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01-08-2011, 12:29 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 276
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circuit breaker question for the electrical gurus
I have the Van's HID landing lights on my RV-10 (one on the leading edge of each wing). They are wired to a single 10amp circuit breaker. Occasionally, when they have been on for several minutes (for a long taxi), the breaker will trip. After a couple minutes it will reset without issue. Most of the time this doesn't happen at all (I can leave the lights on for an hour with out a problem).
I am assuming that the lights are drawing enough current to cause that breaker to heat up and trip.
I asked an experienced builder if it made sense to up the breaker to 15amps. He said that might help but I needed to know the wire guage and length to properly determine the safe breaker size.
Can someone help me with this? What size wire should these lights use? How do I do the calculation?
thanks.
__________________
Bruce
Richmond, VA (KFCI)
RV-10 (520+ hours since first flight in Nov 07)
RV-8 (500 hours, sold Sept 07)
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01-08-2011, 12:33 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 215
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I've got no idea but
I got all excited because I wasn't wearing my glasses and I thought you were asking about electrifying your RV's GUNS and I was thinking **** Yeah, Let's see this! Man, I'm disappointed.... 
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Lucky Macy
EAA Tech Counselor/Flight Advisor
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01-08-2011, 12:53 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: 57AZ - NW Tucson area
Posts: 10,011
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The better idea might be to power them from two breakers not one for a slightly more redundant system.
Is each light switched separately?
__________________
Gil Alexander
EAA Technical Counselor, Airframe Mechanic
Half completed RV-10 QB purchased
RV-6A N61GX - finally flying
Grumman Tiger N12GA - flying
La Cholla Airpark (57AZ) Tucson AZ
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01-08-2011, 12:57 PM
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Senior Curmudgeon
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Dayton Airpark, NV A34
Posts: 15,420
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MSFT-1
I asked an experienced builder if it made sense to up the breaker to 15amps. He said that might help but I needed to know the wire guage and length to properly determine the safe breaker size.
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Absolutely correct.
The breaker is there to protect the wiring.
I suggest going to individual breakers for each light.
You will then need to re-work the switching, a DPST switch will work, or add a second switch.
__________________
Mike Starkey
VAF 909
Rv-10, N210LM.
Flying as of 12/4/2010
Phase 1 done, 2/4/2011 
Sold after 240+ wonderful hours of flight.
"Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it."
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01-08-2011, 01:36 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 110
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real men don't
If all else fails, try reading the instructions, under "fuses and breakers":
"For each HID use a 10A" - Duckworks
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Jim Peck
San Francisco Bay Area
RV-7
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01-08-2011, 02:19 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: California
Posts: 652
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Breaker versus wire size
Quote:
Originally Posted by MSFT-1
Can someone help me with this? What size wire should these lights use? How do I do the calculation?
thanks.
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According to my trusty reference, protect 18 gauge wire with a 10 amp breaker, and 16 gauge wire with a 15 amp breaker.
So if you are wired with 16 gauge, feel free to just up the breaker size. You also might consider swapping out the breaker in case it's a "weak" one.
Don
__________________
RV-8 QB Titan ECi 191HP XIO-360
WW200RV Dynon D180 HS34 AP74
GNS430 SL30 GTX327 PS8000B Uavionix Echouat
"Pilots are alchemists... we turn gold into lead."
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01-08-2011, 09:06 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 2,473
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As others have pointed out, your choices are kind of limited by your wire size....if you have beefy enough wire then just put in a bigger breaker, if not then add a 2nd breaker or fuse. You're probably in the gray area of current draw being right on the edge of your breaker and environment (how hot things get under the panel, etc..).
My 2 cents as usual!
Cheers,
Stein
Last edited by SteinAir : 01-08-2011 at 09:16 PM.
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01-08-2011, 09:12 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 3,275
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lux Wrangler
If all else fails, try reading the instructions....
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Cruel. That is against one of the Guy Code rules.
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01-09-2011, 07:54 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 110
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I'm a man and I can change, if...
Well, I wasn't trying to be cruel. I have spent a many day-job-hours writting technical instructions that too few read. On the other hand; I think if I had been following the Red Green example, instead of spending so much time reading the instructions, I would be finished with my 7.
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Jim Peck
San Francisco Bay Area
RV-7
Last edited by Lux Wrangler : 01-09-2011 at 08:08 AM.
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01-09-2011, 08:08 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Albuquerque
Posts: 297
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circuit length
circuit length has nothing to do with the circuit breaker.
The wire is sized to the load (upsized for voltage drop if necessary) and the circuit breaker sized to the wire.
Typically circuit breakers should not be loaded past 80% of the continuous load.
Dave
-9A flying
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