The problem was indeed the pressure sensor switch. Gear retract time is now
3-4 seconds total and smooth.

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During day one of my 2000 Saratoga's annual today my mechanic and I
observed the following problem. If anyone has some experience with this
or they have a mechanic that has experience with this I would love to hear
about it:

Here is a description of what we are observing:

1) Gear retraction is initiated with handle being placed into the
gear up position

2) Nose gear and main gear unlock and start retraction

3) Gear Unsafe light illuminates simultaneously with gear unlocks

4) In about 1-2 seconds, nose gear completes retraction first (this
is normal as far as what I have observed in the past both on my plane on
jacks and on observing others from the ground departing from airports)

5) Main gear comes up part way but hesitates until nose gear
completes retraction - again I believe this is normal

6) Main gear almost completes retraction in about 2 seconds after
nose gear - a few inches from being completely retracted - this is where
something has changed.

7) Pump Motor shuts off for approximately ¼ second

8) Pump Motor starts again for approximately ¼ second and gear moves
up a little more (maybe ½ inch to 1 inch)

9) Pump Motor shuts off again and restarts again 3-5 times in the
same pattern of quick off and ons before gear is completely retracted and
pump motor remains off

10) Gear warning light extinguishes about the time or slightly before
the pump motor shuts off for the last time


This process is very repeatable. Only the number of quick off-on cycles
of the pump varies slightly. The pump almost always remains off for many
minutes once the gear is completely retracted. The gear was left in the
up position for at least 5+ minutes at one point and we did not observe
any restart of the pump. We did observe a quick on-off cycle of the pump
perhaps 5 seconds after retraction during just one of 15-20 retraction
tests performed, but again, normally the pump would shut off after the
last cycle and remain off for many minutes during our testing.


Everything seems normal compared to what I have observed when we did the
annuals before except for the pump cycling off and on near the end of the
main gear retraction cycle. We have studied the hydraulic and electrical
schematics for the system and looks like there is a pressure limit switch
that is responsible for stopping the pump motor when the pressure reaches
approximately 1800 psi. This should occur after all the gear is retracted
and against the physical stops. We are theorizing that this switch or the
contactor that it operates could be faulty and prematurely stopping the
pump prior to the gear being completely retracted. If the switch opened
at a lower pressure for instance or cycled between opened and closed in a
lower pressure range then it was supposed to we are thinking that the
symptoms we are seeing would result. According to the maintenance manual
the switch is supposed to close at 200 to 400 psi and open at 1800 +/- 100
psi. We have looked all over for anything impeding the main gear
retraction and were not able to identify any hang-ups there. We have also
verified that adequate 5606 is available in the reservoir of the pump.


Again if anyone has some insights on my gear retract symptoms I would sure
like to hear about it. If you believe our theory about the pressure limit
switch being bad is unlikely and that it would be wiser to go down another
path I would also like to hear about that too. My mechanic and I will be
all over this tomorrow so if you know anything about this post what you
know.

- George