Electric problem

[6 Gun]

I went to airport to go flying pulled RV6 out for start up started up the engine and looked at gauges and my GRT efis had #1 cyl at 2180 others normal then I noticed smoke coming from my GPS and it went dark reached over and flipped off master looked back and everything still hot so I flipped master again and again still hot would not cut off now starting to get nervous.So another few seconds went by and the 2 amp breaker for the LED under the brow lights breaker pops and master shuts off.Wow what the heck just happened I tried to KIS my panel and wired every thing from buss bar to breaker then toggle switch and the panel lights toggle was not even on but the breaker popped. The master solenoid is insulated type with one post that vans sells and master toggle is ground to airframe behind panel and closing toggle grounds solenoid to make up circuit.Got a new GPS went back checked everything out and started engine everything normal.Ordered new solenoid will install before flight.Any idea why or how solenoid could ground out like that.
Bob

[BobTurner]

Well, hard to say. But it sounds like you had a short between the master to solenoid wire and your LED panel lights (which then provided a path to ground for the solenoid).

[bret]

Hum....that's a good one, is something back feeding from a bad ground, engine to battery to airframe, to forest O tabs?

[lr172]

I agree with Bob on the cause of the "stuck" master solenoid. However, the fried GPS points to other potential problems as well. I would be looking closely at all of the wiring to find the root cause. There must be a reason that all of sudden your master sol wiring and lamp wiring became one. You're looking for melted wires or metal wearing through multiple wires via abrasion as the most likely.

Good luck.

Larry

[6 Gun]

Thanks guys for your input I went out and looked at my wiring and I made a mistake of tying my GPS to the panellight breaker because I never used the panel lights, mistake as I had no way to disconnect other than breaker popping now it has its on breaker and toggle also found I piggybacked ignition and flaps thinking both would not be used at same time changing that also.
Thanks Bob

[lr172]

Originally Posted by 6 Gun

Thanks guys for your input I went out and looked at my wiring and I made a mistake of tying my GPS to the panellight breaker because I never used the panel lights, mistake as I had no way to disconnect other than breaker popping now it has its on breaker and toggle also found I piggybacked ignition and flaps thinking both would not be used at same time changing that also.
Thanks Bob

Did you figure out how your master wiring became one with the panel light circuit? If it were me, I would want to know how the ground was being provided to the master solenoid with the switch off.

Larry