Narrative:

Preflighted plane with no issues noted; tanks were full; engine; prop and air surfaces all checked and in proper order. When attempting to start the plane; I had great difficulty in getting the engine to catch. I unsuccessfully attempted to start the engine for a considerable period of time and decided to let it sit. Tried to start the engine again 30 minutes later and it finally caught just before I was going to abandon efforts. I am not sure if this was an early warning of the impending power failure that occurred in flight. I will be discussing this with the mechanic who will be working on the plane. After start-up; I performed the pre-takeoff checklist and noted that the ammeter was charging; though less than I would have thought after running the battery so low. All other indicators were fine; no abnormal readings in engine; gyroscopic or electrical equipment. Pre-departure run up was fine. Made my radio calls (including ATIS) and departed on runway 6. Takeoff was normal; no sign of engine or electrical problems. After getting airborne; I attempted to retract my gears. Upon doing so; the gear indicator lights dimmed significantly and my radios diminished to barely audible even though they continued to operate. My VOR was oscillating wildly. I was not sure if the gear retracted or not and I was trying to trouble shoot the situation. I checked fuses; cycled the altitude/bat switch checked the ignition status all in an effort to assess the situation. From my flight plan; I realized I would be approaching class B space so I embarked on a turn to the south as I continued to work on the situation. Upon recycling the altitude/bat switch or pressing in circuit breakers (though none were popped) I regained what I thought was full electrical power. My radios returned to normal and the gear-up indicator showed that gear had completely retracted. My transponder was set to altitude 1200 at departure so I assumed it was also operating (though probably intermittently) I glanced once again at my altimeter and saw I was approaching 4;000 ft. I knew there was a 3;000 ceiling in my vicinity and immediately descended to 2;500. I continued to the south to pick up my course and promptly had an intermittent power failure once again. This time my radios were barely audible and my VOR (as before) was acting extremely erratic. I avoided class C airspace visually and continued south following the interstate knowing there were plenty of airports in the vicinity I could divert to (and I had my sectional open and available). I selected the diversion airport because of its rural countryside in the event I could not retract my gears; there was absolutely no power to the plane at this time. I was squawking 7600 at this time but not sure if the signal was getting out. I safely completed an emergency landing (landing gear gravitational deployment) and was able to park the plane until I could arrange for help. An a&P will be working on the plane this week to assess the cause and properly repair the plane. I promptly called a FAA office upon landing but it was not staffed on the holiday. I did not keep situational awareness as I was trouble shooting my departure problem. Though I felt I handled the situation in the plane adequately; I nonetheless put undue stress on the class B controllers by intruding (I believe) in their airspace. For that; I believe I failed in my emergency procedures and will definitely not allow for that to occur again. I needed to keep the safety of others utilizing the airspace in mind as well. Therefore; I recognize this as a huge learning experience and know I will react more professionally in the event a similar problem occurs in the future. Through my training; including recent CFI dual time; I understood the capability of the plane in this condition; that the magnetos supplying electrical power to the engine are an independent system; and that I had adequate time to make good decisions. I therefore made the decisionto divert to a more rural airport to avoid needlessly tying up a more extensively used facility in the event of a gear up landing.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A PA28-200 electrical system failed in flight. The pilot entered Class B airspace while trouble shooting the problem.

Narrative: Preflighted plane with no issues noted; tanks were full; engine; prop and air surfaces all checked and in proper order. When attempting to start the plane; I had great difficulty in getting the engine to catch. I unsuccessfully attempted to start the engine for a considerable period of time and decided to let it sit. Tried to start the engine again 30 minutes later and it finally caught just before I was going to abandon efforts. I am not sure if this was an early warning of the impending power failure that occurred in flight. I will be discussing this with the mechanic who will be working on the plane. After start-up; I performed the pre-takeoff checklist and noted that the ammeter was charging; though less than I would have thought after running the battery so low. All other indicators were fine; no abnormal readings in engine; gyroscopic or electrical equipment. Pre-departure run up was fine. Made my radio calls (including ATIS) and departed on Runway 6. Takeoff was normal; no sign of engine or electrical problems. After getting airborne; I attempted to retract my gears. Upon doing so; the gear indicator lights dimmed significantly and my radios diminished to barely audible even though they continued to operate. My VOR was oscillating wildly. I was not sure if the gear retracted or not and I was trying to trouble shoot the situation. I checked fuses; cycled the ALT/BAT switch checked the ignition status all in an effort to assess the situation. From my flight plan; I realized I would be approaching Class B space so I embarked on a turn to the south as I continued to work on the situation. Upon recycling the ALT/BAT switch or pressing in circuit breakers (though none were popped) I regained what I thought was full electrical power. My radios returned to normal and the gear-up indicator showed that gear had completely retracted. My transponder was set to ALT 1200 at departure so I assumed it was also operating (though probably intermittently) I glanced once again at my altimeter and saw I was approaching 4;000 FT. I knew there was a 3;000 ceiling in my vicinity and immediately descended to 2;500. I continued to the south to pick up my course and promptly had an intermittent power failure once again. This time my radios were barely audible and my VOR (as before) was acting extremely erratic. I avoided Class C airspace visually and continued south following the Interstate knowing there were plenty of airports in the vicinity I could divert to (and I had my sectional open and available). I selected the diversion airport because of its rural countryside in the event I could not retract my gears; there was absolutely no power to the plane at this time. I was squawking 7600 at this time but not sure if the signal was getting out. I safely completed an emergency landing (landing gear gravitational deployment) and was able to park the plane until I could arrange for help. An A&P will be working on the plane this week to assess the cause and properly repair the plane. I promptly called a FAA office upon landing but it was not staffed on the holiday. I did not keep situational awareness as I was trouble shooting my departure problem. Though I felt I handled the situation in the plane adequately; I nonetheless put undue stress on the Class B controllers by intruding (I believe) in their airspace. For that; I believe I failed in my emergency procedures and will definitely not allow for that to occur again. I needed to keep the safety of others utilizing the airspace in mind as well. Therefore; I recognize this as a huge learning experience and know I will react more professionally in the event a similar problem occurs in the future. Through my training; including recent CFI dual time; I understood the capability of the plane in this condition; that the magnetos supplying electrical power to the engine are an independent system; and that I had adequate time to make good decisions. I therefore made the decisionto divert to a more rural airport to avoid needlessly tying up a more extensively used facility in the event of a gear up landing.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.