December, 2006 AVIONICS, ELECTRICS, & CONTROLS
A lot of what I am doing right now is wiring related toward getting the engine ready to start. If it's general supporting wiring, it's on this page. If it's strictly engine wiring, it's on the engine page, so be sure to check there for details. I am also working on the console on the fuselage page.
Dec 15 - run ground wire to batteries area. Thread nylon protector onto battery wires (very tedious). Lay out one of the battery positive leads. 1.5 hr
Dec 16 - finish battery positive wire layout. Wired up main contactor switch. Main contactor draws about 1 amp. 22 gauge wire would be fine for the current, but 20 gauge would be sturdier. Plan and install fuses. 6.25 hr
Now that I have the battery connected to the main contactor, I realized that
some of these things are hot, like the hot side relay terminal, sticking way
up there. I used a Dremel tool to cut the terminal down to just above
the nut. I will put liquid electrical tape on this, as soon as I get
some more. The lead going from here to the Schottky diodes is also
hot, so I put a silicone boot on it.
Dec 17 - I'd neglected to incorporate the Perihelion LOVPM into the alternator field circuit, and I had run the wire direct from the alternator to the circuit breaker on the switches panel. So, I rewired the alternator field circuit to include the LOVPM. Mounted Perihelion LOVPM and LVWAABMM modules, after spending about an hour deciding on the best location for them. My latest order from SteinAir had included a locking 2-10 type switch for the engine battery switch, so I began wiring that up to the LVWAABMM.. After getting it all done, I don't think the LVWAABMM is working, so I will have to contact Eric about that. 7.5 hr
Here are my 2 Perihelion modules mounted on the outboard side of the fwd
F745L. You can also see the trimmed hot relay terminal for the main
contactor, described above, as well as the booted hot lead to the Schottky
diode array.
Here
is a big picture of some of the wiring so far. The circuits in the
fuse blocks continue to grow. The switch panel is being populated.
All the wires on the LT side of the pic are for the switch panel. You
can see the two 6 ga battery cables under the switch panel, with one
partially color-coded red and one black. I am protecting them by
encasing them in tough nylon spiral wrap from SteinAir, then covering that
with 3/8" heatshrink of the appropriate color (also from SteinAir). The main contactor
switch and starter switch, shown installed here, work fine.
This
is an area of great concern to me now. When Carsten visited me, he
told me that the GMA340 overall length, with connectors, is much longer than
the tray appears to be. You can see the blue line on the subpanel.
This is a tip I got from Dan Checkoway's web site. It shows me where
the tipup canopy frame covers the subpanel, so there can be no cutting and
no interference with other parts above this line. Carsten tells me
that by the time I add the connector holder plate and the connectors to this
top tray, I will be into the subpanel and the "blue line area".
He said he had to lower his stack to accommodate it. This is quite
troublesome, and I will have to get with Eckhard to see how bad it's going
to be. Moving this stack down isn't going to be an option, because of
potential interference with other items in my tightly-laid-out panel.
Checking the Garmin site reveals the GMA340 overall length, with connectors,
is 7.12". I have maybe 8" of useful space, so I may be OK here after
all. Emailed Eckhard to ask his opinion.
Dec 19 - Ever since Eckhard persuaded me a year ago to buy the Garmin 396 (which I didn't get to use yet and subsequently upgraded to the 496 this fall), I have been wondering if I really need the 530. The 496 comes with everything the 530 has, already built in, and more. The 496 even has the XM weather/music receiver, which will cost thousands more to add that to the 530. The price of the entire 496 is probably half the cost of just adding the weather receiver to the 530. The 496 also has WAAS, which, again, will cost more than the entire 496 to add to the 530. Today, I ordered the AirGizmos panel mount for the 496 from SkyGeek. SkyGeek was $10 less than anywhere else for the AirGizmos panel mount. I may or may not get the 530. At any rate, I will see where I can mount the 496. I will leave the 530 tray installed, but I may or may not populate it when I do the rest of the Garmin stack (probably this winter). Pulled Perihelion LVWAABMM module to send back to Eric.
Dec 21 - got emails & pics from Carsten and Eckhard, about the GMA340 issue. It looks tight, but I guess I will have to get the 340 and the connectors from Eckhard to see if there's going to be a problem. I think I can run the wires out the side of the DB connectors if I have to. That's how I did the DB-9 connector for my GRT MAP sensor, just so the wires pointed toward the EIS. Eckhard offered to let me borrow a GMA-340 backplate and dummy connectors, so he's sending that to me now. I got my AirGizmos panel mount for the 496, so I spent some time looking at various mounting options for that. With my AirGizmos order, they included a product sheet that shows they also make an angle mounting bracket for the 496 panel mount, so I ordered that, too. I also got out the Dynon EFIS and looked that over. The internal battery is not working at all, so I will email Dynon about that. I also made up a DB-25 connector to connect to the battery to power up the Dynon. Apparently, I had never gotten around to bench testing it when I got it 2 years ago. After charging a few hours, the internal battery is still completely dead. 1.75 hr
This
is how I did the MAP connector so the wires come out of the DB9 shell in the
direction I want them to go, toward the EIS.
Dec 22 - post message on the Dynon group about the internal battery problem. Update web site 1.0 hr doc
Dec 26 - no response on Dynon group about battery. Everything is pretty dead this week. Sent email to Dynon about battery issue. They are closed until after New Year. I also meant to order some wire from SteinAir last week, but didn't get to it. They are closed this week, too. So, I'll take care of those things next week. Back to console work for now.
Dec 27 - received AirGizmos panel mount angle adapter from SkyGeek.
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