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ACM and Switches

GrinchF16

Well Known Member
If you have an AFS Advanced Control Module and used standard toggle switches on your panel, could you tell me exactly how you wired your switches?

Thanks
Brian
 
Not trying to be snarky, but per the AFS wiring diagrams.

The ACM allows for a lot of functionality, but as is always the case you'll probably want to do something out the ACM's number of supported circuits. Then you'll need to add a bus and some kind of current protection.
 
ACM

I haven't wired them yet but have drawn the schematics. Plannis to run a bus accross all the switches. Bus wire routes to the FOT. Other side of each switch is wired per ACM plans to pins on the harness.
I did add one protected circuit from the Master to two breakers then the P-Mag switches. AFS recommended.
 
Not trying to be snarky, but per the AFS wiring diagrams.

The ACM allows for a lot of functionality, but as is always the case you'll probably want to do something out the ACM's number of supported circuits. Then you'll need to add a bus and some kind of current protection.

The problem with the ACM diagrams is twofold:
1) The diagram shows wiring for their Switch Panels
2) The switches are not power switches but logic switches which is confusing to me.

Thanks though
 
I haven't wired them yet but have drawn the schematics. Plannis to run a bus accross all the switches. Bus wire routes to the FOT. Other side of each switch is wired per ACM plans to pins on the harness.
I did add one protected circuit from the Master to two breakers then the P-Mag switches. AFS recommended.

Larry, any chance you could upload or pm the schematics to me?
 
The problem with the ACM diagrams is twofold:
1) The diagram shows wiring for their Switch Panels
2) The switches are not power switches but logic switches which is confusing to me.

Thanks though

Ah, okay. Activation (turning on) of a circuit in the ACM is done electronically. Even an AFS provided switch panel doesn't actually switch current on and off to the desired device like we are used to. The actual switching happens inside the ACM. We just give the ACM a signal when we want the switching to happen. The signal can be a pin (wire) that gets grounded by you with any kind of switch, or it can be done via the on-screen interface. (Nice to be able to lower or raise flaps even if your switch fails or wires break)

So while the 'signal' aspect of the wiring diagram is somewhat foreign, it really is a very simple way of handling our switches. Instead of the switch handling the current, the switch only talks to the ACM by grounding out some particular pin location on the connectors for the ACM. This makes it convenient to use really tiny switches and makes them last nearly forever since they don't carry any meaningful current.

This methodology then makes it really easy for the ACM to talk back to you with meaningful information via the displays. If you are concerned about something like the canopy starting to open inflight. You can take one of the available pin positions described as 'inputs' and lead it to a microswitch that senses canopy position. You tell the ACM software what it means when the switch is either open or closed to ground, and it can give you a visual and aural alert on your display and headset while inflight. An added bonus is that the current is so low on the 'signal' wire that you can locally ground if you like and not have to worry about 'ground looping' noise. This cuts down wire runs back to your FOT or 'forest of tabs.'
 

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