Monday, January 28, 2013

787 battery fires

A front page piece in the Wall St Journal on the 787 battery problems.  After three weeks of investigating they haven't been able (or willing) to point a finger at the problem.  "Laboratory tests have not produced any 'significant findings'". 
  There is one interesting fact that has not been published.  There were battery chargers aboard those two 787s.  Did they survive the fires?  If so, are they working properly now?  When bench tested, did they pass all requirements properly?
The battery charger takes electricity from the aircraft generators and charges the batteries at the right rate and stops charging when the batteries reach full charge. Failure of the battery charger can overcharge the batteries which can cause the fires.  If the battery chargers are OK, then it points a finger at the battery itself.  If the battery charger is defective, then that points the finger elsewhere.
   Meanwhile Boeing and Boeing's customers are loosing money.

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