Fluxgate XYZ Lost?

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

May the force be with you
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Flying along and my autopilot goes "Ya know what 6PC? I am the pilot and I want to go this way"
I was going to let it alone and see what it was doing but it was turning me to a bad part of town and I had 3 pax.

Look at my panel and my HSI is just spinning away.
Switched to nav and continued on. I noticed the message "Fluxgate xyz lost"

Imagine this, only spinning. Also noticed "Ack" flashing nect to the VUE button so I clicked it and everything went back to normal..
20160827_194326.jpg
 
I don't know what it means on a Sandel exactly, but...

Well, the fluxgate is sensor that reads the magnetic lines of flux that allows an HSI, including a digital one like the Sandel, to know which way North is.

XYZ is an odd one. It could mean that the MEMS accelerometers, which have X, Y, and Z-axis ones. Or it could refer to the fluxgate somehow? I doubt it has three of them.

Losing both would certainly explain all the spinning.
 
That was actually my first thought.

"Fluxgate XYZ lost" comes from BIST, Built In Self Test. DG/HSI was fast slaving due to XYZ signal voltage from fluxgate too low or not received. The pilots guide gives a list of possible reasons. I'd look for a loose connection first.
 
GlennAB1 said:
That was actually my first thought.

"Fluxgate XYZ lost" comes from BIST, Built In Self Test. DG/HSI was fast slaving due to XYZ signal voltage from fluxgate too low or not received. The pilots guide gives a list of possible reasons. I'd look for a loose connection first.
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First thing I would check is the bus voltage, then reseat the unit, then look for a loose connection. I've gotten that message any number of times, the first time due to an alternator failure, most recently after my avionics guy replaced the projection lamp.

If all else fails, it could actually be the flux gate. That's what the user guide will tell you is the likely problem, but in my experience, it is usually something else.
 
The flux gate is what controls the flow of energy to the flux capacitor. Without a properly functioning flux gate, you could bounce around in time and space. Did you land before you left?

Or it could be what the others said. I dunno.
 
Question about that Sandel? Just wondering, doesn't necessarily have something to do with the problem 6PC was having. How do you "set DG" when the "slaving" function isn't working right because the flux gate has gone bad or some other reason?
 
Utterly shock we are not reading about the CAPS " save " in this thread.
 
Exactly. If these devices were to be honest, all error messages would say only; "Insert $3000.00 to continue"
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I know. The plane was working fine.
I get an oil change and this flux gate issue pops up and number 2 cht just bounces around from 200 to 500 all over the place.
From what I am told I have the best of the best cirrus guys working on the plane.

I just like flying I really don't care about all these computers and s#it.
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Turn em off and fly.
 
We are now up to three threads with people having Sandel problems.

Not to self: These things are a pain in the ass. Oh yeah, wait, one of them is a pain in MY ass right now.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
That's good; increases demand for steam gauge airplanes like mine.
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Hahaha. Doubt it. :) But right there with ya.

I like flying behind that Sandel when it's working. But it has a "limited parts and labor" warranty that expired sometime in the previous decade.

Even the owner of the airplane says, "If it wasn't in there when I bought the airplane I wouldn't have added it."
 
More and fancier electronics = more expense, more downtime is my experience.

Oh, that's not fair, I did have my DG overhauled. 13 years ago. For $350.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I know. The plane was working fine.
I get an oil change and this flux gate issue pops up and number 2 cht just bounces around from 200 to 500 all over the place.
From what I am told I have the best of the best cirrus guys working on the plane.

I just like flying I really don't care about all these computers and s#it.
Click to expand...

cub.jpg
 
sounds like Lucas Industries changed their name to Sandel. Did you see any magic smoke come out of the unit? that's bad when you let the smoke out.
 
sounds like the Feds covertly placed a GPS tracking device in your ride....and it's interfering with your sphincter and fluxcapacitor. :D
 
denverpilot said:
We are now up to three threads with people having Sandel problems.

Not to self: These things are a pain in the ass. Oh yeah, wait, one of them is a pain in MY ass right now.
Click to expand...

I'd take one over an Aspen though. You would be shocked at their failure rate.
 
Unit74 said:
I'd take one over an Aspen though. You would be shocked at their failure rate.
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Not really. Everyone I know that owns one has sent it back to the factory at some point.

Nobody I know that owns a Dynon has.

Mmmmm. Tasty Certification.
 
Besides, who cares what your gauges are doing, you have a chute. Fly it like you stole it and if it becomes fubar, you know what to do.

59547674.jpg
 
I know..... Hoping to see some part 91 relaxation.



denverpilot said:
Not really. Everyone I know that owns one has sent it back to the factory at some point.

Nobody I know that owns a Dynon has.

Mmmmm. Tasty Certification.
Click to expand...
 
luvflyin said:
Question about that Sandel? Just wondering, doesn't necessarily have something to do with the problem 6PC was having. How do you "set DG" when the "slaving" function isn't working right because the flux gate has gone bad or some other reason?
Click to expand...
As far as I know, you don't. Unlike with an analog King HSI, there's no manual adjustment that you the pilot can use to compensate for faulty slaving.
 
Can't help ya. I know far more about Fuxgate than Fluxgate. It was a scandal I was involved in with a bunch of college chicks.
 
azure said:
As far as I know, you don't. Unlike with an analog King HSI, there's no manual adjustment that you the pilot can use to compensate for faulty slaving.
Click to expand...

Correct. You don't have that option. It either slaves the gyro to the flux gate correctly or it fails. There's no mode to revert it into and no controls to set the DG without the whole system working.
 
denverpilot said:
So that'd make you the only one who hasn't? Haha. Lucky you! ;)
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I don't believe it is luck. I believe it is working with folks to understand the system instead of just saying "it's broke" and sending it in. Simple things like recalibrating the compass fix some odd behaviors. Other things have to do with installation problems in getting a digital system to work with legacy analogue systems. But of course it is easier to blame the Aspen and drive on...after all the problems didn't exist prior to installation.
 
denverpilot said:
So that'd make you the only one who hasn't? Haha. Lucky you! ;)
Click to expand...
Not sure if we're talking about Aspen or Sandel here, but in case it's Sandel, I haven't sent mine back to the factory either. The only component of the Sandel system that has failed on me is the projection lamp, and that was easily handled by the avionics shop. I've (so far) not had any of the King back-end stuff fail either - and that includes the fluxgate. Fingers crossed...
 
Damn. First saw one of these in a plane I was looking at. Seemed like a pretty nifty gadget. Lots of useful information in one spot. I don't like it though that you can't turn "slaving" off and set the DG yourself.
 
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