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art(at)zemon.name
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 Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 7:01 am Post subject: Wire Fabrication Advice |
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Folks,
I would appreciate your advice on three specific fabrication issues. I know that these are basic so bear with me, please.
First, my autopilot and EFIS came with prefabricated harnesses for each servo and for the AHRS and the magnetometer. Here is a photo of one of them (all four are identical):Â https://goo.gl/photos/6oqpEJj786WDCBZf6
What is the best way to get the power hooked up? Solder enough red and black wire to the pigtails to reach the fuse block and then snake the long wires through the plane (and secure them properly, of course)? I think that makes sense and I can do all of the soldering on my workbench instead of inside the fuselage.
Second, I the servos run on a CAN bus and came with prefab CAN bus link cable. The ends look like this:Â https://goo.gl/photos/akCnEa87ezJk3woR6
If I want to run one of these through a conduit, I think that the best way is to cut the cable several inches from a connector, run the cable through the conduit, and then splice the cable back together. Yes? The only other option that I can think of is to cut the connector off and then install a new one, but that requires me to source one connector shell, two pins, and the appropriate crimp tool.
Third, I want to run a bunch of wires through a 2 inch square channel at the front of the cabin. Here is a photo:Â https://goo.gl/photos/15Fndch9LNYZ5TaUA
Wires include stuff like: wingtip lights, fuel level senders, power and CAN bus for AHRS, comm antennae, GPS antennae, etc. Anything that is mounted "on the top" of the airplane. There is a fair amount of room inside the square channel because the only thing in there now is a single 3/8 inch aluminum fuel line. The complicating factor is that the inside has a bunch of pop rivets sticking into it, a bunch of AN3 bolt ends, and several inches of floating nut gang channel. Lots of rough edges.Â
How do you suggest protecting the wires inside this channel? Or should I forgo the channel and route the wires outside the channel? That would certainly be easier and it leaves me only with a cosmetic problem of hiding them.
Thanks,
  -- Art Z.
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
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email(at)jaredyates.com
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| Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 7:20 am Post subject: Wire Fabrication Advice |
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Art, regarding the question of getting the CAN bus through the conduit, can you remove just the shell of the connector, leaving you with just the crimped pins? That would reduce your diameter considerably, and you might be able to use existing tools or make a simple one for removing the pins from the shell. I used a similar strategy with molex connectors going to the wingtip.
Can you put a piece of the same conduit in your 2" channel?
On Sun, Jul 17, 2016 at 10:59 AM, Art Zemon <art(at)zemon.name (art(at)zemon.name)> wrote:
| Quote: | Folks,
I would appreciate your advice on three specific fabrication issues. I know that these are basic so bear with me, please.
First, my autopilot and EFIS came with prefabricated harnesses for each servo and for the AHRS and the magnetometer. Here is a photo of one of them (all four are identical):Â https://goo.gl/photos/6oqpEJj786WDCBZf6
What is the best way to get the power hooked up? Solder enough red and black wire to the pigtails to reach the fuse block and then snake the long wires through the plane (and secure them properly, of course)? I think that makes sense and I can do all of the soldering on my workbench instead of inside the fuselage.
Second, I the servos run on a CAN bus and came with prefab CAN bus link cable. The ends look like this:Â https://goo.gl/photos/akCnEa87ezJk3woR6
If I want to run one of these through a conduit, I think that the best way is to cut the cable several inches from a connector, run the cable through the conduit, and then splice the cable back together. Yes? The only other option that I can think of is to cut the connector off and then install a new one, but that requires me to source one connector shell, two pins, and the appropriate crimp tool.
Third, I want to run a bunch of wires through a 2 inch square channel at the front of the cabin. Here is a photo:Â https://goo.gl/photos/15Fndch9LNYZ5TaUA
Wires include stuff like: wingtip lights, fuel level senders, power and CAN bus for AHRS, comm antennae, GPS antennae, etc. Anything that is mounted "on the top" of the airplane. There is a fair amount of room inside the square channel because the only thing in there now is a single 3/8 inch aluminum fuel line. The complicating factor is that the inside has a bunch of pop rivets sticking into it, a bunch of AN3 bolt ends, and several inches of floating nut gang channel. Lots of rough edges.Â
How do you suggest protecting the wires inside this channel? Or should I forgo the channel and route the wires outside the channel? That would certainly be easier and it leaves me only with a cosmetic problem of hiding them.
Thanks,
  -- Art Z.
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
|
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cluros(at)gmail.com
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| Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 7:40 am Post subject: Wire Fabrication Advice |
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Hello Art.
1. Exactly. Solder enough wire on, route it to your fuse block, cut the extra off, and crimp on the terminal.
2. Ideally I guess you could remove the pins from the connector, route the wires and the reassemble. If that doesn't work then I would cut the cables and splice them back rather than buying new connectors.
3. My BD-4 runs all the wires and pitot tubing for the wings through that conduit and in 400 hours I've never had a problem. If you are worried about chafing maybe run it through some of that black hard plastic conduit? Or just some clear plastic tubing. All my wires and cables going to the roof or tail (antennas) are run along the floor then up to the roof behind the passenger cabin.
Sebastien
On Jul 17, 2016, at 07:59, Art Zemon <art(at)zemon.name (art(at)zemon.name)> wrote:
| Quote: | Folks,
I would appreciate your advice on three specific fabrication issues. I know that these are basic so bear with me, please.
First, my autopilot and EFIS came with prefabricated harnesses for each servo and for the AHRS and the magnetometer. Here is a photo of one of them (all four are identical): https://goo.gl/photos/6oqpEJj786WDCBZf6
What is the best way to get the power hooked up? Solder enough red and black wire to the pigtails to reach the fuse block and then snake the long wires through the plane (and secure them properly, of course)? I think that makes sense and I can do all of the soldering on my workbench instead of inside the fuselage.
Second, I the servos run on a CAN bus and came with prefab CAN bus link cable. The ends look like this: https://goo.gl/photos/akCnEa87ezJk3woR6
If I want to run one of these through a conduit, I think that the best way is to cut the cable several inches from a connector, run the cable through the conduit, and then splice the cable back together. Yes? The only other option that I can think of is to cut the connector off and then install a new one, but that requires me to source one connector shell, two pins, and the appropriate crimp tool.
Third, I want to run a bunch of wires through a 2 inch square channel at the front of the cabin. Here is a photo: https://goo.gl/photos/15Fndch9LNYZ5TaUA
Wires include stuff like: wingtip lights, fuel level senders, power and CAN bus for AHRS, comm antennae, GPS antennae, etc. Anything that is mounted "on the top" of the airplane. There is a fair amount of room inside the square channel because the only thing in there now is a single 3/8 inch aluminum fuel line. The complicating factor is that the inside has a bunch of pop rivets sticking into it, a bunch of AN3 bolt ends, and several inches of floating nut gang channel. Lots of rough edges.
How do you suggest protecting the wires inside this channel? Or should I forgo the channel and route the wires outside the channel? That would certainly be easier and it leaves me only with a cosmetic problem of hiding them.
Thanks,
-- Art Z.
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
|
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kenryan
Joined: 20 Oct 2009
Posts: 426
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| Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 7:48 am Post subject: Wire Fabrication Advice |
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I like the idea of trying to route electrical cables away from fuel lines.
On Sun, Jul 17, 2016 at 7:18 AM, Jared Yates <email(at)jaredyates.com (email(at)jaredyates.com)> wrote:
| Quote: | Art, regarding the question of getting the CAN bus through the conduit, can you remove just the shell of the connector, leaving you with just the crimped pins? That would reduce your diameter considerably, and you might be able to use existing tools or make a simple one for removing the pins from the shell. I used a similar strategy with molex connectors going to the wingtip.
Can you put a piece of the same conduit in your 2" channel?
On Sun, Jul 17, 2016 at 10:59 AM, Art Zemon <art(at)zemon.name (art(at)zemon.name)> wrote:
| Quote: | Folks,
I would appreciate your advice on three specific fabrication issues. I know that these are basic so bear with me, please.
First, my autopilot and EFIS came with prefabricated harnesses for each servo and for the AHRS and the magnetometer. Here is a photo of one of them (all four are identical):Â https://goo.gl/photos/6oqpEJj786WDCBZf6
What is the best way to get the power hooked up? Solder enough red and black wire to the pigtails to reach the fuse block and then snake the long wires through the plane (and secure them properly, of course)? I think that makes sense and I can do all of the soldering on my workbench instead of inside the fuselage.
Second, I the servos run on a CAN bus and came with prefab CAN bus link cable. The ends look like this:Â https://goo.gl/photos/akCnEa87ezJk3woR6
If I want to run one of these through a conduit, I think that the best way is to cut the cable several inches from a connector, run the cable through the conduit, and then splice the cable back together. Yes? The only other option that I can think of is to cut the connector off and then install a new one, but that requires me to source one connector shell, two pins, and the appropriate crimp tool.
Third, I want to run a bunch of wires through a 2 inch square channel at the front of the cabin. Here is a photo:Â https://goo.gl/photos/15Fndch9LNYZ5TaUA
Wires include stuff like: wingtip lights, fuel level senders, power and CAN bus for AHRS, comm antennae, GPS antennae, etc. Anything that is mounted "on the top" of the airplane. There is a fair amount of room inside the square channel because the only thing in there now is a single 3/8 inch aluminum fuel line. The complicating factor is that the inside has a bunch of pop rivets sticking into it, a bunch of AN3 bolt ends, and several inches of floating nut gang channel. Lots of rough edges.Â
How do you suggest protecting the wires inside this channel? Or should I forgo the channel and route the wires outside the channel? That would certainly be easier and it leaves me only with a cosmetic problem of hiding them.
Thanks,
  -- Art Z.
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
|
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ceengland7(at)gmail.com
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| Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 7:53 am Post subject: Wire Fabrication Advice |
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No big deal to either solder or crimp addtl length on the power/gnd pigtails.
Agree with Jared about pulling the pins of the molex connector on the CAN bus cable.
For the channel, I might be the only one who thinks this way but I'd be more worried about grit & wire insulation slowly (and I mean years/decades) wearing through the AL fuel line than about something cutting the insulation of the wires. That's assuming you don't have any knife-edges in there, and the wire isn't drawn tight over any sharp/rough corners.
To protect (and mainly for cosmetic bundling) wire in a few locations, I'm using
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C1OMARY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0008JHB0K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's available in numerous sizes/lengths.
Charlie
On Sun, Jul 17, 2016 at 10:18 AM, Jared Yates <email(at)jaredyates.com (email(at)jaredyates.com)> wrote:
| Quote: | Art, regarding the question of getting the CAN bus through the conduit, can you remove just the shell of the connector, leaving you with just the crimped pins? That would reduce your diameter considerably, and you might be able to use existing tools or make a simple one for removing the pins from the shell. I used a similar strategy with molex connectors going to the wingtip.
Can you put a piece of the same conduit in your 2" channel?
On Sun, Jul 17, 2016 at 10:59 AM, Art Zemon <art(at)zemon.name (art(at)zemon.name)> wrote:
| Quote: | Folks,
I would appreciate your advice on three specific fabrication issues. I know that these are basic so bear with me, please.
First, my autopilot and EFIS came with prefabricated harnesses for each servo and for the AHRS and the magnetometer. Here is a photo of one of them (all four are identical):Â https://goo.gl/photos/6oqpEJj786WDCBZf6
What is the best way to get the power hooked up? Solder enough red and black wire to the pigtails to reach the fuse block and then snake the long wires through the plane (and secure them properly, of course)? I think that makes sense and I can do all of the soldering on my workbench instead of inside the fuselage.
Second, I the servos run on a CAN bus and came with prefab CAN bus link cable. The ends look like this:Â https://goo.gl/photos/akCnEa87ezJk3woR6
If I want to run one of these through a conduit, I think that the best way is to cut the cable several inches from a connector, run the cable through the conduit, and then splice the cable back together. Yes? The only other option that I can think of is to cut the connector off and then install a new one, but that requires me to source one connector shell, two pins, and the appropriate crimp tool.
Third, I want to run a bunch of wires through a 2 inch square channel at the front of the cabin. Here is a photo:Â https://goo.gl/photos/15Fndch9LNYZ5TaUA
Wires include stuff like: wingtip lights, fuel level senders, power and CAN bus for AHRS, comm antennae, GPS antennae, etc. Anything that is mounted "on the top" of the airplane. There is a fair amount of room inside the square channel because the only thing in there now is a single 3/8 inch aluminum fuel line. The complicating factor is that the inside has a bunch of pop rivets sticking into it, a bunch of AN3 bolt ends, and several inches of floating nut gang channel. Lots of rough edges.Â
How do you suggest protecting the wires inside this channel? Or should I forgo the channel and route the wires outside the channel? That would certainly be easier and it leaves me only with a cosmetic problem of hiding them.
Thanks,
  -- Art Z.
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
|
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art(at)zemon.name
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| Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 1:06 pm Post subject: Wire Fabrication Advice |
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Folks,
Thank you for confirming that I am on the right track about extending the pigtails. I'll get soldering. In a separate thread, I posted photos of my first two splices... just to have "the teacher" check my work. 
There seem to be zillions of kinds of Molex connectors. How do I determine the right pin removal and insertion tools?
On Sun, Jul 17, 2016 at 10:39 AM, Sebastien <cluros(at)gmail.com (cluros(at)gmail.com)> wrote:
| Quote: | My BD-4 runs all the wires and pitot tubing for the wings through that conduit and in 400 hours I've never had a problem. If you are worried about chafing maybe run it through some of that black hard plastic conduit? Or just some clear plastic tubing. All my wires and cables going to the roof or tail (antennas) are run along the floor then up to the roof behind the passenger cabin.Â
|
Fascinating. You aren't the first one to say that you ran wiring through those channels without risk of chafing. I guess that since the wires can vibrate but not slide up and down, it isn't a problem. I'll probably run a flexible PVC tube for conduit, just to be double sure, and then stop stressing about it. I also like your suggesting of running the wires which are not destined for the interior of the spar along the floor and up the back of the cabin. The fewer wires that I have to snake through the channels, the better.
Cheers,
  -- Art Z.
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
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art(at)zemon.name
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| Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 1:53 pm Post subject: Wire Fabrication Advice |
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Ahhh The good folks at Stein Air were kind enough to include specs on their website. I was able to measure my pins and select the right tool and order it.
Thank you Stein Air!
  -- Art Z.
On Sun, Jul 17, 2016 at 4:05 PM, Art Zemon <art(at)zemon.name (art(at)zemon.name)> wrote:
| Quote: | There seem to be zillions of kinds of Molex connectors. How do I determine the right pin removal and insertion tools?
|
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
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alec(at)alecmyers.com
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| Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 6:14 pm Post subject: Wire Fabrication Advice |
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That connector looks a lot like an AMP mate-n-lok 2-circuit pin and socket connector:
http://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=0virtualkey0virtualkey1-480319-0
http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/418/NG_CD_480319_N1-625835.pdf
Be careful with the crimp tooling: a Molex crimp tool usually makes a dog's breakfast out of an AMP terminal.
On 17Jul2016, at 10:59 AM, Art Zemon <art(at)zemon.name> wrote:
Folks,
I would appreciate your advice on three specific fabrication issues. I know that these are basic so bear with me, please.
First, my autopilot and EFIS came with prefabricated harnesses for each servo and for the AHRS and the magnetometer. Here is a photo of one of them (all four are identical): https://goo.gl/photos/6oqpEJj786WDCBZf6
What is the best way to get the power hooked up? Solder enough red and black wire to the pigtails to reach the fuse block and then snake the long wires through the plane (and secure them properly, of course)? I think that makes sense and I can do all of the soldering on my workbench instead of inside the fuselage.
Second, I the servos run on a CAN bus and came with prefab CAN bus link cable. The ends look like this: https://goo.gl/photos/akCnEa87ezJk3woR6
If I want to run one of these through a conduit, I think that the best way is to cut the cable several inches from a connector, run the cable through the conduit, and then splice the cable back together. Yes? The only other option that I can think of is to cut the connector off and then install a new one, but that requires me to source one connector shell, two pins, and the appropriate crimp tool.
Third, I want to run a bunch of wires through a 2 inch square channel at the front of the cabin. Here is a photo: https://goo.gl/photos/15Fndch9LNYZ5TaUA
Wires include stuff like: wingtip lights, fuel level senders, power and CAN bus for AHRS, comm antennae, GPS antennae, etc. Anything that is mounted "on the top" of the airplane. There is a fair amount of room inside the square channel because the only thing in there now is a single 3/8 inch aluminum fuel line. The complicating factor is that the inside has a bunch of pop rivets sticking into it, a bunch of AN3 bolt ends, and several inches of floating nut gang channel. Lots of rough edges.
How do you suggest protecting the wires inside this channel? Or should I forgo the channel and route the wires outside the channel? That would certainly be easier and it leaves me only with a cosmetic problem of hiding them.
Thanks,
-- Art Z.
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/
"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
--
http://CheerfulCurmudgeon.com/
"If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?" Hillel
| | - The Matronics AeroElectric-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
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