[Porsche-poor]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

On the 172 yesterday during the flight I noticed the alternator was not charging. The meter show a slight discharge. I unplugged the laptop from the power connection and just ran on laptop power. We turned off one of the radios to save power. I was not worried at all, worst case is we lose all the radios, and it is real easy to find our way back to the home airport. Now we get to have the alternator replaced. Little doubt, I could do it, but that it has to be done by a licensed mechanic to sign off the log book. If it was a alternator for my El Camino it is under 100 bucks. This will likely be 500 to 600 bucks plus the mechanics charge.

It is nice to know that the engine will keep running with a dead battery, and there are two redundant magnetos and either one will make the engine run just fine.

engines that continue to run while in the air is just a tad important.