Shielded Wire on Alternator

[Steve A]

I read that the main wire from the alternator to the main bus has to be shielded (not the field wire). I went to buy #6 shielded wire and both B and C and Steins did not sell it. Am I mistaken in that I have to use shielded wire or can I use plain old #6 teflon coated wire?

S S Anderson
Lafayette, La.
Final Stuff

 

[f1rocket]

I've never used shielded wire in this installation. I'm not even sure they make a shielded version much larger than 8AWG.

They do make a seperate shield "sheathing" that you could manually put over this wire, but I don't think it's needed. I've never seen a wiring diagram or written instructions calling for it.

 

[deene]

Requiring shielding on alternator feed wire is another aircraft wife's tale...from the days of Cessna shotgunning noise fixes.

Alternators do have a small amount of ripple from the diode rectification of the ac output from the stator. The battery knocks this down some and most, if not all, aircraft electrical accessories are immune to the remaining level of noise.

Just use #6 or #8 plain milspec wire (not teflon). For more info, see:

http://www.aeroelectric.com/

 

[Steve A]

Shielded Wire

Thanks for the quick reply. Will move forward, it is great to get advice quick and painless. Now back to work.

S S Anderson
Lafayette, La.
Finish before the hot weather comes.