Failed STEC Static Pressure Sensor

[Leo Langston]

My STEC 55X started porpoising last seek while trying to hold altitude. Two weeks ago the AP was rock steady in altitude. My avionics shop says the static pressure sensor is bad and needs to be replaced to the tune of $1700+! The 55X system was newly installed back in April 2022. So do these static pressure sensors fail that quickly? Are they pretty unreliable? My plane is hangared just south of the Houston, TX area so could excessive heat in the hangar be a problem? I hope this doesn’t become an every 2-3 yr replacement cost!

Thx
Leo

 

[Salty]

My STEC 55X started porpoising last seek while trying to hold altitude. Two weeks ago the AP was rock steady in altitude. My avionics shop says the static pressure sensor is bad and needs to be replaced to the tune of $1700+! The 55X system was newly installed back in April 2022. So do these static pressure sensors fail that quickly? Are they pretty unreliable? My plane is hangared just south of the Houston, TX area so could excessive heat in the hangar be a problem? I hope this doesn’t become an every 2-3 yr replacement cost!

Thx
Leo

Newly installed in 2022. Maybe new to your plane, but I doubt the AP itself was new.

 

[Leo Langston]

Correct the head unit was a rebuilt unit but the servos and other electronic components were new. So if the pressure sensor was new do they usually fail every 2 years?

 

[kontiki]

I'm not familiar with the specifics of the installation but, make sure you don't have a blob of water or debris in any of the static lines before you spend money on parts.

 

[Leo Langston]

understood but I have to assume my local avionics shop (pretty reputable) would have done that before they condemned the sensor. I am surprised a pressure sensor costs that much! Wow!

 

[Checkout_my_Six]

understood but I have to assume my local avionics shop (pretty reputable) would have done that before they condemned the sensor. I am surprised a pressure sensor costs that much! Wow!

It's from Gensys.....it won't be cheap or reasonable.

I'd be sure there is no water in the line and no leaks. Either of those will cause problems.

 

[bbchien]

Count yourself as lucky. You can get the part….

 

[Doug Tellef]

Good Morning,

Is it the old blue plastic pressure transducer or the brass one? I reached out to our repair station and this is the response I received:

We haven’t built the blue ones that could not be repaired in decades. The brass ones are repairable, and it would be odd for it to fail in just two and half years. I wonder how the dealer determined it was the transducer and not a high startup voltage on the servo or loose bridle cable tensions or a static leak. If they are convinced it is the transducer, they should send it in for repair.