--> RotaxEngines-List message posted by: "Roger Lee" Hi All, One of our electrical engineer members came up with this and if he wants to step forward for the credit he can. Have you a low voltage output around 13.1V - 13.3V from the Rotax Ducati regulator? Many have for years. Our battery never gets to a full charge as it needs 13.9V - 14.2V. My voltage on my system is only 13.1V - 13.2V normally. When I turn on my landing light my voltage drops to 11.8V on my Dynon at low rpms whether at idle or coming in for landing, plus the light is not near as bright. There is a fix, but you technically need an LOA if you have an SLSA from the aircraft Mfg. Here is a picture below. You use a 1 amp 200V diode which is available at any electronics store. The number for the diode is 1N4001 thru 1N4007. If you only need only a .4V increase then a 1N5817 diode 1 amp 20V. The band on one end will face up. It goes between the Regulator Rectifier "R" terminal slot and the "Charge" terminal slot. There is a small white wire already between these two terminals and this is what you are replacing and then that small wire needs to be clipped in half. This will raise your output charging voltage .8 volts or .4V depending on the diode used. When I tried! this mod it went from 13.2V to 14.1V. When I turn on my running lights and all other electrical (other than the landing light) the voltage drops .1V - .2V. When I turn on the landing light it drops to 13.2V, but at least it doesn't drop to 11.7V any more. We all know most battery's require 13.9VV - 14.2V to charge fully and that's one reason for the right type of charger in the hanger. When you have a battery that only gets charged 60% - 70% (13.2V) things don't work as well. Lately my electric flaps were running slow and once in a while blinked for a few seconds. Now they are quick and crisp again. My plane starts up much faster and easier with a fully charged battery. You have 2 options for a connection. Solder the diode in place or use something like a Molex connector crimped on each end of the diode. Use a wire tie to secure this diode or jumper wire in place to help protect against any vibration. What is the down side? If the diode were to fail some day then your voltage would climb to 15 volts and be in an over charge state at the battery. The quick and easy fix is to manage voltage until you land by pulling the generator breaker and let the battery discharge for a while then turn it back on for a while until you land. If it were me I would use the crimp method on the diode and make up a 2.5" plain wire jumper with Molex connector on each end. In an emergency, all you would have to do is unplug the diode and plug the jumper wire in place then you are right back to a stock set up. Keep the little jumper in your tool kit. I'll try to take a picture of the jumper wire and post it here this weekend. p.s. Since electrical engineering is not my expertise by any stretch of the imagination I was just informed that if the diode were to fail the system would go back to stock on its own through the diode wire. -------- Roger Lee Tucson, Az. Light Sport Repairman - Maintenance Rated Rotax Repair Center Home 520-574-1080 TRY HOME FIRST Cell 520-349-7056 Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=331515#331515 Attachments: http://forums.matronics.com//files/ducati_2_775.jpg _-============================================================ _-= - The RotaxEngines-List Email Forum - _-= Use the Matronics List Features Navigator to browse _-= the many List utilities such as List Un/Subscription, _-= Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, _-= Photoshare, and much much more: _-= _-= --> http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?RotaxEngines-List _-= _-============================================================ _-= - MATRONICS WEB FORUMS - _-= Same great content also available via the Web Forums! _-= _-= --> http://forums.matronics.com _-= _-============================================================ _-= - List Contribution Web Site - _-= Thank you for your generous support! _-= -Matt Dralle, List Admin. _-= --> http://www.matronics.com/contribution _-============================================================