Well, I am now getting more deeply into the task of wiring...and feel pretty overwhelmed...intimidated even. I feel like I am drowning when I look at the entire wiring task as a whole, its suffocating. I have to remind myself, take a deep breath and relax...just focus on one wire at a time. Same as with mountain climing...dont look at the entire mountain...just put one foot in front of the other and before you know it you'll be at the summit.
As with most things on this project, it almost always seems intimidating at first...fiberglass, rudder, fuel tanks, canopy, FWF, you name it...they all felt overwhelming until I got into it and broke it down into little pieces. Afterward, I looked back on every one of them with the thought, "what was I so worried about? That wasn't so bad." Its human nature to think things are much worse than they actually are in reality. My advice...step back, deep breath, smile and dive right in. Its a learning process, revel in it.
My strategy for wiring was to tackle the easy stuff first...the CHT and EGT probes seemed very straightforward so I started there. These connect directly to the 25 pin harness on the Dynon EMS module. I crimped my blade connectors (the SportAir wiring class is finally coming into some use...and I'm glad I took it), then shrink tubed them for added security. They shouldn't go anywhere.
Notice that, for right now, I am using cheap nylon zip ties to keep everything manageable. Later, when I know all wire routing is final, I will cut those off and install special high temp (blue) zip ties. They are cheap...use 'em as needed.
Here you can see they route right behind my oil cooler. I could've routed them on the other side of the engine mount...not sure it matters a whole lot, but you may ponder it on your build.
Moving over to the other side...I temporarily installed my SCAT tubing so that I could route around it. My wiring path comes right up the side of my Air/Oil separator tank and then through the firewall.
Time to crimp the three pins for the manifold pressure (MAP) sensor. This was a little tricky to do...I had a crimper for the job, but it was still kind of a delicate process. I think it turned out pretty good though...here is a pic of the finished product.
And a shot of it plugged into the MAP module mounted on the firewall.
I bought these special crimpers (remember I love tools!) for the heavy duty 4 AWG wire that is used for the battery/solenoid/starter. B&C has a cheaper version ($30) that you hit with a hammer if you don't want to spend the $50 I spent on these. Or I suppose you could try and crimp them with heavy pliers...not on my plane, but thats your call. Proper crimping is very important to me and I believe you should always get the right tool for the job. Wiring your airplane is not something you want to do half-ass. I was able to get these from a local electronics store here in Boulder...so no shipping costs. They worked great!
Here you can see how it looks when crimped.
From the battery ground to my "forest of tabs" on the firewall. The other wire goes to a ground point on the engine case. I didn't put protective boots on these connections...not sure I could fit them, but I am still considering adding them later.
Looking closely, you can see where I attached the ground wire to the engine...its an empty hole right next to the oil filler (filler removed...duct tape over the hole). Make sure you remove the paint from the engine for a good ground contact. I used a wire abrasion tool chucked into my dremel...worked perfectly since its such a tight space.
I recommend you get a shrink tube labeler for your wiring. It will give your project a nice professional look and make future servicing much easier. I bought this one for $80, its a K-Sun Bee3. I was aggravated when it then went on sale a month later for $40...so look around for a good deal. Also, be sure you order the actual shrink tube cartridges (vs. just the label). This particular labeler was recommended to me by fellow RV10 builder Mike Rettig...thanks Mike, I'm happy with it.
A shot of how it looks...notice the "oil temp"...maybe not needed for this wire since its pretty easy to see where its going, but I still like how it looks...as I mentioned, nice and professional.
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