M-20P PLT THOUGHT HE NEEDED TO CANCEL HIS IFR CLRNC WHEN THE ACFT XPONDER BECAME INTERMITTENT.

Narrative

ON THE MORNING OF JUL/TUE; I DEPARTED NEWPORT NEWS; VA (PHF) FOR MARION; OH (MNN). AN IFR FLT PLAN WAS FILED BECAUSE IMC EXISTED AT PHF (CLOUD LAYER STARTING AT 2000 FT). DEPARTED PHF WITHOUT PROB AND NORFOLK APCH RPTED RADAR CONTACT. CONTINUED FLT THROUGH RICHMOND AIRSPACE AND ZDC AIRSPACE WITHOUT RPTS OF XPONDER PROBS. ONE CTLR WITH ZDC REQUESTED CHK ALTIMETER WHICH MAY HAVE BEEN A SIGN OF A PROB. WHEN I CHANGED TO CLARKSBURG APCH IN WEST VIRGINIA; THAT CTLR RPTED THAT HE WAS NOT RECEIVING MY XPONDER. HE RPTED THAT I WAS ONLY DISPLAYED AS A PRIMARY CONTACT. NEXT CTLR WITH ZOB RPTED INTERMITTENT XPONDER RETURNS. AT SOME POINT; I WAS PASSED TO ZID; THAT CTLR RPTED NO XPONDER RETURNS AND THAT MY XPONDER WAS INOP. I WOULD HAVE CANCELED MY IFR FLT PLAN IF I WAS NOT ENTERING AN AREA OF IMC; SCATTERED TO BROKEN CLOUDS WITH BASES AT 2500 FT APPROX; AND HAZE 3-5 MI VISIBILITY. THIS CTLR CHANGED MY ROUTING AND LATER PASSED ME TO COLUMBUS APCH. I DO NOT RECALL WHAT COLUMBUS APCH WAS GETTING AS A XPONDER RETURN. LATER; I WAS PASSED TO MANSFIELD APCH AND THEY RPTED RADAR CONTACT; I DID NOT ASK IF THE CONTACT WAS JUST A PRIMARY OR INCLUDED MODE C. SOON AFTER; I HAD REACHED MNN AND I CANCELED IFR. LESSONS: I SHOULD HAVE TRIED HARDER TO HELP THE ZID CTLR WHEN HE COULD NOT MAKE RADAR CONTACT. I AM UNCLR OF WHAT THE ACTION WOULD BE. THIS WAS MY FIRST TRIP INTO THIS AREA OF THE COUNTRY AND I DID NOT WANT TO GIVE UP THE IFR CLRNC. IF I WAS IN AREA LOCAL TO MY HOME BASE I THINK I WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH MORE WILLING TO CANCEL IFR. WHEN RADAR CONTACT; GET MORE FEEDBACK ABOUT HOW MY XPONDER IS FUNCTIONING. IS IT A GOOD SOLID CONTACT OR INTERMITTENT? WHAT ALT IS THE XPONDER RPTING?