Loss of electrics

[Aeschylus]

I recently moved from FSX-SE to P3DV4. Much, much better.

One of the first planes to install in my new setup was the Bonanza, which performs well. The Comanche, however, has had a few problems. On first loading, it wouldn't stay still, and would catch fire, spark, flip continuously, and the shift-key windows would not open. Reinstalls didn't help. Deleting the Documents/A2A/FSX/Comanche250 (yes, FSX, despite there only being P3D on my system) seemed to allow the plane to load normally.

Though one problem seemed to be the current draw. It would draw 40amps with avionics on, all breakers closed, and and then flicker from 0 to negative 40. The battery would be rather depleted at the end of flight.

The latest flight, an evening flight into IFR, resulted in a complete loss of electrics ten minutes after takeoff. I knew I was over a plain and descended, levelled off under the overcast, flew magnetic compass and followed landmarks back to the originating airport, and (for the first time) used the manual gear extension mechanism. Fantastic.

Problem is, now the battery won't hold a charge even after replacing and overhaul. The avionics switch now just kills the battery instantly. Its like it shorts the battery and the breakers aren't operating. Can anyone help get my beloved Comanche back into action?

FSUIPC does not have Battery Extend enabled.

[Nick - A2A]

Hi Aeschylus,

Something definitely sounds a little odd there.

I think the first to check is if you're using the new installer for the P3Dv4 Comanche? If so, it should bring the installed version up to 18.12.31.0.

Thanks,
Nick

P.S. Installation of the the log.dat files to the "Documents/A2A/FSX" folder is normal for P3D only installations. This is to allow persistent aircraft to be shared between both platforms.

[Aeschylus]

Hi Nick

Thanks for the assistance

I purchased and downloaded the P3D Academic version of the Comanche on February 29th 2019. Not sure how to check the version I have installed, but I used the installer I bought on that date, and have run the updater.

[Aeschylus]

Sorry, that should have been February 11th, 2019. That was the date I purchased and downloaded the Comanche P3D installer.

[Nick - A2A]

Thanks for the added info Aeschylus (and yes, purchasing on 29th Feb 2019 would be a very neat trick indeed! )

This indicates you have the latest version of the installer which checks for updates at the end of installation and adds the rain effects, etc.

Firstly, you mention circuit breakers so I'm guessing that you've made sure they're all reset? (For example the generator breaker.)

If so, I'm wondering if the problem in your case is caused by the way the aircraft is loaded into the simulator. When you launch P3D, does a default P3D aircraft load with the default scenario? If not, or if you use an external utility of some sort to load the sim, this could explain the issue.

If this isn't the case, I recommend that you completely eliminate FSUIPC and then try reloading the Comanche. To remove FSUIPC, simple move the FSUIPC5.dll into a temporary folder before launching P3D.

If none of these steps help, please can you just confirm the file version number of the A2A_Accusim.dll located in "Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\A2A\Gauges".

Thanks,
Nick

[Aeschylus]

This indicates you have the latest version of the installer which checks for updates at the end of installation and adds the rain effects, etc.

The rain effects are amazing

Firstly, you mention circuit breakers so I'm guessing that you've made sure they're all reset? (For example the generator breaker.)

Yes, one of the first things I checked as I thought it might be a simulated alternator or charger circuit failure. Using the maintenance hangar and selecting "Overhaul", and selecting "Cold and Dark" from the shift-key panel, has no effect on the problem. As soon as I flip the avionic master switch on, it kills the battery.

Back then to the maintenance hanger, I see:
"Our battery appears to be shot!"
"Battery won't hold a charge."
"Battery is weak."

I tried this with the default GPS as well as the F1 GTN; same issue.

If so, I'm wondering if the problem in your case is caused by the way the aircraft is loaded into the simulator. When you launch P3D, does a default P3D aircraft load with the default scenario? If not, or if you use an external utility of some sort to load the sim, this could explain the issue.

I usually load the sim with the default aircraft (F22 Raptor), and just change the time and location. For this test, I used the Prepar3D Default scenario (F22, Elgin AFB I think, and whatever time is the default), and once there, changed the aircraft to the Comanche via the menu. Same problem as above. The battery dies upon closing the avionics master.

If this isn't the case, I recommend that you completely eliminate FSUIPC and then try reloading the Comanche. To remove FSUIPC, simple move the FSUIPC5.dll into a temporary folder before launching P3D.

Thanks for this suggestion - tried but no change.

If none of these steps help, please can you just confirm the file version number of the A2A_Accusim.dll located in "Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\A2A\Gauges".

18.12.19.0

[Nick - A2A]

Thanks for the detailed answers Aeschylus. I don't recall seeing this issue described before so please can you back up the entire contents of the "Documents\A2A\FSX\Comanche250" directory and then delete it to 'reset' the aircraft.

When you next run P3D, please can you load the aircraft in the usual way and check the maintenance hangar before engine start. Assuming nothing shows as faulty, please can you try an engine start/test flight and let us know if the problem returns.

Thanks,
Nick

[Aeschylus]

Thanks for the detailed answers Aeschylus. I don't recall seeing this issue described before so please can you back up the entire contents of the "Documents\A2A\FSX\Comanche250" directory and then delete it to 'reset' the aircraft.

Not a problem. Done.

When you next run P3D, please can you load the aircraft in the usual way and check the maintenance hangar before engine start. Assuming nothing shows as faulty, please can you try an engine start/test flight and let us know if the problem returns.

I did this - nothing showed up in the maintenance hangar. I tried an engine start and test flight. The avionics switch didn't kill the battery (progress!).

However, upon fitting all the accessories (drag reducing modifications) and setting the aircraft to "Used", I noticed that the primer wouldn't work. The knob would turn but it wouldn't extend in the usual way it would do with a left mouse click. It seems as a result, the engine wouldn't start. Auto-start would work. Upon "Reset" of the aircraft to a zero hour state, the primer still wouldn't work (and again, same when P3D was restarted).

Thanks for your patience with this.

[Nick - A2A]

Hmm - this is another very strange one. Again, I don't recall anyone ever reporting being physically unable to operate the primer with a mouse click.

Do you have any other P3D utilities installed Aeschylus which may be interfering with the P3D loading process or control inputs? And are there any notifications of SimConnect errors at the top of the screen when the scenario loads?

Thanks,
Nick

[Aeschylus]

Hi Nick

I have:
AccuFeel
FSUIPC5
Active Sky 2016
EZCAV2
FS Real Time (I haven't been running this recently however)
WXAdvantage (not configured to show with any of my A2A aircraft)



Thanks

[Aeschylus]

Nick,

Re SimConnect messages at the top of the screen. I started having these with some of my A2A aircraft (Comanche, Cherokee and Bonanza), in my previous FSX-SE install.

Following a reinstallation of Windows 10 and then the purchase of P3DV4, I haven't seen those messages since.

[Aeschylus]

Hi Nick,

Just wondering if you have any additional hints as to how we might get the primer working again. In the meantime I am using the autostart feature. Apart from the primer issue the aircraft seems to be working well.

The primer appears to make a slight (10 degree) rotation of the knob upon a left click or mouse wheel event, but then immediately jumps back to its original position. Right click does nothing. As mentioned, it does not extend and retract like it usually does when working properly.

Cheers

[Aeschylus]

FYI - reinstalled the plane (3rd time) and encountered a loss of electrical power and dead battery after a few minutes of flight.

[Nick - A2A]

Hi Aeschylus - apoloigies for the lack of replies during the last 5 days.

Reinstalling is not likely to help I'm afraid. We need to find out what it is on your system that's interfering with the normal operation of the product. From your list of add-ons, with the exception of FSUIPC none of them seems an obvious culprit, but any add-on such as ActiveSky which loads when the sim initialises could be involved. You mention ActiveSky 16, but I'm guessing you must mean ASP4, the version for P3Dv4?

In terms of 'resetting' the aircraft, I suspect deleting the log.dat files would have the desired effect. In the meantime, for primer operation, you could try using the default P3D key command "primer (lock)" or the FSUIPC "engine primer" function.

Another thing you could try is using this copy of the Comanche log.dat file from my own installation. Download and copy it to "Documents\A2A\FSX\Comanche250" and see if the problems you're encountering return when you load the aircraft.

Thanks,
Nick

[Aeschylus]

Hi Nick

Thanks for your response and getting back to me. Yes, you are correct in that I have the P3DV4 version of Active Sky. My mistake there.

On your suggestion I tried using the P3D key (I mapped to a joystick button for this test) for primer unlock. The effect was the same as using a left mouse click. It rotates a bit anticlockwise and then jumps back to its initial (locked) position, with no plunger extension. I noticed that if I make multiple rapid left mouse clicks on the primer knob, sometimes this allows it to extend a small amount before snapping back to its original locked position.

I think I forgot to mention that I am also running the Flight1 GTN. My apologies for this. It may have something to do with this whole problem.

Using the .dat file you provide, I ran some tests with varying results, shutting down and restarting P3D between tests. Once, the primer worked. Once also, the electrics appeard to work without excessive current draw from the avionics. Most of the times however, there was excessive current draw, or instant battery death, or the primer wouldn't work.

Thanks as always.