What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

GRT EFIS screen goes blank, connector issue?

Mach-4

Member
Hello VAF,

I am a new RV-4 owner, non-builder. The airplane has performed beyond amazing for the first 100hrs. On my most recent flight today, after about 45minutes flight time and immediately after a touch and go, the EFIS screen went all blue, then white, then all black. I climbed to a safe altitude and restarted the screen via the procedure in the manual to no avail. After a power cycle the screen functioned fully for about 5 seconds and then became very distorted with vertical lines. I found that reaching up behind the unit and wiggling the main connector gently would make the unit come back to life for a split second and display all data. I decided to RTB and problem solve more fully on the ground.

Once back on the ground with the avionics cover removed I found that one of the screws that holds the halves of the DSub connector together was missing, so I will be searching for a replacement screw for that. My plan is to unseat and reseat the connector. I’m curious if anyone has experienced a similar issue and what worked for them or if I should suspect the internals of the EFIS rather than the connector. I’m hoping to avoid another flight without airspeed and engine data :eek:
 
Last edited:
General rule for trouble shooting: try easy stuff first. So by all means, look at the d-sub connector (especially power and ground), spray some contact cleaner, etc., and see if it is fixed. However, my guess is that the issue is internal. If you feel qualified, you can remove the metal cover off the instrument, and look at the circuit boards with a flashlight. There are a number of ribbon cable connectors, maybe one has come loose. Otherwise, you have to send it back to GRT. They have a very reasonable inspection fee (assuming the unit is out of warrantee) and they can tell you what they find. I have no idea how Covid-19 has affected turn around times. Call first, they are answering phones.
 
Forgot to mention: You didn?t say what model EFIS (HS, HX, Sport, etc) but many of them use an auxiliary box called the EIS to process engine data. If you have such a box you should be able to see engine data even if the efis fails.
 
If it is a first gen GRT unit, they were known to occasionally loose their programing. Bug in the original software.

BTDT.
 
Thank you I will spray some electronics cleaner in there and report back on results. The EFIS is a GRT Sport SX 200A.
 
You can always contact GRT just get their contact number from the website. They?re a great company and always friendly to respond to issues/questions. But it sounds like a loose wire connection issue for power input or ground if the unit turned off.
 
Also need backup

This points out the need for backup systems, there are several economic alternatives. I loved my GRT S200, and loved backups. Sold my last RV 3 years ago, many great times. Your EIS (GRT too) will, as said before, provide all engine data, and can be equipped to also show airspeed, my plane had a totally independent small EFIS, which was very handy and had built-in battery (very old Dynon). Good luck, always
Dale
 
I had the same problem a few years ago. Display looked like this:

DSCN5124.JPG


I cracked open the box and re-seated the ribbon cables.

DSCN5126.JPG


Came right back to life!

DSCN5127.JPG


Full write-up: http://rvplane.com/?categoryid=10000&dayid=1302
 
I too have had a ribbon cable issue. 2009 vintage, not the newer Sport with the thin case. Only downtime in 10 years.
 
Blue to black screen

I had an alternator failure and even with load shedding, I had one GRT look just like that when the voltage dropped below about 9 volts. The other GRT was on a back up battery and lasted 35 to 45 minutes. I have rewired the power feed systems and added a back up alternator. Just saying low voltage will look like this. Call GRT!
 
Were any of these failures preceded by flickering?

I have an Aerotronics fabricated 2 screen 8.4 inch GRT HX setup in my RV7. I intermittently experience a momentary single flicker from my PFD every minute or so at most. My MFD has been rock solid. I?m curious if any of the failures experienced were preceded by this symptom or if anyone has any ideas or suggestions to troubleshoot this issue?
 
I have an Aerotronics fabricated 2 screen 8.4 inch GRT HX setup in my RV7. I intermittently experience a momentary single flicker from my PFD every minute or so at most. My MFD has been rock solid. I?m curious if any of the failures experienced were preceded by this symptom or if anyone has any ideas or suggestions to troubleshoot this issue?

I have the single flicker issue as well on my 8.4 in HX. Sometimes it catches my eye and sometimes not. Has been happening for several years now. Doesn't seem to ever get worse though. Please report back if you get an answer on this one!
 
at some point they will all go black. I my case I inadvertently turned mine off at 21K and was too confused to be able to turn them back on. The round gauges enabled me to fly and get lower and recover. Always have a plan B.
 
Now mine blanked out twice on a flight today!

I have the single flicker issue as well on my 8.4 in HX. Sometimes it catches my eye and sometimes not. Has been happening for several years now. Doesn't seem to ever get worse though. Please report back if you get an answer on this one!

The intermittent flicker escalated to a black screen, followed by a self-reboot in a few seconds while on a flight today. It happened twice, so I guess I can now follow the advice in this thread too.

I am flying a dual GRT HX 8.4 inch versions. My primary screen is the one with the issue. It had been sitting on the ramp in 85degrees for about 90 minutes before the return flight of occurrence. The EIS showed a internal unit temp of 120 degrees.
The Garmin 530w alerted loss of input data on the 429 Channel #1 as well as the 232 Channel #1.

Thoughts from Bob Turner and others appreciated.
 
GRT

I had a similar problem and in my case it had to do with the USB drive that I always keep plugged into the back.
 
I had a similar problem and in my case it had to do with the USB drive that I always keep plugged into the back.

Can you expand on this? I keep a USB plugged in as well... Are you saying the momentary flicker disappeared after removing the USB drive?
 
GRT

In my case it did. GRT suggested I give that a try and it eliminated the problem. I switched to a different USB stick and I have not had any other problems.
 
No USB inserted during my events

In my case it did. GRT suggested I give that a try and it eliminated the problem. I switched to a different USB stick and I have not had any other problems.

I have a panel mounted USB receptacle for each screen, but have not flown with a USB inserted. If I pull the unit out I will check the USB interconnection wires while I am at it.
 
GRT EFIS USB ports...

Make sure you are not using the USB ports as a power source. Per GRT and the manuals, the GRT EFIS USB ports are data only. I had a brief issue with screen flicker and was told this by GRT to be the cause. After installation of separate, dedicated USB power ports, the issue ceased.
 
Contacted GRT today

You can always contact GRT just get their contact number from the website. They?re a great company and always friendly to respond to issues/questions. But it sounds like a loose wire connection issue for power input or ground if the unit turned off.

Contacted GRT today regarding my recent screen blanking event and as has been suggested by many on this thread, they suspect a power or ground interruption. Based on the alert messages and quick recovery, they do not think it is likely anything internal to the unit. So, next up re-racking the unit and see if I can duplicate the failure or eliminate it.
 
Back
Top