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Best wire routing

burgessbuilderMO13

Active Member
Gents
I will soon be starting the routing of all the wiring in the fuselage. As of now the only electric system installation is dual batteries in the aft of baggage bulkhead location .
I do not have(yet) a wiring kit, so am wondering is there a drawing or an instruction that is a good suggestion to the actual routing of most commonly run wire. The heavier guage sizes in particular due to the stiffness and size.
Any lessons learned are welcomed.
Are there good builder video's posted that show their installation?
Did you use the Vans wiring kit, if so any advice?
Thanks
 
Dale,

There are some standard approaches to this that most RV-10 builders have done, such as two or three conduit lines running along the fuselage sides and then under baggage compartment. You may wish to first look at some of the RV-10 builder's sited for photos. If you like you can send me your email address and I will send you some photos as well.

I did not use the Van's wiring kit on this airplane or the one before it. The people I've talked to that have say it is a good start, but does not cover all that is needed. With the RV-10 there are so many options and avionics that a standard wire kit does not make sense.

One specific recommendation, use #2 welding cable for your power run to the starter solenoid. I got a 100' roll of made in America wire off eBay and it got used in several RVs. Here is one of many examples: http://www.ebay.com/itm/25-FT-2-AWG...hash=item51ba74cd80:m:mi_gZLqOmVObnlqxY_HKuRg

Carl
 
Wiring kit

The wiring kit is an excellent choice for the first time installer of an electrical system.
It will give the all important answers you are looking for, routing of wires and basic installation. This is a huge head scratcher for someone who has never done this before. It will give you a professionally made up schematic and loads of information along with a box full of parts to get started.
From the basic system you'll be able to add on as your needs dictate.

When you are done, you'll wonder why you needed it but that is because you've now learned to install an electrical system.
 
I may be going against what the standard suggestions may be, but the more I service planes, the more firm I believe what I am about to say.

If you haven't closed up your rear seat floors and baggage floors yet, don't run wires yet. Run conduits. The number a location of conduits depends on the expected avionics. Don't mount ANYTHING electronic until the airframe is completely closed up and the upper forward fuse is on. You can install nut plates and plan for installations, but don't install anything or run any wires yet. If you can't install it after things are closed up, then you can't fix it after things are closed up. Conduits are great, and there is no such thing as too many (short of adding too much weight or removing too much structure to run them.

The main problem with the Van's wiring kit is one of my main pet peaves about wiring. They have all white wires. It also falls way short of what most -10's will need/want.
 
wiring kit

You can order the plans CD from Van's for $10.00. On it you'll find OP-37 which is the plans for the wiring kit. It may help you get a starting point for what you want to do but without the expense. Then you can buy the wire and parts from Steinair.com (or wherever) for what you decide to do.

What I did at your stage I documented here:
https://520lw.wordpress.com/2014/12/14/baggage-compartment/
 
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Wire by the roll

I agree with most of what others before have said.
- run conduit
- use colored wire(get some white, black, red)
- once you figure out what gauges you need, buy rolls of it. I made the mistake of trying to by just what I needed and ended up ordering wire about 20 times.
- get a Dyno labeler and heat shrink labels (the labels are expensive but it makes a nice clean install.) What I did was make the label and slip it on each wire, but don't shrink it until the end when you cut the wire down. That way you can out the label in the right spot.
 
As to white wires-----------

I bought an assortment of various color shrink tube like this.

514R4EEKjPL.jpg


http://www.amazon.com/Length-Heat-S...457458077&sr=1-11&keywords=heat+shrink+tubing

I cut a short piece and use it on either end of a white wire to identify the wire, sometimes use two color bands if needed for larger wire bundles.

Make notes on your schematic drawing for later identification.

Totally agree with the idea of running conduit under the rear seat floor----- I used blue flex "Smurf" tubing and end fittings from the homebuilt aviation isle at Lowes.

P5110057.jpg


For much of the rest of the wiring, I ran it forward along the side panel under the door opening.

P5130009.jpg


One thing I did that worked out great was to make up a small tab out of scrap alum, and drill it for snap bushings, mounted on the longereon forward of the panel, and run the wiring up through the snap bushings. This helped to keep things organized. You can see it here just above the front end of NACA scoop.

SUNP0010.jpg
 
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I 100% agree with Jesse. If you can't install after things are buttoned up, you can't service or inspect. Don't worry about crawling under the dash. If you hate it during the install, it will form your ideas on wire routing. :)

But you should plan your wire routing before things are totally closed up.

Vans does have a basic layout for wire and antenna cable routing. This is a good place to start.
 
If you haven't closed up your rear seat floors and baggage floors yet, don't run wires yet. Run conduits. The number a location of conduits depends on the expected avionics.

I'm struggling right now trying to visualize the number and size of conduits I need. I thought after staring at my quickbuilds it would magically come to me by 20 hours or so messing with them it hasn't.

My current plan is single battery, dual alternators, full glass, 2 axis autopilot, maybe a yaw dampener, maybe rudder trim... I'm putting landing lights in the wings as well as an AoA/heated pitot and I may do a wingtip antenna... I guess in short I plan on a lot of wires run aft to forward and from the wings.

I've looked at others and it seems people use anything from a 3/8th to an 1" conduit. Typically a single in the wings, sometimes two... and for the fuselage 2 or 3 runs down each side. Vans sells 5/8th so is that typically what is used? Or should I go with something larger given how much stuff I'm picturing throwing in?
 
If you use the Van's conduit that fits in a 3/4" hole, you should route at least 2 down each side (only under the rear seat floor and baggage floor, use snap bushing where there is access). In the last plane I did I ran 3 total 1"ID conduits straight from the flap torque tune area to the tailcone. We only used 2. The benefit of this straight run is that you can push wires through easily. Any turns and the wire hangs up on the corrugations. The bigger tubes proved wonderful because of total cross sectional area.
 
One follow up question as I wrap up all my conduit runs.... If I run the Vans conduit through a deburred 3/4 hole do I need to add Proseal or RTV around it to keep it from chaffing?

Also the pass through hole from the wings to the fuselage, what size are people generally drilling this to? Do I pass the AoA and Pitot lines through the or made another few holes with some snap bushings specifically for these?
 
You shouldn't need rtf, but a dab couldn't hurt.

In the wing root you can do it however works best. I usually am able to fit everything through a 3/4" hole with a snap bushing.
 
Also, there is no law that says you have to use the corrugated junk. There are a lot of smooth plastic tubes available. I run mine from under the rear armrests and out through the lightening holes in the battery area. They curve ninety degrees, but with smooth tubes the stuff slides right through. Same for the wings.
 
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