Electroair Wiring

Hi,

I'm in the process of going through a new-to-me RV-6. The plane was originally built with two mags, with a key switch. At some point, the right mag was replaced with an Electroair EI, which was orginally wired off the master bus through it's own switch, but for some reason, the builder disconnected this and wired the EI switch directly to the battery (no fuse, no circuit breaker). The remaining mag is still wired to the left side of the key.

This arrangement makes me nervous, as the EI can be hot with no key AND the master switch off.

My instinct here was initially to return the EI power to the master bus, although reading posts here, now I'm wondering if it should remain direct, with a fuse/CB?

Does anyone have any insight into what the (now deceased) builder may have been thinking?

-jon

What I did ...

mosquito said:

Hi,

I'm in the process of going through a new-to-me RV-6. The plane was originally built with two mags, with a key switch. At some point, the right mag was replaced with an Electroair EI, which was orginally wired off the master bus through it's own switch, but for some reason, the builder disconnected this and wired the EI switch directly to the battery (no fuse, no circuit breaker). The remaining mag is still wired to the left side of the key.

This arrangement makes me nervous, as the EI can be hot with no key AND the master switch off.

My instinct here was initially to return the EI power to the master bus, although reading posts here, now I'm wondering if it should remain direct, with a fuse/CB?

Does anyone have any insight into what the (now deceased) builder may have been thinking?

-jon

Click to expand...

In our RV6, I wired the EI via a dedicated power switch. It is sjust to the left of the traditional key switch. "Mag check" is done the traditional way. When I switch the "mags" OFF after landing, my had is right next to the (red bootied) power-to-the-EI switch.

So you eliminate (small) power drain and you have TWO switches that help insure that you do not have a "live mag" sitting there when someone pulls the prop through.

James

Jon,

Caveats up front here...I don't claim (by any stretch) to be an expert, but I did just install an Electroair in my bought-flying RV-6 (and forensics has played a big part of almost every upgrade/mod). But I've only installed one system, so all is subject to verification with Electroair...just hope it helps.

As I describe this, the situation could be different in your case, depending on whether we have the same ElectroAir EI (not sure when yours was installed, or if changes have been made to the system between when yours was new and last year when I bought mine), but I'd recommend calling Mike at Electroair...he's a great guy, and will have the definitive answers to help you make sure its both safe, and set up so that damage to the system will not occur.

In my case, I replaced an early gen LSE with the Electroair. I just looked at the install manual to refresh, and it calls out the use of 2 circuit breakers (or fuses...I used pullable cb's, FWIW).

The first is a 10 amp cb for the power wire to the coil pack. On mine this is the red wire with the white stripe that comes out of the four-part connector at the coil pack. The install manual says to route that wire to the essential buss through the 10A breaker.

The second cb, and the one you're talking about in your post, is a 2 amp cb for the panel mounted on/off switch (whether its a key or a toggle switch...again FWIW, I used a toggle, and the manual recommends calling Electroair if you want to use a key, so they can make sure the harness and wiring is all good to go for you).

I'll paste the sub-sections of that Electroair manual that apply, and the wiring diagram below. (Again, this is for my product, so verify all with them...and its a partial paste. If you'd like the full install manual, I can e-mail it to you.) Just shoot me a PM with the address to send it to.

Manual Subsection:

j. Route harness bundle #3 to the Coil Pack.
i. Separate the ‘Red w/ White Stripe’ wire from the other wires that are
bundled (gray wrap) and terminated with a four-way connector (this wire is
for power).
ii. Loop any excess wire of the gray bundle and cable tie or clamp the
loop to a convenient location that does not interfere with any
components a location on the inside of the firewall is suggested).
iii. Connect the four-way connector to the mating connector on the
Coil Pack.
iv. Route the ‘Red w/ White Stripe’ wire through a 10 amp breaker to the
Essential Bus Bar. Trim and terminate as required.

k. Toggle Switch Set-Up: Route harness bundle #4 to Essential Bus Bar for switch
termination. (For Key Switch set-up, see step 8.l.).
i. Trim & Terminate the ‘Black w/ White Stripe’ wire to the bus ground.
ii. Trim & Terminate the ‘Yellow’ wire to a panel mounted switch that is
protected with a 2 amp breaker. Label panel mounted switch “Electronic
Ignition System”, and proper “ON/OFF” orientation. This switch should be
a SPST switch.
iii. Connect the 2-amp breaker to Essential Bus Bar.

l. Key Switch Set-Up: Route harness bundle #4 to Essential Bus Bar for circuit
breaker termination. Note: EIS Controller harness must have factory installed
Key Switch Lead (white wire) in bundle #4; this insures proper operation of the
Key Switch – call us if you have any questions.
i. Terminate the ‘Black w/ White Stripe’ wire to the bus ground.
ii. Terminate the ‘Yellow’ wire to a 2 amp circuit breaker.
iii. Connect 2-amp circuit breaker to Essential Bus Bar.
iv. Remove right hand magneto P-Lead wire from Key Switch.
v. Connect white, shielded wire to key switch where right hand magneto PLead would connect. Connect shield to ground terminal.

End of Manual Subsection.

And the diagram (I put red boxes around the cb protected wires):



On the issue of the EI being hot, sounds like it could be, but I don't know for sure. Is the green LED on the EIS controller on all the time? (If your product looks like mine, its the 3" x 3" silver box that all the wire bundles come out of it.) That may or may not be a hot EI, but I'd check to make sure.

All this is intended to help you in your research, rather than serve as a guide for how to fix this (especially based on my limited experience, and these excerpts from the manual). I really recommend calling Mike..he'll hook ya up. (866) 494-3002, or at http://www.electroair.net/

Good luck, and happy forensics! (I'm feelin' your pain, but its been a good way to learn the plane too!)

Cheers,
Bob

You want the EI powered when the master is off. That way if you have to shut down the master in flight from something as bad as a fire you won't put yourself in a dangerous engine situation as well.

Always hot -> Circuit Breaker -> Switch -> EI box

Sid Lambert said:

You want the EI powered when the master is off. That way if you have to shut down the master in flight from something as bad as a fire you won't put yourself in a dangerous engine situation as well.

Always hot -> Circuit Breaker -> Switch -> EI box

Click to expand...

Just re-read the OP, and saw the EI switch is still there, but just wired to the batt (or hot batt buss). So like a mag, if the EI switch is off, the EI should be cold.

What Sid says makes sense, and sounds like all that is missing is the cb to protect the wiring.

Cheers,
Bob