.  It suffered from the well-known sticking of the solenoid.  The replacement starter failed with the same issue at 103.9 hours.  Not wanting to see a third instance of this issue, I asked SkyTec (now Hartzell) if they would replace my 149-12LS with a 149-NL, which they did.

The 149-12LS has an adjacent solenoid, is 8.25 pounds and uses a permanent magnet motor with a 3.7:1 reduction gear.  It has a strontium-fortified 356 T6 aluminum alloy mount, needle bearing in nose, brass bushing in rear.  160-180 RPM at 11 V, 185-285 A.

The 149-NL has an inline solenoid, is 9.3 pounds with a series wound coil and 6.5:1 reduction gear.  It has a field-replaceable shear pin for kickback protection, die cast A-380 aluminum mount and 3X steel ball bearing races.  ~120 RPM at 11 V with 85-125 A. 

 

 

Here are the two original, failed 149-12LS starters.  When they were both removed they each had ejection of packing grease which the Hartzell technician assured me was normal.  Original 43 hour 149-12LS starter on left (from 20-May-18) and replacement 103.9 hour 149-12LS starter on right.

Now on to the third starter...There are four bosses on the 149-NL starter.  Boss A is for the V-1002 alternator-to-starter link (see plans page 43-12).  For the IO-390, bosses B, C and D can be removed, per Hartzell's instructions, to within 1/8" of the casing (see ST25001 Rev. J).  I did that with a cutting wheel on a Dremel then smoothed things down with a light grinding wheel (bottom left and right images).  Boss D doesn't have to be removed for use in the RV-14A, but might as well trim off the ounce of weight.

The 149-NL starter fits fine on the IO-390.  However, in the RV-14, the mixture bracket assembly (see page 50-03 and OP-22) has a F3414M Rod End Bearing that binds against the starter casing.

To alleviate this issue, I moved the Rod End Bearing to the outboard side of the Mixture Arm (it was easier than changing the clocking of the arm then making gross changes in the cable length).  Some changes in the washer stack and readjustment of the mixture cable travel was necessary to ensure full Mixture Arm travel and compliance with the "vital criteria" on page 50-02 (stoppage is achieved by the control stop, leaving a 1/16" cushion gap).

The next unknown was if the cable going to the starter would be long enough for the 149-NL (the 149-12LS has its terminal about an inch further aft).   

Turns out that the original WH-P16 Starter Relay to Starter Wire has its spade connector bent in page 43-11, Step 2 (visible above).  Upon bending this back and taking up some of the slack in the cable, it reaches the new starter just fine.

 
The next issue was the Van's wiring approach.  Van's has the "I" terminal of the starter contactor on the firewall connected to the 149-12LS starter with the K910 Starter Disengage wire (see page 43-04), shown as the little hanging wire above.  They do that to eliminate "hesitation in disengaging from the ring gear" (the LS has an internal contactor).  There is no provision on the 149-NL starter for that approach since the starter's "S" terminal has been "repurposed" for use as selecting either 12 or 24 Volt operation through the use of a jumper.  Thus, one can remove the Starter Disengage wire with the 149-NL.  But, this would leave the "I" terminal on the firewall starter contactor exposed (ES 24021 on page 43-04).  So I just cut the wire at the spade lug and used a wire-tie to affix the nipple in place.  Below are views of the starter contactor showing that nipple on the "I" terminal from above (left) and below (right).

The 149-NL starter gear sits in the same place as the 149-12LS' when retracted.

The next unknown was if the VA-132-2 Snorkel fitment would be impeded by the new starter.  Thankfully, there was more than enough clearance.

The 149-NL starter has more torque than the 149-12LS and it sounds more stout.  Hopefully the 149-NL is of higher quality too.

Avionics: Transponder upgrade.

I started off with the Garmin GTX 330ES transponder.  It did what it was supposed to do, mostly staring back at me with with a "1200".  It also provided TIS-B to my GTN 650 and my GRT HXr EFIS.

What it didn't do was provide FIS-B to my GTN 650, although I have the SkyRadar DX providing that to my HXr screens.  But, wouldn't it be nice to use the 650 for FIS-B info too?  Enter my new transponder, the GTX 345.

Functionally, the user experience between the two is essentially identical.  The 345 has a white display rather than the green display of the 330ES.  It can stream TIS-B and FIS-B info via its Bluetooth transceiver (to a limited group of Garmin-only apps, all but one of which costs money) and includes an integrated AHRS (available only to apps that must be purchased).  It's also 1.01" less in length and 0.03" shorter than the 330, thus requiring a tray swap.  And cruelly, it has a different pinout scheme than the 330 family.  So it's not a plug-and-play replacement.

Here's the new wiring map I made for the 345.  It requires an ethernet connection to the 650 (what Garmin calls HSDB, or high speed data bus), something the 330 family didn't offer.  I also wanted to connect an additional RS-422 line to my left HXr EFIS and a RS-232 line to my right HXr EFIS.  This is for both redundancy and testing to see if the 345 can send full TIS-B and FIS-B info to the EFISs.

 

Just for giggles, here's what the wiring change would look like if I were to rewire my current 330 harness for the 345.  As you can see, it's a mess.

So rather than risk breaking things, I decided to fashion a little dongle that rewires things for me.  I had to buy some parts (62-pin female d-sub receptacle, hood and female HD pins) and keep the dongle as short as possible so as not to cause undue strain on the existing wiring.  I also needed to pull new wires for the ethernet connection to the 650 and through to the EFISs to support the additional RS-422 and -232 connections previously described.  Here's the dongle.

Here's the 345's new tray in place.  Since it's 1.01" shorter than the 330ES' tray, I had to drill new holes for the forward screws.  Thus, I could not attach the tray to the forward pair of tray supports angles I put in back in 2016 (bottom of this post).

Here's the 345 in place (EFIS was off, so no SAT and DALT info available) and my happy 650 with FIS-B info.

Avionics: Redo of right side LEMO jack (plus filter capacitor).

The original install of my LEMO jacks went well.  But after about a year, the right side jack would need a little jiggling every now and then, lest I can't hear my passenger speak.  The mic wire was clearly loose.  So it was time to replace it.  Also, though not noticeable in flight, since I have a bit of alternator whine in the intercom, I thought to add a filter capacitor whilst I was going to replace the jack.

Go here to see how LEMOs are wired.  Here's how that process went. 

Wired up to the PTG.M0.6NL.LC65N jack.

End cap on with wires ready for the Molex connector (go here to see part numbers).

Sealing with siliconized latex caulking.

Installed.  You can see the filter cap on the right. This view is looking down.

View looking aft with both sides of the jack in from.

Maintenance: Wheel fairing cracked.

I joined the non-rarefied "Cracked My Wheel Pant Club".  I was in a stiff crosswind and hit harder than I would have preferred on the left main.  I was gusted into a right bank and overcompensated to the left when I was just inches above the runway.  I think that landing counted for five in the logbook.

The wheel fairing cracked as the tire expanded.  The left image shows when it happened as caught by my tail cam (see my first flight post for insight into my camera setup).  If you look closely, you can see that the right wheel has not yet contacted the runway.  The left wheel has flattened out quite a bit.  The right image is the aft fairing half.  No pieces were lost, thankfully.

Following this approach, I temporarily glued the area together with a cyanoacrylate adhesive so the wheel fairing could hold up to the next step.

I then sanded the inside area smooth and exposed the underlying glass so the new glass plies will have something to grab on to (left).  Next I wiped in an epoxy-flox mixture to fill the cracks and provide extra strength (right).

Then I wet three plies with an epoxy resign mixture.  This is #7500 fiberglass cloth (0.014" thickness, 16x14 thread count), the kind I used any time cloth was called for throughout the build (mostly the canopy fairing).

I laid the first ply (left) and the second ply (right).

Then the third ply, with two additional smaller plies to cover the middle area better (left).  I then put on some peel ply to help draw the resin through and give it a smooth texture (right).

Once that cured, I sanded down the exterior surface.

Then put a little bit of epoxy-flox into the cracks on the outside (left) and troweled it in (right).

Next, I put an epoxy resin wet ply on the outside (left) followed by peel ply (right).

 

Looking towards the light at this stage, you can see the original damage.

The peel ply was removed from the exterior following cure (left).  Which was then sanded down for a nice smooth finish (right).  And I opened up the hole just a little bit to try to avoid a repeat of this damage in the future.

Next, I applied a liberal coat of Evercoat Easy Sand filler to fill the pin holes and support a smoother transition between the original part and the new exterior ply.

After some sanding work (left), it seemed nice following the high build primer (right).

But, it felt too mottled to me, so I sanded it back down, this time with a sanding block (which I should have done originally) then reprimed it.

Back on the airframe it goes, ready for duty!