Instruments and Systems: Install and Wiring

 

 

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February 2 -9,  2008: (3.0 hrs.) 

Did some miscellaneous wiring work on the plane.  Here I have installed a Molex connector on the fuel pump power lines.
I received my Avi-Pack strobe power supply, so that got installed on the mounting plate behind the baggage compartment.  I also installed the connector for my tail strobe on some shielded wire and ran the line
Here you can see my route for the tail strobe wires... right down the bottom center of the fuselage.  I will also run the elevator trim along this same path and then tie the wires up so they are nice and taut.

BTW.. the shielded cable for my tail light strobe also includes the wires for the rear Nav light. 

While I was at it, I also started running the power and ground wires for the strobe power pack.
February 16-18,  2008: (3.0 hrs.) 

Its a 3 day weekend (Presidents Day) and I was hoping to make some great progress on the plane, but I felt like I was coming down with something and did not want to risk working in the cold garage.  I had to work on something!  So, I decided to build my LED navigation lights.  I bought these in a kit from Creativair.  I think having LEDs is the way to go.  They last practically forever and they draw very little in the way of amps.  You can by these units pre-built, but I wanted them in kit form because I need the LEDs to sit a bit taller.  I am planning on mounting these behind either mirrored acrylic or polished aluminum. 
Here is view of these from another angle so you can see the regulator boards that needed to be soldered together.  This was a nice fun project.
March 7 - 9, 2008: (12.0 hrs.) 

Wiring, wiring, and wiring. 

I have not been as good lately at logging what I have worked on...  The end is in sight, I am just trying to plow ahead.

One thing I did was add an Avionics Master switch to my panel.  Originally, I had not planned for this but then decided it would be an item of convenience for controlling the power to all the radios while maintaining there set volumes.  Because of this addition, I needed to modify my power bus layout.  I converted the always hot bus to an avionics bus and switched it off the auxiliary bus.  As it turns out, I don't really need the always hot bus for the equipment I have installed in my plane, so this should work nicely.

 
Because the avionics switch will be handling up to 20 amps of power, I wired it through a relay and installed it behind the sub-panel.
Another piece of miscellaneous wiring was to add the wires for the hall effect sensor to the AFS engine data harness.  The engine data harness for the AFS system included wiring for an AMP shunt, but since I will have two alternators and two batteries, I also needed the hall effect sensor to measure the amperage the secondary systems. 

Here you can see the large DB connector hanging loose and the three additional wires that I added. 

 

I also had to add a wire to the EFIS and Engine data harnesses for the backup power.  This allows each system to monitor the secondary battery voltage and use it as backup if the primary fails.
I fabricated this angle bracket mount for the headphones and microphone connections, installed them under the sub-panel, and wired them up.  With these installed I was able to test the function of my radios and audio system.  All worked well!

 

I may still make a cover for these connectors, but I have not yet decided if one is needed.  These connections are pretty far forward and the under panel... out of sight, and out of the way.
Here is a shot looking straight on to the co-pilot headphones and mic jack.
Next, I moved on to installing the magnetometers.  These units (one for each AHRS) are supposed to be installed 24" from any large ferrous metal structures.   I was having a hard time finding any location that would meet this requirement.  I settled on building some mounts up high behind the baggage compartment bulkhead.   Metals of concern in this location are the slider canopy frame and the seat-belt retention cables.   This is where other builders have put theirs, so I will give it a try.  If I have issues, I will have to move them (but where?)

 

Here is one of the mounts I fabricated and installed.  The magnetometer that sits in this mount must be +/- 0.2 degrees in both X & Y directions of how the EFIS system sits.
Here is a shot of both mounts.
Next, I removed the seat pans and baggage floors so I could drill some holes to run wires for the strobes.  I want the strobe wires to run separately (as much as possible) from the other wires.  These can sometimes be the source of interference.

 

Here I have drilled a 3/8" hole in the bottom corner of the baggage compartment bulkhead (both sides), installed  grommets, and ran the wires for the left and right wing strobes
And another hole drilled and grommet installed in the bottom corners of the seat back-rest bulkhead.

 

The wires were then secured with tie-wraps and tie-wrap mounts at various locations on the floor ribs.

 

I then ran the power and ground lines for the strobe power unit and hooked things up to the strobe switch on the panel
Installed the Safety Trim system on the seat bottom rib.  This system will control run-away trim situations and will also adjust the trim servo speed (sensitivity) based upon the speed of the aircraft.

 

I also begun re-wiring the terminal blocks for my sticks.  I did not like how things were hooked up, and I need to make some changes to things like the starter and flap functions so that they are switched to ground, rather than 12V DC.  This will require me to use some relays.  I did not have any, so I placed an order from McMaster Carr

 

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