So, I hand propped the engine and went back to the hangar for investigation. I immediately saw a long string abut 2 feet long hanging from under the panel, which turned out to be melted insulation. Closer inspection showed the ground wire from the ignition switch was void of insulation over 90% of its length, which was the source of the long string of melted insulation.
I also saw where the ground wire was touching the starter relay wire and had burned through that, which caused the breaker to trip. I had ran the ignition switch ground to the electric turn and bank negative side, which was already grounded. The T& B ground wire was also melted in several spots.
My guess is with the battery issue, the starter had stalled and pulled a lot of amps, which melted the ground wire from the ignition switch, which caused the other issues. Or maybe since the ground wire and starter relay wire were touching, vibration over the past 2 years had caused wear and eventually a short.
I stayed up late last night fixing the wiring issues. This morning I was up early and tested things. It worked great so I went for a short flight. So, I wonder if I really needed to replace the battery or not? I did see the alternator fail light illuminate momentarily a few times on the previous flight, which in hindsight was indication the starter relay wire was about to go. The starter relay drives the indicator light. I figured if it started hard this morning, then maybe it was the starter....but guess not. So, if any of you reading this have a great idea to explain the events, send me an e-mail!
White wire was ground from ignition switch
Also a piece of the insulation "string"
Black is ground from T&B
Yellow is starter relay
I have the yellow and white touching
as they were in the airplane
Let's try it!
Ammeter charging....covering the load of the radios
Figured I take a closeup
of the engine gauges, too
To prove I was in the air....El Dorado Lake
Deans's house
Justin's house
