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Poor Starter Performance

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jgraupman

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I am struggling to nail down the core problem causing my poor starter performance. I am successful in starting the plane 95% of the time, but it usually takes several attempts to get the starter over the first compression stroke. I have owned the plane for less than a year and it had this condition when I bought it. The battery is brand new.

What are the "normal" losses are in the system? Across the battery terminals I am getting about 9.5 to 10 volts when the prop is turning and 9 volts when it stalls. There's a volt or more of loss through the master contactor and ground wire. By the time it gets up to the starter up front there's only about 7 volts left rotating and 5 when it stalls. Clearly not enough.

Any suggestions on how to narrow in on what will fix this?

Battery and Contactor.jpg


Starter.jpg
 

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