Strange Lights Issue

[Mick]

David and I are befuddled by an issue we're having with our current project. It involves the taxi lights.

We have a taxi light in the model and we have a taxi light switch on the panel. When David flips the switch the taxi light comes on. The bulb glows white and casts a beam onto the ground as it should. But when I flip the switch the bulb glows white but there is no beam cast upon the ground. When I hit the L key the taxi light works normally but not when I flip the switch.

All the other lights respond correctly for both of us when the switches are flipped.

Since we get different results from the same actions, we thought there must be something amiss in my FS9 settings, but I have perused the settings screens and can find nothing that looks as if it might be relevant except hardware rendered lights, which I have turned up all the way already.

David thought that maybe it was because my sims are set to start flights cold and dark, while his remains in the stock configuration. (If you don't recall after twenty years, straight out of the box FS9 is set to start flights with the engine running.) He wondered if it might have to do with the battery being switched on (we don't have a battery switch in our plane) but I started the engines and got the same results when I flipped the taxi light switch. To double check, I loaded the stock Cub, started the engine, and switched to our plane, but the taxi light continued to glow white but cast no beam.

If anyone has any ideas about what might be going on here we would be grateful to hear them!

[Sbob]

Mick, It almost sounds like the dreaded FS9 "dead battery" problem.
I had this issue give me fits on the Alphasim C-130.
I finally had to add four Generator switches and a Battery switch. Actually, I borrowed the Electrical panel from the Alpha/Virtavia B-1 so I could make sure I had power after shutting off the battery. Then, I could shut off the battery once the engines were running and I had at least one generator on-line.
Otherwise, most of my panel gauges and lights would crap out after about five minutes.
I also had to add a full Electrical section to the aircraft.cfg.

Are both of you running the FS9.1 patch?
Was your MDL file originally coded for FS2002 or CFS? That seems to make the battery problem more complex.

[Mick]

Thanks Bob,

Some of that's a bit over my head but I'll forward your comments to David if he hasn't already seen your post himself. What's really got us befuddled is how only the taxi light is affected, and that the digital "bulb" glows white when it's turned on, as it should, but it doesn't cast a beam onto the ground like the landing light does.

Also befuddling is how it works normally with the keyboard command but not with the panel switch. And why only the taxi light is affected. And why it works properly for David but not for me.

Yes, we both have the 9.1 patch.

[this4dave2]

Mick, It almost sounds like the dreaded FS9 "dead battery" problem.
I had this issue give me fits on the Alphasim C-130.
I finally had to add four Generator switches and a Battery switch. Actually, I borrowed the Electrical panel from the Alpha/Virtavia B-1 so I could make sure I had power after shutting off the battery. Then, I could shut off the battery once the engines were running and I had at least one generator on-line.
Otherwise, most of my panel gauges and lights would crap out after about five minutes.
I also had to add a full Electrical section to the aircraft.cfg.

Are both of you running the FS9.1 patch?
Was your MDL file originally coded for FS2002 or CFS? That seems to make the battery problem more complex.

Hi Bob:

The model was coded for FS2004 using FSDS 3.5. Mick sent me his model folder, panel folder, and aircraft.cfg and the taxi light works in my system as it should with the switch.

It appears to me that it has to be something with his FS9 settings.

any other suggestions would be appreciated.
David

[ViperPilot2]

Speaking of a 'strange' Lights issue... I have the Carenado Cessna 185, and for some reason I cannot seem to get the Lights to work! All of the [lights] Entries appear to be correct, and all of the Light Effects for the 185 are present. Other than that, the rest of the Airplane functions fine. Any clues?

Thanks!