Order of Assembly

[docjjrmd]

For those that have gone before, any insights in whether avionics and wiring should be installed before or after engine controls? Or does it matter? Thanks.

 

[koupster]

John,

Look at it this way. If you were building a new barn with plumbing and electric power, Would you rather route the wiring around the installed plumbing, or route the plumbing around the already installed wiring.

Plumbing requires straighter runs and gentler bends than wiring.

You can always install the engine controls, note what spaces are free for the wiring, maybe disconnect them and tie them out of the way, and then permanantly install them once the wiring is finished.

 

[henrysamson]

I received my wiring/avionics long before my engine. My first engine was destroyed in transit so the one I installed arrived MUCH later. The wiring and avionics were fully installed but I did not go through and secure the wiring with zip ties until after the engine and controls were installed. That allowed for some movement until everything was installed. As far as engine controls, there is the throttle cable, two heater cables and the fuel shutoff cable that have to be run. Only the throttle cable passes through the firewall. There is not much wiring from the aircraft harness connected to the engine anyway as the Rotax 912iS has its own harness that connects to the ECU.

Henry

 

[jsalley]

Because the main wiring harness is preassembled, and has a couple of large bundles, it’s easier to install earlier than later. As Henry noted, there really isn’t much to the engine controls, and the wiring doesn’t interfere with installing them. It’s also a bit easier to deal with the wiring connections on the engine side of the firewall before the engine goes in.

 

[docjjrmd]

Thanks for the input. My inclination was to install the wiring bundles before the relatively simple controls. On to radiator decisions.:>)

 

[Mjjstang]

I'm installing my wiring and Avionics right now. I've read ahead a bit to see what comes later and doesn't seem like it will be a big deal for the engine controls. Zip ties are cheap. I did leave a lot of slack in them though and will tighten them or cut them and install new ones later depending on the remaining controls.

 

[unladenswallow]

I installed the avionics before the engine. You can't run the engine before at least some of he avionics is installed, because the engine is controlled by the ignition module and monitored by the EFIS.