[Pilotjim77]

Quick electrical question: left wing nav/strobe lights not working. I have the wings off for annual inspection. Before removing the light, I checked the fuselage connector. Three contact points. Ground is good. I’m guessing the other two are for the lights and the stall warning. With the light switch on, I’m getting 12.5 V on one contact and 10 V or so on the other. I had assumed I would get 12 V on both. Is this normal?

 

[BobTurner]

Quick electrical question: left wing nav/strobe lights not working. I have the wings off for annual inspection. Before removing the light, I checked the fuselage connector. Three contact points. Ground is good. I’m guessing the other two are for the lights and the stall warning. With the light switch on, I’m getting 12.5 V on one contact and 10 V or so on the other. I had assumed I would get 12 V on both. Is this normal?

First, do you have any kind of a wiring diagram? Do you have separate switches for strobes and nav lights (if the answer is "no" this would be strange. You'd like to turn off the strobes if you're parked right next to someone on the runup ramp, but not the nav lights, if it's dark).

 

[Pilotjim77]

It's a single switch on/off which controls both nav and strobe. There's no option to turn on just the nav lights. I don't recall any separate wiring diagram in the documents, but I'll look again. I've been trying to figure it out using the kit assembly instructions, but no luck so far.

 

[12vaitor]

It's a single switch on/off which controls both nav and strobe. There's no option to turn on just the nav lights. I don't recall any separate wiring diagram in the documents, but I'll look again. I've been trying to figure it out using the kit assembly instructions, but no luck so far.

Go Van's web site and scroll down the "Downloads" page to the RV-12 Electrical System Diagrams. Pick the electrical configuration that matches your avionics installation and you will get a complete schematic for the wiring.
https://www.vansaircraft.com/downloads/

 

[Pilotjim77]

Go Van's web site and scroll down the "Downloads" page to the RV-12 Electrical System Diagrams. Pick the electrical configuration that matches your avionics installation and you will get a complete schematic for the wiring.
https://www.vansaircraft.com/downloads/

Didn't even realize that was on the Vans site. Thanks so much!

 

[Tony_T]

Hi Jim,
Based on some of your earlier posts; it's probably safe to a assume your RV12 is a early build (2009-2011) and the wing connectors are the very early type as shown in this picture:



If so, then I think the problem with the left wing NAV/Strobe light is these wing connectors. If you bend the connectors out so the y make better contact it only lasts for a while until these lose connection again. This problem was recognized pretty early and a better more positive connector was designed. The plans were updated and an update plan set was issued to use the new connectors. This update was KAI 31A. Unfortunately, this was so long ago that the plan set is no longer available on Van's website but I do have a PDF that I can send you if need it.



To fully update and include seperation of the NAV and Strobe functions and sync the lights so they flash together would require pulling in two new wires into the wings and changes to the wiring harness and panel switch. This is difficult; but you can just update the connectors only. You would still just have the NAV/STROBE combined on your existing switch panel.

 

[Pilotjim77]

Thanks Tony. I actually do have the newer connectors.

 

[Tony_T]

Thanks Tony. I actually do have the newer connectors.

Jim, while you have the wing off, you can check that the wing light works with a 9 volt battery. Also check each connector pin very carefully that it is inserted into the blue connector properly and locked in. I had a similar problem and I found one pin was upside down in the connector.

 

[bbaggerman]

It's a single switch on/off which controls both nav and strobe. There's no option to turn on just the nav lights.

Huh??? Push the top and get Nav and Strobe. Push the bottom and get just Nav. Middle position everything is off.

 

[Pilotjim77]

Huh??? Push the top and get Nav and Strobe. Push the bottom and get just Nav. Middle position everything is off.

If I had the switch in your picture, that would be nice. As I said, mine is an on/off switch, no middle position.

 

[Pilotjim77]

Jim, while you have the wing off, you can check that the wing light works with a 9 volt battery. Also check each connector pin very carefully that it is inserted into the blue connector properly and locked in. I had a similar problem and I found one pin was upside down in the connector.

Good idea. I've been assuming the light was not working because of the 10 v reading on one of the contacts. Maybe the light itself is bad. I'll give that a try.

 

[Tony_T]

Huh??? Push the top and get Nav and Strobe. Push the bottom and get just Nav. Middle position everything is off.

View attachment 119675

Negative; he has the earlier switch panel:

 

[12vaitor]

Thanks Tony. I actually do have the newer connectors.

You appear to be missing some pins in the connector. The Left wing connector should have 5 contacts (Nav power, Strobe power, strobe synch, stall warning switch, and ground). The Right wing connector should have 6 contacts if a landing light is installed (Nav power, Strobe power, Strobe synch, Landing Light power, Wig-Wag power, and ground). The aircraft side wires go to the AV-50000 module then to the AV-500 switch module. There should be a filter capacitor installed on each L&R strobe power line, usually located on the fuselage side.

 

[whity1231$]

I think if he has the older D

 

[whity1231$]

I’ll try this again . If he has the D180 as pictured, he doesn’t have the the AV 5000.It would have Van’s earlier RV 12 module. One of my lights quit and it was the light, around $1,000 for the pair if I remember.

 

[Pilotjim77]

So, I put 12 V to each wing contact and all of the lights are working properly. I guess it’s gotta be the switch or the circuit board.

 

[rvbuilder2002]

So, I put 12 V to each wing contact and all of the lights are working properly. I guess it’s gotta be the switch or the circuit board.

Have you looked at electrical system diagram available on Vans web site?

If the lights do actually work on the right wing, the diagram clearly shows that it is impossible for the circuit board or switch to be the problem.
A single wire leaves the circuit board and then somewhere in the fuselage (sorry, it is too long ago for me to remember where this is located) it splits into two wires. One for the left-wing and one for the right wing.
Your problem has to be at that splice point or somewhere beyond it, but the splice point is what I would be looking for first.

 

[Mich48041]

The O.P. measured 10 volts at the wing root. Assume a digital voltmeter has an internal resistance of 10 megohms.
Using ohms law, the meter is conducting 10 volts / 10 megohms = 0.000001 amps. It is a series circuit.
So the bad connection is also conducting 0.000001 amps and must be dropping 2.5 volts.
Battery voltage of 12.5 minus meter voltage of 10 equals 2.5 volts dropped across the bad connection.
Using ohms law, calculate the resistance of the bad connection.
R = 2.5 volts divided by 0.000001 amps equals 2,500,000 ohms.
So there is a bad connection with a resistance of 2.5 megohms.
These calculations do not help find the bad connection. But they explain why the meter is displaying 10 volts.

 

[Tony_T]

Two questions:
1. There are only 2 pins + 1 ground pin on that connector as shown in the OP pictures. One pin is for 12 volts to the wing light and the other pin is to the stall switch in the wing. I don't think there should be any voltage to the stall connection. If so; there should only be one pin that is powered. My question here is which pin has the 12.5 volts and which pin has the 10 volts (or so) on it?

2. The pin to the wing light appears to be cocked in this picture; is it correctly installed and locked or can it be pushed?