- Joined
- Oct 31, 1996
- Posts
- 1,482
- Type aircraft owned
- Carbon Cub FX-3
- Base airport
- KFCI
- Ratings
- COMM, IFR, MEL, SEL
The thought came to mind this morning, how many of us may have a degraded TCW IBBS battery and not realize it? My thought about the IBBS until recent discussions and education on this forum was "who cares" it's just a backup for the G3X and some planes don't even have it in the CubCrafters lineup I'm told such as the XCub circa 2021 when I was having IBBS issues. After learning about alternator failure procedures from @Cactus Charlie in other threads I realize that the IBBS usage can be crucial in an alternator failure scenario in preserving the starter battery for electronic ignition, etc.
I personally have never tested my TCW IBBS battery but I am aware of the voltage on startup and in flight use. The other side of this that applies to me is storage as I go on RV trips that last 3-4 months at a time typically. I initially looked at the IBBS 2AH documentation and it mentioned not to let the battery go unused (uncharged) for more than 3 months, however, the 3AH documentation states 9 months. I happen to have the ground charger purchased from TCW which I've yet to use when my last plane had the IBBS in use issue for 6 months until I found the wire disconnected from the breaker one day. It would be painful to connect the charger from having to remove the right forward panel but also getting the serial connector off the battery and installing the ground charger connector, so I hope to never have to use it, but I have it.
So the question is, is your TCW IBBS battery good? I believe the lifespan of the battery is advertised to be 6 years? There are plenty of cubs (at least) out there with IBBS batteries over 6 years old. Have you considered it's time to change yours? Or at least endurance test it?
There are a lot of "moving" parts to consider in aircraft ownership and the batteries of which the FX-3 has three need to be properly understood, maintained, tested, and/or replaced. In the Air Force I had the luxury of a crew chief and a maintenance squadron that took care of everything. In 2021 I became a first time aircraft owner which very little education or guidance on how to use and maintain my plane provided by the manufacturer. A very scary thought and this is why I've been frantically educating, learning, etc. all I can about the systems of the plane I'm responsible to maintain. Don't be complacent, learn your plane, maintain it properly.
I personally have never tested my TCW IBBS battery but I am aware of the voltage on startup and in flight use. The other side of this that applies to me is storage as I go on RV trips that last 3-4 months at a time typically. I initially looked at the IBBS 2AH documentation and it mentioned not to let the battery go unused (uncharged) for more than 3 months, however, the 3AH documentation states 9 months. I happen to have the ground charger purchased from TCW which I've yet to use when my last plane had the IBBS in use issue for 6 months until I found the wire disconnected from the breaker one day. It would be painful to connect the charger from having to remove the right forward panel but also getting the serial connector off the battery and installing the ground charger connector, so I hope to never have to use it, but I have it.
So the question is, is your TCW IBBS battery good? I believe the lifespan of the battery is advertised to be 6 years? There are plenty of cubs (at least) out there with IBBS batteries over 6 years old. Have you considered it's time to change yours? Or at least endurance test it?
There are a lot of "moving" parts to consider in aircraft ownership and the batteries of which the FX-3 has three need to be properly understood, maintained, tested, and/or replaced. In the Air Force I had the luxury of a crew chief and a maintenance squadron that took care of everything. In 2021 I became a first time aircraft owner which very little education or guidance on how to use and maintain my plane provided by the manufacturer. A very scary thought and this is why I've been frantically educating, learning, etc. all I can about the systems of the plane I'm responsible to maintain. Don't be complacent, learn your plane, maintain it properly.
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