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?
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Inoperative Wing Light
- Thread starter Pilotjim77
- Start date
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).
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/
Didn't even realize that was on the Vans site. Thanks so much!
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.
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.
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