SkyTec Starter Failure - Recently stranded at an airfield due to a SkyTec Starter Solenoid Failure after 100 Hours / 18 Months
Happens all the time. Replace with an Energizer starter Part number 646275-1. They are about 600 bucks and 600 times as reliable.
Hi Ross, will the Energiser fit the SR22 ?
Yes it will fit on any Cirrus.
If you are stranded but have access to a mechanic, have him(her) pull the starter and remove the solenoid. I know of at least three solenoids that have had the plunger freeze up, but they can be unstuck with a little effort . The ones that I have seen looked pitted and were replaced with new, but cleaning them up with emory cloth and reinstalling should get you home
Or if your stuck hook the main cable to the other side of the soleniod.
Ross,
Don’t forget that Tempest now makes a starter as well. http://www.tempestplus.com/Products/ElectricalProducts/PowerFliteStarters.aspx
(Swapping out my original and IRAN’ing my adapter next week)
Be safe and have fun,
Yup. Same design. Hartzell also remanufactures them. Ive been buying the hartzells lately from aviall.
Thank’s for all of this information, I am a new Cirrus owner based in the UK and was not aware of the SkyTec Starter issues, I wished I had known all of this previous to the failure. I was stuck in Ibiza with no maintenance facility and cost a fortune flying out an engineer from the UK. Think after all of the hassle and expense recently incurred I will carry a spare Starter on all future trips away. After another 100 Hours I will replace it with an Energizer and keep the SkyTec as a spare. My maintenance facility in UK said I am the first they have known to have this type of failure but you guys in the States seem a lot more informed than we are over here - Thanks Stefan
Lucky bastard! I hate it when that happens…
Hey it’s not a very nice place when you are stuck, ended up having to get a 3 Hour Ferry to Palma to fly back to UK on commercial airline, then same again the following week to collect the plane, plus 2,500 pound bill to get the starter replaced !!!
This is shocking to see the aircraft parts manufacturer produce below standard parts and get a way with it so easy. It seems most light aircraft owners have now accepted that the aircraft parts should fail even if they haven’t been used and this is perfectly normal.
We had an overhauled MCU last year, 7 months on (just outside warranty) the ALT-1 light started coming on from time to time for 30 seconds and then going off, very similar to the down fall of the previous MCU.
Is there any other industries of similar way of practising???
What is the name of your maintenance facility
A Starter Motor failure after 100 hours, probably no more than 100 starts is disgusting and would not be accepted in the Motor Industry, there would be labour claims and consequential damage etc following the failure. We have to give a Warranty in the Motor Industry. Seems like the Aircraft Industry think they can walk away from any premature failures. Things do need to change
Which skytec model did you have?
SkyTec - P/N C24ST5 - S/N 4C5-511105 - B/N F2986 - Fitted to a Cirrus SR22
It would be nice if someone like SkyTec took responsibility for the failure and offered an apology, but everyone seems to want to walk away. I asked my maintenance what warranty is given, but no reply - Seems like anything to do with aviation has no Warranty, the industry is a joke compared to a very professional motor industry.
Stefan,
I encourage you to contact SKYTEC - I was very impressed with their customer service. I had a starter that was officially out of warranty fail - oh well… some investigation indicated that there was an IRAN option from Skytec - so, I sent the starter to them - with the understanding that it would be about 1/2 the cost of new… well, they called, said when they took it apart, they discovered that there was a factory defect - it was 100% covered - no charge… wow, now, they did not have to do that, but they did… I would at the very least contact them…
Regards
-J-
Stefan,
A couple of years ago, when Skytec came out with the ST-5, we replaced that POC Iskera. Like others who have learned over the years, it is a GOOD IDEA to IRAN the starter adapter at the same time.
Anyway, our Skytec solenoid failed. Talking with their CS, they said that our serial number fell in with some defective production. They sent a new one…no charge. In talking with their technical support department, I was informed that the solenoid design was a work in progress. They sent me their current generation fix, but I was told that there were 2 more in the pipeline, with the last one being a complete redesign.
So I don’t know where they are in their current schedule but do know that they stand behind their product. Continually improving and pushing for a better performing product. I would suggest contacting them directly and getting the scoop first hand.
Sorry for your troubles. Hope you get the answers you need and desire. It’s just one more thing that makes COPA so great…so many helpful suggestions and a long history that can be accessed.
Thank you very much for your information, the USA is a lot more knowledgable on the subject than here in the UK, I will be contacting SkyTec and sending back the faulty Starter, really we should all have been informed by SkyTec of the suspected faulty batch numbers, had they have done this I would have replaced it - Does anyone have any Contact / Address details - Stefan