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06-03-2013, 11:16 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Camas, WA
Posts: 150
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Garmin 430W Overheating - Suggestions
Situation: Radio stack is a PS Engineering PAR100EX with a Garmin 430W below with minimum clearance mounted in the center of my RV9A panel. I have added a small avionics blower, located on the right front side of the subpanel, to the Garmin to reduce the possibility of overheating and having the screen fade or go blank, which I have experienced on hot days in the past. I have a padded covered black glare shield with 3/8 inch foam backing.
Last weekend at the pancake breakfast at Twin Oaks, the plane was park in the sun for about one hour with outside air temperature about 70 degrees. When I opened the slider canopy, it was quite warm inside. Within 10 minutes after taking off and climbing to 3500 feet the 430W screen began to fade and became unreadable. During the course of the next 40 minutes or so, I shut the unit down to let it cool, restarted it with limited success. Eventually I shut it off for the duration of the flight relying on my second radio. During the flight the panel was quite warm and, reaching under the panel to feel the 430W case, the case was very hot to the touch. After I landed, I again reached under the panel and touched the case. It was very hot. I have since checked to confirm the avionics blower was working and the line to the 430W was unobstructed.
Diagnosis: My conclusion to this point is that the area under the glare shield had gotten too warm from sitting in the sun when the plane was parked and later from heat from the firewall to allow for cooling the 430W, though not noticeably warm to pilot and passenger. (Note, I ran the 430W on the ground for 45 minutes the next day. It did not heat up.)
Question: Has anyone had a similar experience and if so, what solutions have they tried and implemented. I will be using a canopy cover in the future and make sure that I keep the canopy open when sitting out in the sun. That said, I am not sure that will be sufficient given that I am having this problem on a 70 degree day.
John
__________________
John Volkober
RV-9A
Camas, WA
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06-03-2013, 12:09 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Redding,Ca
Posts: 633
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Fail to boot
Ill be watching this thread with interest, I have had mine fail to boot once after sitting on the ramp at Mojave for the day. It locked up on the boot screen that shows software vs. IIRC, but the display was normal. It booted after 10 min or so of flight, and always since. I suspected it was either heat or an issue with not reading the data card.
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06-03-2013, 12:19 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 2,473
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Just a quick question, but did you put any sort of "vent holes" in the glareshield? If not, this is a must in these RV's, otherwise you're just making a fancy oven underneath the glareshield behind the panel....it's also what is Northern folks use for a defroster (with a small muffin fan in those said holes).
Cheers,
Stein
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06-03-2013, 12:32 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: In New Braunfels, ist das Leben schön!
Posts: 871
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JVolkober
I have added a small avionics blower, located on the right front side of the subpanel, to the Garmin to reduce the possibility of overheating
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John,
Do you have it attached to the air hole on the connector backplate? I asked my avionics mentor (certified avionics shop GM) about that and he said he doesn't see them installed and doesn't see problems. I'm also watching this thread as I have the exact same setup although I haven't flown yet.
__________________
Larry New
RV-7A - Built, flying 900+ hrs
RV-10 - Built, flying 2.9 hrs
??? - RV-12, Subsonex
48 States in 7 Days!
VAF Paid - Annual Autodraft
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06-03-2013, 12:33 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: La Feria Texas
Posts: 3,822
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Another idea, the RV12 uses two fans on the floor behind the panel. One is blowing cool air into the area, and the other is pulling the heated air out. Seems like a neat idea that seems to work well.
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06-03-2013, 12:39 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 2,473
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Quote:
Originally Posted by larrynew
John,
Do you have it attached to the air hole on the connector backplate? I asked my avionics mentor (certified avionics shop GM) about that and he said he doesn't see them installed and doesn't see problems. I'm also watching this thread as I have the exact same setup although I haven't flown yet.
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I sort of depends on how/where it was installed. Many times we install cooling fans for the avionics, sometimes we don't. If it's in the middle of a big stack without much ventilation in the avionics bay, then yes a fan/hose would be a very good idea. Conversely, if it's installed nearly on it's own in a well ventilated area, then probably not too big of a deal. Either way you should have some sort of vent holes in the glareshield...if not you'll just end up recirculating lots of warm air.
Cheers,
Stein
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06-03-2013, 01:50 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Camas, WA
Posts: 150
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Response to questions
The blower is attached to the port at the back of the chaise. Frankly, I do not detect much additional air flow through the bottom of the 430. Perhaps there are other places for the air to exit. And as Stein has suggested, its probably just warm air in any event until I can devise a method for getting cooler air up there.
The thought of putting in vent holes in my nice padded glare shield is unsettling but may be necessary. A lot of effort and dollars went into it looking for that finished look.
John
__________________
John Volkober
RV-9A
Camas, WA
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06-03-2013, 02:02 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 167
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteinAir
Either way you should have some sort of vent holes in the glareshield...if not you'll just end up recirculating lots of warm air.
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Any recommendations on how big these holes should be? And where to place them?
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06-03-2013, 02:36 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 2,473
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It is not important where the holes are, but that they are there. Also, I'm not an advocate of simply punching a bunch of ugly holes and leaving it be. We use some nice "grates / vents" that are usually painted to match the glareshield, that way they actually look good, not bad. I've seen people use bushings, grommets, automotive heater vents, computer case vent screens, etc...
This is one of those areas where you can't let vanity and form take over safety and function.
Cheers,
Stein
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06-03-2013, 05:48 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: St. Louis, MO
Posts: 1,788
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Like this
Then finish them like this....
Now you have a defroster!
__________________
Bill Peyton
RV-10 - 1125 hrs
N37CP
First Flight Oct 2012
Aviation Partners, LLC
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