PA-34 pilot reported an electrical failure during an IFR flight in VMC and continued to destination.

Narrative:

I was the PIC and sole occupant of the seneca which suffered an electrical failure on the way to ZZZ. I departed at XA00 on a flight to return two piper seneca 3's to ZZZ. I was preceded by a piper seminole; and followed by the second seneca. The pilots of all three aircraft were employees of our flight school but no flight training was being conducted during the flight. All aircraft were on IFR flight plans and our first leg was to ZZZ1. While talking to center; I lost all D.C. Electrical power. I got no warnings prior to the failure; everything in the cockpit just suddenly went dark. It was daylight and I was in VMC. I ran the appropriate checklists in an attempt to restore electrical power but was unsuccessful. I had navigation capability with an ipad with foreflight software and a handheld GPS. I attempted to call flight service on my cell phone but was unable to connect to an adequate signal. I knew the weather at my scheduled destination was VFR; that the runways were long; and that there were personnel there at the time (I had called the day before and they were expecting us). I considered diverting to another airport; but elected to continue to ZZZ1; via my cleared route; as it seemed like the most suitable airport. After arriving at ZZZ1; I over flew the field to check for traffic and determine landing direction; then circled east of the field to make one more attempt at the checklists. While circling (no more than 5 minutes); I saw the seminole that left before me on the visual approach. I preformed the emergency gear extension and followed him in. He saw me land and informed ATC that I was safely on the ground. The supervisor of center was on the phone with the FBO when I arrived and they were informed that I had an electrical failure. The supervisor said that no further information was required from me. I immediately contacted our chief flight instructor and informed him of our situation. The second seneca arrived a few minutes later. Upon inspection by an aircraft mechanic; it was determined that the battery was the failure point in the electrical system. A new battery was located and installed (there is a large maintenance facility at ZZZ1). After the appropriate tests by the mechanic; the aircraft was flown to ZZZ by another pilot with no further problems. I had switched aircraft with the pilot of the other seneca as he was an a&P mechanic and was better qualified to supervise repairs.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA-34 pilot reported an electrical failure during an IFR flight in VMC and continued to destination.

Narrative: I was the PIC and sole occupant of the Seneca which suffered an electrical failure on the way to ZZZ. I departed at XA00 on a flight to return two Piper Seneca 3's to ZZZ. I was preceded by a Piper Seminole; and followed by the second Seneca. The pilots of all three aircraft were employees of our flight school but no flight training was being conducted during the flight. All aircraft were on IFR flight plans and our first leg was to ZZZ1. While talking to Center; I lost all D.C. Electrical power. I got no warnings prior to the failure; everything in the cockpit just suddenly went dark. It was daylight and I was in VMC. I ran the appropriate checklists in an attempt to restore electrical power but was unsuccessful. I had navigation capability with an iPad with ForeFlight software and a handheld GPS. I attempted to call flight service on my cell phone but was unable to connect to an adequate signal. I knew the weather at my scheduled destination was VFR; that the runways were long; and that there were personnel there at the time (I had called the day before and they were expecting us). I considered diverting to another airport; but elected to continue to ZZZ1; via my cleared route; as it seemed like the most suitable airport. After arriving at ZZZ1; I over flew the field to check for traffic and determine landing direction; then circled east of the field to make one more attempt at the checklists. While circling (no more than 5 minutes); I saw the Seminole that left before me on the visual approach. I preformed the emergency gear extension and followed him in. He saw me land and informed ATC that I was safely on the ground. The supervisor of Center was on the phone with the FBO when I arrived and they were informed that I had an electrical failure. The supervisor said that no further information was required from me. I immediately contacted our chief flight instructor and informed him of our situation. The second Seneca arrived a few minutes later. Upon inspection by an aircraft mechanic; it was determined that the battery was the failure point in the electrical system. A new battery was located and installed (there is a large maintenance facility at ZZZ1). After the appropriate tests by the mechanic; the aircraft was flown to ZZZ by another pilot with no further problems. I had switched aircraft with the pilot of the other Seneca as he was an A&P mechanic and was better qualified to supervise repairs.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1407407
Time
Date	201612
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZME.ARTCC
State Reference	TN
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-34-200 Seneca I
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Electrical Power
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 30 Flight Crew Total 8475 Flight Crew Type 8
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe