Align 2in1 possible reason for failure? Worth a look!

[Finless]

Ron Lund PM'ed me this link and asked me to review it. Upon reviewing it, it hit me that this could be a possible cause some have seen failures of the 2in1 (wont power on and appears dead).

You will see in his pictures that there is something that is causing corrosion on the switch contacts. Might be fuel exhaust, etc who knows... May be the fact the terminals are NOT gold plated, etc.... Either way this is worth a look and use of the contact cleaner at a minimum.


http://www.ronlund.com/align_2_in_1_regulator_fix.htm

Thanks for the tip Ron!!!!


Bob

[Mercuriell]

That's real interesting - might be worth some preventative action even if not having probs by spraying some electrical contact cleaner in - this seems to come as pure cleaner or cleaner with lube - the latter would seem ideal - would be nice to know the wiring of the cable - if mine breaks down I'll dissect it !

[NZ_Nitro]

or just buy a better quality unit? to be honest it would be a real concern should it fail in flight..... very dangerous

[ronlund]

Bob, Mercuriell,
I'm not sure contact cleaner would give the same results. That CorrosionX stuff is a unique product that won't harm anything except corrosion and it doesn't evaportate.

I think contact cleaner alone might work for a very brief period, but as soon as it evaporates, you're right back where you started.

Ron

[ronlund]

Originally Posted by snappa

or just buy a better quality unit? to be honest it would be a real concern should it fail in flight..... very dangerous

snappa,

I'm not trying to be a wiseguy here, but which part on one of these helicopters wouldn't be a real concern if it failed?

Almost any component in any model helicopter is subject to failure. There's not a servo, battery, receiver or switch out there that has never had a failure.

The 2 in 1 is in thousands of models and working perfectly in the vast majority. Just like you wouldn't fly with a servo that has stripped gears, I wouldn't fly if my regulator switch was acting up. You would replace the gears in the servo. I would bypass or squirt some CorrosionX in the 2 in 1 switch, then go fly.

[Mercuriell]

Originally Posted by ronlund

Bob, Mercuriell,
I'm not sure contact cleaner would give the same results. That CorrosionX stuff is a unique product that won't harm anything except corrosion and it doesn't evaportate.

I think contact cleaner alone might work for a very brief period, but as soon as it evaporates, you're right back where you started.

Ron

Take your points Ron - I was thinking of using the contact cleaner that leaves a protective residue BEFORE corrosion had set in as a preventative measure - shame how people love to bag Align products - I think they are good quality and considering the extent of usage I think there are very few problems

[ZzEther]

I read through the link on Ron's site, from Bob's post, and the part about a TV running submersed in a tank of corrosionx caught my eye, but I couldn't find the picture. That would be cool to see, got a link?

[jeffk]

Interesting indeed. I think my local gun shop carries CorrosionX so I'll have to pick some up and keep it on hand just in case. So far, my 2-in-1 is fine and doesn't drop out if wiggled, but it hasn't flown yet. Also, mine's on the muffler side of the frame so I wonder if the exhaust will affect it...

[ronlund]

I would definitely move it to the other side Jeff.

[TheBum]

Originally Posted by ronlund

I would definitely move it to the other side Jeff.

I agree, both from a fuel invasion perspective and from the perspective of potential burns from accidentally touching a hot pipe.

[DJC]

Originally Posted by DJC

OK I got the switch and that fancy carbon fiber mount for it. I called to talk to Ron but he was out, so being in a hurry I went ahead and winged it. I installed the switch and mount bracket and routed the wires through some of that braided wire proctor. There are 3 pairs of wires, the ones marked Tx and the Bat ends I clipped off. I did a continuity check on the black wires and flipped the switch to see if it turned on and off as I hoped for and I had it right. I opened the Align switch box (it has 4 screws holding it closed) and pealed the RTV off of the switch and connections as shown on Ron's Heliproz South web site. I bent and broke off the switch contacts and did the solder connection as shown. I put some RTV over the hole after reassembling the box. Next I cut the black wire that goes to the battery in the middle of it's length and soldered the ends to the black wires from the switch, a little shrink tube and that was that. The rest of the switch wire I just pushed inside the braided wire protector and zip tied it all to the base plate. I cut the corner of the fan shroud off for clearance for the wires and made sure that none of the wires would chafe or get pinched. I now feel a lot better. Ron is right my contacts looked good but they sure are weak looking to me. I'm not sure how big of a problem this is but I love that 2in1 reg. and now I don't have to worry about the cheezy little switch. Just my .02 cents

I had put this in the wrong place maybe.

[Nankin Hobby]

add another 2n1 to the list with a bad switch. I have been flying my current 600N for the whole summer and just finished gallon 5. I have always had a small tail twitch since the end of the first gallon. I dismissed it as the tail grips. When attempting to shut the switch off the other day I pressed it sideways (perpendicular to its normal motion) and the tail servo twitched like crazy. Mine must be corroded to.

[Tim Smith]

I took Bob.s advice and shoe goo'ed my switch and the ESC.works great so far.In fact it does such a nice job on wires that I even secured the balancing wires on my 6 cells for my EP 600. Thanks for the good advice BoB. Shoe works

[jeffk]

Heh, I replaced mine with an Arizona and a SwitchGlo before I had any issues with it. Anyone interested in a perfectly working Align 2-in-1?

[daddy/ben]

we have 3 units in three diff. heli"s no problems.

[trex90210]

we had the switch problem a number of months ago. Solution was to take the box apart, de-solder the switch from the PC board, the simply solder the 2 contacts to the permanent ON position then silicone up the resulting hole in the case. Turns on when we plug the 2-in-1 into the battery, Simple is good...

[brunsflyer]

running the 2n1 for about 100 flights no problems...please note after every flight i give the heli a quick wipe down and make sure the remote switch have no fuel on it.

i think peeps are leave oils or fuel on the switch and its getting inside and then that will give problems, i think!

but im very happy with my unit and it gives me no problems.

plus the 2n1 comes with the kit, why spend the extra money?

[clear4takeoff]

Good information guys. I'm still building my 600, and reading everything I can. I have never liked JST connectors and will be replacing both the battery and 2-in-1 connector with mini Deans before flight. I have seen JSTs cause glitches galore, don't want that on a big, high-powered heli for sure.

[Scotty T]

I bought the NSP package, do you think they fix this in the updated package or is this still an issue in the NSP?

[clear4takeoff]

I saw this post while building my 600n and decided having a fuel tank stopper and lines right over the remote switch case was not good. So I put in 2 standoffs, a piece of servo tray plastic, and ran the fuel line behind it. So far, no fuel residue on the switch case.