Van's wiring harness - schematic

[Darren S]

I am building a -7 and am thinking of buying the Van's wiring harness for $350. It is item : Two place wiring harness kits: ES WH 6/7/9 KIT.

Does anyone know where I could look at the wiring schematic to see if it will fit my needs ? Their site doesn't show anything.

Thanks,

Darren

[Skint]

I used Van's wiring harness and, as I was told later, its a good place to start. You will find you will be running many other wires also. For example, if you put strobes on your 7 thats not on Vans, auto pilot servos not on Van's, ( and beware of insufficent grommets in the wing ribs to carry all the wires before you close em up)
I should have planned better what equipment I was going to have and then wired accordingly......then added some extras!

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by Skint

You will find you will be running many other wires also. For example, if you put strobes on your 7 thats not on Vans, auto pilot servos not on Van's,

Not true.

The wiring harness accommodates nav. lights, strobes and landing lights.
It does not accommodate auto pilot (the requirements very from one brand to another).

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

You can buy the OP drawing from Van's. I can't remember the exact number, though -- OP-28 maybe. Should be able to find it at the company store.

[aturner]

Unless I missed something big, Van's harness accommodates lighting, but does not include any of the wing wiring or high voltage strobe leads. This question was confusing to me, as I purchased the harness when finishing the wings, only to find out upon delivery that it contains just fuselage wiring.

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by aturner

Unless I missed something big, Van's harness accommodates lighting, but does not include any of the wing wiring or high voltage strobe leads. This question was confusing to me, as I purchased the harness when finishing the wings, only to find out upon delivery that it contains just fuselage wiring.

The Harness kit does come with extra wire in the common gauge sizes for doing the routing through the wings for the landing lights, nav. lights, etc.
You are correct that it does not come with the high voltage cables required for the strobes. Their are a lot of different strobe configurations available (remote supplies in the wing tips, central supply with cables leading to each strobe tube, etc) so the cables have to be done separately depending on the system you choose.

[AirbusPilot]

don?t buy it.

I ended up trowing away and I did a complite new installation.

Spend the money in wire and circuit brakers

Also buy bob nuckell book

Just my 2 cents

[jthocker]

Originally Posted by AirbusPilot

don?t buy it.

I ended up trowing away and I did a complite new installation.

Spend the money in wire and circuit brakers

Also buy bob nuckell book

Just my 2 cents

As usual I will dispute that there is anything wrong with Van's harness and schematic.
I've used them for the last 4 airplanes, and have had great success using them as a basis, and then modifying them slightly to accommodate particular needs.

My 2 cents,

[Isaac]

I bought the wiring harness kit but wound up using very little of it. If you are doing a very basic electrical system then the Van's wiring kit might be practical but I am of the same opinion as Fernando "save your money and buy wire and circuit breakers and get Bob Nuckoll's book for guidance". I did find that the OP drawing was a little bit helpful as a reference. Just my opinion so ...

[robertahegy]

I agree with the idea if your system is simple, the Van's kit is fine. If you are going with a lot of fancy lighting, radios and analyzers, do your own buying. I did much more than the kit covers and needed more wire and other items like CBs and terminal boards. The big trick is to plan ahead, as suggested, and try to incorporate your electrical system into the plane as you progress in the building. It is easier to run wires and set things up before parts of the plane are closed up. Do a simple schematic and include everything you plan on installing. Having the equipment in hand will aid you in determining wire and CB requirements and how certain things can be mounted.

I used the kit in my 7A (came with FWF kit) and the components were good and the premarked wires were helpful. I used what I could and suplemented what I needed extra. The OP that Bob mentioned is a good, basic schematic and can help in the planning.

Have Fun
Roberta