R25101 Rev A, R25102 Rev A ACU: Trouble-Shooting the System

Alt Field BUS Alt Out

Flickering / oscillating ammeter and panel lights. 5A A 40A-
100A
B
Check the 5 Amp breaker, ALT switch, OV Relay and Alt Sw A
+
connections between the bus and the OV Relay’s output C Bat
Bat
Relay
for high resistance and or intermittent connection. Bat Sw
OV Relay Red 2 D
No voltage regulation Black
LV-OV
L Light Bat
With the master switch on and Battery voltage measured V25101 or Fld
on the OV Relay output: Look for Bus voltage on the Equivalent Blue 1
E
F ALT
ACU/Regulator input and out put. 1-Red 2-Blue Black
• If the ACU input has no Bus voltage, look for a bro- ACU/
ken wire between the ACU and the OVR. WIRING DIAGRAM Regulator Fig 1
• If bus voltage is greater than the input voltage by
more than 0.2V, look for & correct the device (5A
breaker, Alt switch, OVR or connection or wire) that Turning on the master switch (Alt & Bat) applies battery
is causing it. voltage to the Bus and ACU input.
• If the ACU output voltage is 0 and the input has bat- Refer to figure 1. Take all voltage measurements at test
tery voltage, look for a grounded alternator field or points A, B, D and E referenced to ground.
field wire. If the field resistance is correct as shown
in step 5 on page 2/2, send the ACU in for test/repair. A. __________ Volts. B. _________ Volts
• If the TSL is Red, repair the field ground fault or re- D __________ Volts. E. _________ Volts
place the alternator. F __________ Volts. Fld. _________ Volts
• If the output voltage is the same as the input voltage,
look for an open alternator field or field wire. If the The voltages measured at A, B, D and E should be equal,
field resistance is higher than what is shown in step 5 about 24-26V. The voltage on F (field or ACU output)
on page 2/2, send the alternator in for test/repair. If will be 0.5 to 2V less than the voltage at A, B, D or E.
the field resistance is correct, send the ACU in for If the voltage at A is 0.2V or more than that on D, check
test/repair. the 5 Amp breaker, ALT switch, and connections between
the bus and D for high resistance or open circuit. A high
Alternator carries only about half its rated output. resistance between A and D may lead to flickering am-
For example, a 70A 24V alternator has a 28V output with meter and panel lights. An open circuit between A & D
about 30A load on it. When the load is increased to 40A, will not allow current to get to the ACU and no current to
the bus voltage drops to 22 to 26V, indicating an the alternator’s field, resulting in no voltage regulation.
alternator that is current limiting because it cannot handle When there is no voltage regulation, the Bus voltage re-
the load. mains at battery voltage (about 24V).
An open stator wire or open diode in the alternator will
make the alternator only able to carry about half its rated If the voltage on the Field is 0.3V less than the voltage F,
output. The same thing may happen if there is dirt, oil or check for poor connection or open circuit between the
poor contact between the brushes and the slip rings, as ACU output and the alternator Field. If the resistance be-
well as, if the output circuit breaker has bad contacts, tween the Field and pin 2 higher than 0.5Ω, the alternator
high resistance, or poor connections to it. may not carry its rated load, showing a symptom similar
one where there is an open stator wire or open diode in the
Bus voltage drops with load increase alternator.
To solve this problem, see Alternator carries only
If the voltage on F or the field is close to 0, check for a
about half its rated output. This problem is
ground short on the alternator field or wire from pin 2 of
sometimes due to belt slippage, wrong alternator the ACU. If there is a field-to-ground short, the ACU will
output wire size, or poor connection or contacts. turn itself off & turn its built-in Trouble-Shooting Light
Trouble-Shooting continued on page 2/2 (TSL) Red.

By Femi G. Ibitayo 10/13/09 1622 E. Whaley St., Longview, TX 75601. USA

©2009, ZFTRONICS, Tovya Group Inc Ph: 903-758-6661; Fax: 903-236-9766. E-mail: ecss@zeftronics.com ZEFTRONICS
R25101-2A-TSN Pg 1/2 Ph: 1-800-362-8985. Web Site: www.zeftronics.com Electrical Charging System Solutions
 R25101 Rev A, R25102 Rev A ACU: Trouble-Shooting the System
Alt Field BUS Alt Out OUR GOAL IS TO HELP YOUR SYSTEM OPERATE BETTER
5A 40A- AND HELP YOU TO UNDERSTAND ITS OPERATION.
100A
Alt Sw A
+ Bat
General installation and trouble-shooting tests
Bat Relay

Red 2 Bat Sw 1. Read this document and the installation document.

OV Relay 2. Check for and replace open, frayed, or broken wires. Clean
LV-OV
Black L Light Bat thoroughly or replace corroded, dirty, or oxidized connec-
V25101 or Fld tions, terminals, contact, or poorly soldered wire junction.
Equivalent Blue 1 3. Check for Open or Ground-shorted alternator field. Most 24V
ALT
alternators have 10-18Ω field resistance. Ground shorted
1-Red 2-Blue Black alternator field will damage most Voltage Regulators/ACU.
ACU/ Repair or replace an alternator has a field to ground short, do
WIRING DIAGRAM Regulator not connect the ACU to it.
4. With the engine off: Check voltage drops across the Field, Alt
switch, Alt field circuit breaker and ACU. High voltage-drop
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS means excessive junction resistance and will lead to many
When the master switch is turned on, battery voltage is problems like: fluctuation ammeters, charge-meters and
applied to the input of the alternator controller/voltage panel lights.
regulator through the Over-Voltage Relay (OVR). 5. Perform and record the following tests with the Master
Switch Off: Measured Typical Values
The current passing through the voltage regulator is ap- A. Field resistance at ALT __________Ω 10* – 18Ω
plied to the field of the alternator. Without the engine run- B. Field resistance at ACU __________Ω 10* – 18Ω
ning, the field voltage is typically 0.5-2V less than the bus C. Field SW resistance __________Ω 0 – 0.1Ω
or battery voltage. D. Field C/BKR resistance __________Ω 0 – 0.05Ω
E. ALT Out C/BKR resistance __________Ω 0 – 0.05Ω
Voltage Regulation. When the engine is running, the 6. Perform and record the following tests with the Master
voltage regulator keeps the bus voltage constant by Switch On: Measured Typical Values
controlling the alternator’s field current: increasing it A. BUS Voltage Engine Off __________V 24 – 26V
when the system load increases and decreasing it when the B. ACU input pin 3 Voltage __________V 24 – 26V
load drops.The regulated bus voltage is normally about C. Field Voltage __________V 0.5-2V <VBus
28V unless the alternator is self-current limiting1 or if 7. If all tests are correct to or per steps 5 & 6, run the engine at
1800 RPM and record: Measured Typical value
there is voltage drop in the alternator field circuit breaker,
A. Bus voltage, R25101 Rev A __________V 27.5 – 27.9V
alternator switch, OV Relay2, or wiring and connections
B. Bus voltage, R25102 Rev A __________V 28.5 – 28.9V
between the bus and the red wire on the control unit/ C. Bus voltage with load, R25101 __________V 27.5 – 27.9V
voltage regulator. Voltage drops across the different com- D. Bus voltage with load, R25102 __________V 28.5 – 28.9V
ponents and connections occur when current, up-to 2
Amps in some instances, passes through the resistance * Some alternators may have field resistance as low as 6Ω
built-up in them. The resistance build-up often causes
flickering ammeter and instrument panel lights. Zeftronics’ A25N01 ACU (27.7V) combines in one unit the functions of
the R25101 Rev A and the OVR into one unit plus an external Low/OV/
Field-to-Ground Short Protection. Should the field-to-ground short indicator output. The A25N02 ACU (28.8V) com-
alternator's field become shorted to ground (the reason bines in one unit the functions of the R25102 Rev A and the OVR into
one unit plus an external Low/OV/field-to-ground short indicator output.
most Voltage Regulators fail), the field-to-ground short These A25N01 and A25N02 ACU are OEM (O & N aircraft) units.
protector will deactivate the Voltage Regulator, and
The R25400 ACU also replaces the R25101 & R25102 with internal OVR.
switch on the unit's RED field-to-ground short indicator.
The ACU R25S01 replaces the R25101 & R25S02 the R25102. They
Trouble-Shooting Light (TSL). The TSL on the unit is have internal OVR.
designed to alert the user to the condition of the
Alternator / ACU system. The light is normally off. Trouble-Shooting continued from page 1/2
Red TSL, with master switch on indicates a ground short
If the LV light does not come on with only the Bat side of
in the alternator field or controller to field wiring.
the Master switch on, disconnect the Reg/ACU and OV
1
self-current limiting—Internal characteristics of the alternator that Relay. Ground pin 1 of the airframe side of the Reg/ACU
causes it to limit its current and voltage output at a given speed. connector. With pin 1 grounded, the LV-OV light should
2
OV Relay—OverVoltage Protection Relay opens its normally come on. If it does not, the LV-OV lamp is bad or there is
closed contacts when the bus voltage exceeds the OV trip point. an open circuit on the line from the Bus to/from the lamp.

By Femi G. Ibitayo 10/13/09 1622 E. Whaley St., Longview, TX 75601. USA

©2009, ZFTRONICS, Tovya Group Inc Ph: 903-758-6661; Fax: 903-236-9766. E-mail: ecss@zeftronics.com ZEFTRONICS
R25101-2A-TSN Pg 2/2 Ph: 1-800-362-8985. Web Site: www.zeftronics.com Electrical Charging System Solutions