PA-32 Cherokee Six/Lance/Saratoga/6X
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 60; Flight Crew Total 7500; Flight Crew Type 40
Workload; Situational Awareness
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem
Aircraft; Human Factors
We were an IFR approach. We had been vectored to our IAF when we started losing communication. Both radios were going defective. We could barely hear Center; but they seemed not to hear us at all. It was intermittent. We started inbound and at FAF navigation started to fail. The screen on both GN530W started to come and go. I tried to reset them and was having problems doing so; so I told the pilot we should climb.The idea was that altitude was our best option until we could solve the problem. We did not go to the missed approach point because of having to reset the navigation. We inadvertently climbed to 6;000 feet; due to getting distracted by resetting the system. At 6;000 feet we established contact; although poorly; with Center which cleared us for another GPS approach. We shot the approach and landed.At that time we were notified that we should call ATC. I made the call and was reprimanded for not going to the MAP. The supervisor that I spoke with did not seem to understand that at the time; we could not go to the MAP due to the failure. He said he was not going to report the incident; but next time fly the missed approach as published. I did not argue. I just agreed with him.Upon landing; [FBO] looked at the avionics; and found that a 30 year old open contact relay was chattering. This relay was the master control for the avionics navigation system. We also had a GN500 Garmin panel; but it gets its navigation from the GN530W GPS system. I felt that while we did not know our exact positon; that Center knew where we were so our answer was gain altitude as we knew Center would keep traffic away. Our worst mistake was exceeding 4;000 feet. [FBO] replaced the old relay with a fail safe relay. In retrospect; one pilot should have flown the plane and the other work out the problems with the system instead of both getting involved.
PA32 pilot reported executing a go-around after losing communication and navigation radios on approach. During the go-around; there were track and altitude deviations.