ELECTRICAL FAILURE AND LOSE COM. REGAINED COM WITH EMER AVIONICS.

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ON A REPOSITIONING FLT FROM CHICAGO-MIDWAY TO WAUKEGAN; NOTICED IMMEDIATELY AFTER TKOF THAT AVIONICS WERE BEHAVING POORLY -- RADIOS HAD MUCH STATIC AND VOR'S WERE INTERMITTENTLY LOSING SIGNAL. ALSO ELECTRIC ALTIMETER THAT GIVES SIGNAL TO AUTOPLT WAS JUMPING OCCASIONALLY CAUSING AUTOPLT; WHEN ENGAGED; TO MAKE RAPID ALT CHANGES. I THUS DISENGAGED AUTOPLT. UPON BEING TOLD TO EXPECT VECTORS FOR ILS RWY 23 AT WAUKEGAN; I NOTICED THAT #1 NAV WAS NO LONGER ABLE TO RECEIVE ANY SIGNAL. SINCE THIS IS NAV CONNECTED TO PLT'S HSI; I TOLD ATC OF PROB TO SEE IF ALTERNATE APCH WAS POSSIBLE. UPON BEING GIVEN VECTORS TOWARD WAUKEGAN APCH; ATC NOTIFIED ME THEY HAD LOST XPONDER; THEY THEN SAID THEY COULD NOT HEAR ME ANY MORE. SHORTLY THEREAFTER; RADIOS WENT COMPLETELY DEAD AND I WAS UNABLE TO HEAR OR SPEAK TO ATC ON EITHER COM. I ALSO TRIED TWR FREQ. SINCE I WAS THEN IN VISUAL CONTACT WITH WATER AND LAND; I PROCEEDED TOWARDS ARPT AND A ATTEMPTED TO LOWER LNDG GEAR. HOWEVER THE ELECTRICAL FAILURE ALSO MEANT THAT GEAR INDICATORS DID NOT SHOW GEAR WAS DOWN. I CIRCLED ARPT AND ATTEMPTED TO CHANGE ELECTRICAL BUS AND RESTART GENERATORS; ETC. I SWITCHED TO EMER AVIONICS AND AGAIN WAS ABLE TO TALK TO ATC WHO SAID ARPT HAD BEEN FLASHING GREEN LIGHT TO CLR ME TO LAND. (I HAD NOT SEEN GREEN LIGHT) BUT I WAS NOW ABLE TO TALK AND WAS SWITCHED TO TWR AND HAD ARPT IN SIGHT. I WAS ABOUT TO ASK TWR TO CHK IF MY WHEELS WERE DOWN WHEN THE INDICATORS FINALLY RESPONDED. UPON LNDG; NOSEWHEEL STEERING (ELECTRICAL) WAS OUT TOO; SO TAXI WAS WITH DIFFERENTIAL BRAKING #1 ALTIMETER STILL READ 2000 FT; ONLY COPLT WAS GIVING CORRECT READING. PRELIMINARY INDICATION FROM MECH IS THAT BOTH CURRENT LIMITERS FAILED; FIRST ONE SHORTLY AFTER TKOF; THEN SECOND WHEN TOTAL ELECTRICAL SYS FAILED. EVEN WITH REDUNDANCY PROBS CAN OCCUR! WHEN AVIONICS FIRST STARTED BEHAVING STRANGELY; I SHOULD PROBABLY HAVE RETURNED TO MDW BUT WAUKEGAN SEEMED SO CLOSE.