The way 170's are wired, starter current doesn't go through the ammeter, and therefore can't be measured by it. Even if the starter is drawing 100 amps, and the generator is offline, you'd never see it on the ammeter. Generator/alternator current to recharge the battery DOES go through the ammeter, so I would think that a larger than normal REcharge rate after the generator/alternator comes online would me more indicitave of a hung starter (the same indication would be given if the battery was in poor condition). In any case, a light connected to the armature of the starter would eliminate the guesswork, IMHO.gahorn wrote:Immediately after starting many "cabin class" and larger airplanes, one of the "after start" checks is that the starter disengaged. On some airplanes, one way to do that check is to look at the generator output. If a large output (greater than normal battery re-charge rates), ...or in the case of our 170s, ... a larger than the normal 1-3 amp or so discharge rate of the ammeter... would indicate a large (huge actually) electrical draw. If there's not yet any avionics/lights turned on,...a large discharge in the vicinity of 10-20 amps or greater would indicate a huge electrical demand somewhere. Guess where. There's only one thing on these airplanes that draw more than taxi/lnding lites. ...cessna170bdriver wrote:...George, how does having a generator cause you to be able to read starter current on the ammeter? . ..
Miles
(An idling alternator might partially mask this large discharge.)
Miles