TruTrak Vision 385

[Sdemeyer]

Today while taking advantage of the rare nice PNW weather my relatively new TruTrak 385 malfunctioned. "Gyro Set" appeared on the screen for a few seconds, the RV6 started wandering around the sky on its own and I could not shut off the AP without pulling the breaker. The AP disconnect button disconnected the AP for a few seconds but then it reengaged itself with no input from me! This was repeatable so I have to leave the circuit breaker pulled until I figure out what is wrong.

There does not appear to be too much MFG support from Bendix/King for these AP's. I'm not sure what could cause this? It has always worked fine for the last year or so up until now.

Any ideas?

Thanks! Scott

[bharral]

I Installed are used vizion 385 in my RV-4. I have not flown the AP for more than about 15 hours thus far, but my recollection is that Both the AP engage and Gyro set are activated respectively by press and press/hold of the knob on the AP face.

So the symptoms you encountered may be due to a faulty switch. if you are using a remote switch for this function, that should be easy to disconnect. If the symptoms disappear, you probably have a faulty remote switch. if the symptoms remain, the knob/switch in the AP head might be bad. In that case, it might be worth it to open the case an attempt to clean the switch with some combination of compressed air, contact cleaner, while exercising the switch.

You can buy decent switches in the range of $6 and up to $200 for military qualified switches. I would avoid no-name switches less than $6 for aircraft use.

[TruTrakAndrew]

The AP knob stuck in. It could just be a chance thing, or the encoder switch could be malfunctioning. If you see this happen, just pull back out (gently) on the knob and it will stop the gyro set.

You will need to do a gyro set (on purpose this time) to recenter the gyros. This should be done on the ground while stationary.

Originally Posted by Sdemeyer

Today while taking advantage of the rare nice PNW weather my relatively new TruTrak 385 malfunctioned. "Gyro Set" appeared on the screen for a few seconds, the RV6 started wandering around the sky on its own and I could not shut off the AP without pulling the breaker. The AP disconnect button disconnected the AP for a few seconds but then it reengaged itself with no input from me! This was repeatable so I have to leave the circuit breaker pulled until I figure out what is wrong.

There does not appear to be too much MFG support from Bendix/King for these AP's. I'm not sure what could cause this? It has always worked fine for the last year or so up until now.

Any ideas?

Thanks! Scott

[Badger46Q]

Hi all,

I had this exact same issue (AP turning on by itself, master disconnect working for a few seconds before AP engaging by itself again, AP trying to turn left) on an older Pictorial Pilot this week - it had sat for a few months, but was operating w/out issues previously.

I played around with the knob a bit, and it feels ok - I still have a good tactile response from clicking/looks like the clicks are registering. The display would change as well - decreasing from -1 to -90 while it's trying to turn left, and then miscellaneous F** codes (F43, F15,...). I can't find these anywhere in the manual, but has anyone else in the community seen something similar?

Thanks!
Matt