John
Junior Member
Posts: 74 
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Post by John on Aug 9, 2017 23:15:46 GMT
Both Pitch and roll servos are the same Garmin product. The autopilot sorts out which is which.
My Pitch Servo needs to be replaced. Garmin sent me a replacement Servo. My local A&P has asked where the Pitch Servo is located. I assume it's under one of the seats. Any advice on location and procedure?
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Post by Ed Midgley on Aug 9, 2017 23:48:15 GMT
On my P2008 it is under the pilots seat.
Ed
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John
Junior Member
Posts: 74
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Post by John on Aug 10, 2017 0:08:18 GMT
Thanks Ed. I posted this request from my iPhone at my hangar. I plan on doing the work tomorrow. I was hoping someone has done this before and could make a suggestion or two. I should have identified the aircraft. It's a 2016 - P2008. I'm going to help the mechanic by removing the seat. It's not real clear just how that seat comes out.
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Post by Ed Midgley on Aug 10, 2017 2:36:05 GMT
On the front of the inner seat rail is a Phillips screw and oversized washer. Remove them and the seat will slide off forward. Remove the sheet metal cover under the seat. I don't remember if you will see the motor then or have to remove an access panel.
Ed
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timb
Full Member
Posts: 117
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Post by timb on Aug 10, 2017 2:43:24 GMT
John, Iv'e had my P2008 seats out several times. On the front end of one of the seat runner tracts there's a washer with a phillips head screw thru the center, remove it and while holding the slide lever the seat should slide forward off the tracts. Sometimes it takes a little force.
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John
Junior Member
Posts: 74
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Post by John on Aug 10, 2017 3:49:05 GMT
Ed & Timb, thank you both. Great information. That's what I was hoping for. After I replace the Garmin GSA 28 Servo (assigned to pitch) Garmin Tech Suport says "Go fly." The A&P that's helping me has asked me to get documentation from Garmin on what ground tests need to be performed prior to flight. Only after such tests are done will he sign off on the switch. I'll call Tech Support in the morning and request any such instruction, or a policy statement that no tests are necessary.
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Post by Glenn on Aug 10, 2017 12:20:46 GMT
John,
I'm pretty sure the post installation checks are in the G3X Touch Installation Manual.
I tried to attach it but it's too large.
Glenn
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Post by Cluemeister on Aug 10, 2017 18:59:15 GMT
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John
Junior Member
Posts: 74
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Post by John on Aug 11, 2017 2:11:39 GMT
An A&P friend and I spent a few hours today replacing the pitch servo in my P2008. The roll servo is under the pilot's seat. The Pitch servo is between both seats, so both seats and the center console need to be removed to gain access. While I had the seats out I cleaned the rails with lacquer thinner, then greased them with white lithium grease. The seats slide quite well now.
Prior to reinstalling the seats I called Garmin Tech support just to have them hold my hand while we went through Configuration mode making sure both servos met the spec. They met the spec and so we installed the seats. I called tech support again upon completion and the tech rep guided me through a couple of tests. With the autopilot slaved to heading, the servos seemed to follow the directions I turned the heading bug. There was, however, one glitch. At one point I turned the heading bug far left and the stick moved left. I then moved the heading bug right. This particular time the stick remained left. I tried to move the stick to the right. It was quite difficult. I was afraid I'd brake something. The forces required far exceeded the 50% torque setting for that servo. I'm still scratching my head over that one. The tech rep didn't seem too concerned about that incident. Please comment Tecnam pilots.
I cut the tech rep loose and spent a while downloading the NavData update. Upon completion I decided to run the heading bug test again. This time I got the same message that started this whole thing "Pitch Servo Hardware Fault." After I changed my diaper I called Tech Support again. I got the same rep, Jon C. Jon says, "Well I guess we can rule out pitch servo as the problem." Jon said if the servo is not bad, then it has to be a ground problem, a current problem, or some other electrical problem. He said he would add this piece of manure to my pile that Garmin Engineering is trying to troubleshoot.
After I got off the phone with Jon I got to thinking. If it's an electrical problem, that electrical problem would have to account for the pitch servo going rouge at least three different times during flight. I would be at altitude with the autopilot holding altitude and course. Then all of a sudden the aircraft starts to climb at a fairly aggressive rate. My response was to turn off the autopilot, wait a minute, then reset the course and the autopilot. Problem solved. Is it possible for a servo to go rouge because of some electrical abnormality? I sent an email to Jon posing that same question to him.
Tecnam Customer Support has been made aware of this recent development. I told them that Garmin thinks the problem could very well be a wiring problem, which one would hope would be covered under Tecnam warranty. Anyone been down this road before?
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John
Junior Member
Posts: 74
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Post by John on Aug 11, 2017 2:18:28 GMT
The servos are slaved to the autopilot. How can they move on their own? That's got me thinking that the autopilot should be suspect? Any thoughts?
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John
Junior Member
Posts: 74
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Post by John on Aug 11, 2017 16:48:32 GMT
The plot thickens. I just flew to Truckee, CA. No problems at all everything worked beautifully. No hardware faults. Altitude 1,000' at departing airport. Altitude 5,900' at destination airport. 9,500' cruise to clear the mountains.
I entered a flight plan including 6,500' altitude. I hand flew the aircraft to 6,500' and kept it on course for a while. Then I let the autopilot take over. Flew watched and observed for about 10 minutes. All good. Then I dialed in 9,500' and about 200' per minute cruise climb. All good. The aircraft climbed to the correct altitude and the autopilot switched to ALT and held. On descent I did something similar. All good. I switched the autopilot to HDG and used the heading bug to enter my downwind. All good. I hit the trim, disengaging the autopilot and landed. All good. Go figure!
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John
Junior Member
Posts: 74
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Post by John on Sept 3, 2017 14:31:39 GMT
Just an update. Several flights later and no pitch servo problems. One thing I didn't mention in these prior posts is that when I removed the old pitch servo I couldn't help but notice that the multi-pin wiring harness that plugs into the pitch servo was somewhat loose. The two screws that secure it in place were at best hand tight. Garmin Tech Support told me that they don't test faulty servos when they are returned under warranty, so we may never know if the pitch servo was at fault. All that time, there's a chance that the problem was a loose wiring harness. I suppose the moral of the story is: If you have any reason to remove your seats, check the multi-pin wiring harnesses on the pitch servos. Make sure the screws that secure them in position are snug.
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Post by Ed Midgley on Sept 4, 2017 3:56:50 GMT
Sorry I misled you on the location. It's been a while since I was in there.
Ed
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Post by Cluemeister on Sept 24, 2017 13:04:44 GMT
Headed out yesterday morning, and when we got out of Class C airspace, went to turn on the autopilot. Didn't turn on, and a flashing message indicator. Pressed the message indicator, and a pitch servo failure message appeared. I'll be checking the wiring harness first, and then a call into Garmin.  |
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Post by alan1234 on Sept 24, 2017 15:45:01 GMT
Had a roll servo fault on my 2017 Astore. Spoke to Garmin and they are sending two new servos under warranty. Apparently there was a bad batch. Plane was built first of the year.
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