Putting trim actuator motor to 12V

[RK772]

Newb question: ?m installing my trim actuator and need to run it to full nose up to test the required travel of my horizontal stab. After wiring the switch to the actuator, the instructions say to connect to a 12V battery to test. Can I do this without any breaker protection? Without buying a power supply, the only 12V batteries I have are car batteries. That sounds like a lot of potential amps.

[kitfoxrk]

You can test it for travel with a 9 volt alkaline battery. It'll run slow, but it will give you the travel

Bob

[RK772]

thank you. Worked perfectly

[pmpilot]

I used the 12v battery from my rotary tool, a couple paper clips, and some alligator wires.

[Billiken]

Follow up question for this thread. I was installing the trim actuator today and decided to test it before I got too far. I tried a 12v, a 9v, and a RC car battery. There is no movement in the motor. Do I need to wire the switch and test again or is the motor potentially bad? It seems like maybe a bad solder joint inside the housing but I?d rather swap it out than open it up. I don?t see anybody else complaining of a bad trim actuator which has me puzzled.

[alexM]

You do not need to wire in the switch. Just touching the wires to any
of those power sources should have made it move.
Bad motor or broken wire.

[bbs428]

Follow up question for this thread. I was installing the trim actuator today and decided to test it before I got too far. I tried a 12v, a 9v, and a RC car battery. There is no movement in the motor. Do I need to wire the switch and test again or is the motor potentially bad? It seems like maybe a bad solder joint inside the housing but I?d rather swap it out than open it up. I don?t see anybody else complaining of a bad trim actuator which has me puzzled.

If you have NO movement whatsoever when connecting a known good battery source to the leads of the motor, try reversing the polarity. Beyond that you could open it up and snoop around to find the reason, if you're comfortable with that. Wiring in a switch will not help if its DOA.

In my case the trim motor sat for 20 years and came to life immediately when energized. I tested mine before I installed it as well. I was concerned with its age and called Kitfox. John told me if it works, install it, if not, replace it. Very few ever have a problem.

It's a very important component, so it was smart of you to test it now to avoid a bigger problem down the road.

[Billiken]

You do not need to wire in the switch. Just touching the wires to any
of those power sources should have made it move.
Bad motor or broken wire.

Thank you Alex! I have a multimeter that of course I can?t find, but it?s probably the simplest piece of electrical equipment on the airplane. For that reason my tunnel vision just assumed it was a power source problem.

[Billiken]

If you have NO movement whatsoever when connecting a known good battery source to the leads of the motor, try reversing the polarity. Beyond that you could open it up and snoop around to find the reason, if you're comfortable with that. Wiring in a switch will not help if its DOA.

In my case the trim motor sat for 20 years and came to life immediately when energized. I tested mine before I installed it as well. I was concerned with its age and called Kitfox. John told me if it works, install it, if not, replace it. Very few ever have a problem.

It's a very important component, so it was smart of you to test it now to avoid a bigger problem down the road.

My Trim actuator has been sitting on my bench for 8 months. I did try to connect in both directions. There isn?t even the smallest amount of spark which leads me to believe something inside isn?t making contact. I?ve opened RC car motors before and there isn?t much to them. I have never had a problem with an electric motor before and typically they aren?t expensive enough to not just swap out. Magnets, copper wire and bearings. Just add electricity. I did move the jack screw to see if it was seized but it moves freely. Thanks for your help with this.

[Eric Page]

My trim motor sat in the back of a semi trailer for 20 years and wouldn't move when I tested it. I opened it up and found the commutator tarnished. I polished that with a pencil eraser, reinstalled the brushes (not easy, as I recall) and it works fine now.

Motor.jpg


Tarnish seems unlikely on a relatively new part. I'd give Kitfox a call and see if they'll just replace it.