ELT false activation

[JoeRuscito]

I turned my ACK E-04 ELT to armed for the first time today with the intention of testing the GPS data as per the ACK manual and as soon as I turned the switch to armed it started sending a distress signal. Called search and rescue and made them aware I am OK. Also Im in contact with ACK and they are helping me troubleshoot but dont have an answer yet they think it might be EMF. To that point my elt is mounted in the factory position (under turtle deck on the right side), My comm antenna is mounted on the plate behind the turtle deck, my ADSB/XPDR antenna is on the right plate behind the seat on the bottom of fuselage, Remote XPDR is on the left side of the turtle deck opposite the ELT but same position. The remote for the transponder is on the panel which means the cable is run under the center console with all the other things that go to the panel. I figured Id see what you guys thought or if any one has run into this issue. I assume everyones set up is similar from a wire routing position of components standpoint.

Thanks for the help!

[Delta Whisky]

Joe - have you checked the cable for a short? Were all other instruments off when the trouble occurred?

[JoeRuscito]

I did not check the cable for a short, seems unlikely but Ill take a look. I forgot to mention that it is intermittent. The first time it send the distress almost immediately, others it takes a few minutes. Once I had it armed and when I turned on the avionics it activated immediately, other times it does not. That being said, it does not activate when the avionics are all off. So I know its something interacting with it. But I cannot figure out what would cause it to be intermittent. I would think it if activates when I turn everything on it would always do so but that doesn't seem to be the case.

[GuppyWN]

I’d disconnect the remote switch and try it again.

[Shadowrider]

Test the theory if it is EMF. I have heard the transponder is very noisy and can cause issues. Have you tried turning off the transponder? Shut it off on the VPX and see if it the ELT activates again? I ran my ELT phone cable on the right side of the fueslage away from all other wires. How involved would it be to reroute you wire away from the transponder antenna and transponder antenna wire ?

[jiott]

I have been using the ACK E-04 for 7 years in my SS7 with no problems whatsoever. It is mounted behind the pilot on the side of the baggage compartment. The antenna is also in that same location just below the ELT.

[rv9ralph]

Joe,
Do you have a Garmin G3? In the past I had a friend that had a G3 and it tripped his ELT. I believe it had to do with the proximity of the transponder antenna coax. If you are having more issues, I can contact him to find the specifics. It has been a few years since he relayed the issue to me and I don't remember all the details.

Ralph

[JoeRuscito]

Thanks all, so far it looks like it may be the routing of the remote wire. I unplugged and seems to be working now. I have new wire on the way because rerouting would be a PIA! But I can cut the old wire and pull out no problem. So Ill try along the right side and see what happens. ACK also suggested tin-foiling (wrapping) the ELT to keep stray EMF out.

[jrevens]

My experience hasn’t been as long, but it is the same as Jim’s (jiott).

[bumsteer]

For Jim (jlott) and John (jrevens). I am considering using this ELT. Since it apppears the the remote switch and it's wiring contribute to or cause the problem and you gentlemen have not had problems, when you get a chance could you explain how you wired your system. Airtex now has a model in the same price range but from some reviews I've seen, it seems to come with its own problems including false activation. Thanks in advance.

Rick