ACFT EQUIP PROB MALFUNCTION CREATES A PLT DISTR TASK AND DIVERSION TO ALTERNATE.

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JUN/FRI/94 I CONTACTED BRIDGEPORT FLT SVC AND LISTENED TO THE WX TAPE BRIEFING; WHICH INDICATED WX WAS VFR IN MY AREA. ALSO THE 2 CLOSEST ARPTS (WITHIN 25 MI) WERE VFR. I PROCEEDED TO ARPT; AND FOUND WX TO BE WHAT I ESTIMATED TO BE 3 MI AND 1000 FT VISIBILITY. THERE WAS A LIGHT FOG BANK; WHICH APPEARED TO BE MOVING AWAY FROM THE ARPT. AT XA50 PM; I DEPARTED RWY 24 CQX. UPON RETRACTING GEAR; I HEARD AN UNUSUAL SOUND; AND NOTICED THAT GEAR WAS NOT FULLY RETRACTED (BY OBSERVATION IN THE WINGTIP MIRRORS). IT SOUNDED LIKE THE GEAR MOTOR WAS STILL TURNING; AND I SMELLED AN ACRID ODOR IN THE COCKPIT. BY THIS TIME I WAS AT 11000 FT; AND I ENCOUNTERED A THIN LAYER OF FOG. WX WAS CLR AND SUNNY ABOVE. AS I STRUGGLED WITH THE MALFUNCTIONING GEAR; I FELT INSECURE AND DECIDED THE BEST THING TO DO WAS LAND ASAP. I ATTEMPTED TO LOWER THE GEAR AGAIN AS I CIRCLED THE ARPT. BY NOW; THE RWY HAD BECOME PARTIALLY OBSCURED BY FOG. THE GEAR WAS STILL MAKING ODD SOUNDS AND THE COCKPIT WAS GETTING WARM AND I STILL SMELLED THE ACRID SMELL. WHEN I FINALLY GOT THE GEAR LOWERED (3 GREEN LIGHTS INDICATING; AND THE VISUAL CHK IN THE MIRRORS); THE RWY WAS ALMOST TOTALLY OBSCURED BY FOG. THEREFORE; I CIRCLED WIDER TO SEE IF I COULD GET RWY VISIBILITY AGAIN BY FLYING UNDER THE FOG. I MADE SEVERAL CIRCLES OF THE ARPT; FLYING IN THE CLR; BUT COULDN'T GET CLR SIGHT OF THE RWY. I DETERMINED THAT THE BEST PROC WAS TO FLY TO HYA (NEAREST ARPT; RPTED CLR) AND LAND THERE. THE COCKPIT CONTINUED TO BE WARM; SO I RETRACTED THE GEAR; HOPING THAT IF SOMETHING WAS BURNING; IT WOULD BE SNUFFED OUT. I RPTED TO HYA TWR; AND REQUESTED TO MAKE A PASS FOR GEAR INSPECTION. I LOWERED GEAR AGAIN. THIS TIME THE GEAR DID NOT FULLY EXTEND. TWR RPTED THAT GEAR DOORS WERE OPEN BUT WHEELS WERE NOT DOWN. I THEN NOTICED THAT THE GEAR CIRCUIT BREAKER HAD POPPED. BY RESETTING IT I WAS ABLE TO LOWER THE GEAR. (3 GREEN LIGHTS AND VISIBLY DOWN BY THE MIRRORS.) I LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT; AND GNDED THE AIRPLANE UNTIL MONDAY. MECH PUT AIRPLANE ONTO JACKS AND FOUND MAJOR ELECTRICAL PROB CAUSING GEAR FAILURE. AFTER 4 DAYS OF TROUBLE-SHOOTING; PROB STILL NOT CORRECTED; WAITING FOR PARTS. IN MY EFFORTS TO STAY CLR OF FOG AND TO DEAL WITH THE GEAR PROB; I MAY HAVE INADVERTENTLY FLOWN BELOW PATTERN ALT. AT NO TIME DID I LOSE VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE GND UNDER ME; AND I DID NOT ATTEMPT TO FLY THROUGH FOG TO FIND RWY. IF I MISJUDGED VISIBILITY AT ARPT INITIALLY; THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF THERE WAS A RPTING SYS OTHER THAN JUST A VISUAL CHK. THERE IS EQUIP INSTALLED ON THAT ARPT FOR THIS PURPOSE; BUT IT HAS NEVER BEEN ACTIVATED; THEREFORE FLT SVC HAS NO INFO FROM IT.