Show us your firewall

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

In perusing some of the builder sites, and is trying to figure out EXACTLY how I want to lay out the electrical system in my RV-7A, I've come across very interesting and diverse uses of the real estate that is the firewall.

So I thought it might be interesting for people to paste images of their firewall.

Whatdayathink?

 

[grjtucson]

Great Idea!

Great idea Bob, I'll go first. Hope to learn something and maybe share something useful with what I've done for my RV-7 so far:

1 - Brake reservoir
2 - Homemade ground bus, sheet brass w/soldered on 1/4" fast tabs
3 - Starboard wire pass-thru, 1/2" conduit elbow
4 - Van's PC680 battery box
5 - B & C current limiter, 60amp
6 - Starter contactor, and above left, main contactor, both Van's and per plans (+ battery cable will be tied to main contactor, loose now)
7 - AN6 Fuel from AFP boost pump in cabin
8 - Hole for Throttle Cable
9 - Hole for Mixture Cable
10 - Hole for Heater Valve, Stainless from Plane Innovations
11 - AN4's for Brakes
12 - Screws holding parking brake
13 - Port wire pass-thru, 1/2" conduit elbow
14 - 1/4" brass barbed nipple for manifold pressure

- The flanges are in progress for screwed on cowl and the bottom one needs trimming in the middle.
- Pay no attention to the random pigtail on the starter contact.
- Location and orientation of elbows chosen for ease of tying wire to engine mount and access to the port side sensor manifold (bolt holes visible).
- I'm wiring for e-mag/p-mag but with shielded p-leads, and a GRT EIS-4000 EMS.
- I'm using a Plane Power 60amp internally regulated alternator.

Current plan for pass-thrus as follows:

Starboard Pass-Thru:
Alternator Field, 18 AWG Tefzel White (will be tied to current limiter starboard terminal)
Battery Bus Feed, 14 AWG Tefzel White (shown - tied to + battery terminal)
EMS Ammeter, 20 AWG Tefzel White
EMS Ammeter Excitation, 20 AWG Tefzel White
EMS Tachometer, 20 AWG Tefzel White
Left Ignition Power, 18 AWG Tefzel White
Main Bus Feed, 08 AWG Tefzel White (shown - tied to current limiter port terminal)
Master Switch, 20 AWG Tefzel White
P-Lead Left, 22-3 Shielded
P-Lead Right, 22-3 Shielded
Right Ignition Power, 18 AWG Tefzel White
Starter Switch, 18 AWG Tefzel White

Port Passthru:
CHT 1, CHT White Wire
CHT 1, CHT Red Wire
CHT 2, CHT White Wire
CHT 2, CHT Red Wire
CHT 3, CHT White Wire
CHT 3, CHT Red Wire
CHT 4, CHT White Wire
CHT 4, CHT Red Wire
EGT 1, EGT Red Wire
EGT 1, EGT Yellow Wire
EGT 2, EGT Red Wire
EGT 2, EGT Yellow Wire
EGT 3, EGT Red Wire
EGT 3, EGT Yellow Wire
EGT 4, EGT Red Wire
EGT 4, EGT Yellow Wire
EMS Fuel Flow, 20 AWG Tefzel White
EMS Fuel Flow Excitation, 20 AWG Tefzel White
EMS Fuel Pressure, 20 AWG Tefzel White
EMS Fuel Pressure Excitation, 20 AWG Tefzel White
EMS Oil Pressure, 20 AWG Tefzel White
EMS Oil Temperature, 20 AWG Tefzel White

George

 

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

Very impressive, George. Say, what's the black wire off the starter contactor at the front -- the one that wraps into the battery box. It looks almost like an alligator clip.

 

[grjtucson]

Say, what's the black wire off the starter contactor at the front -- the one that wraps into the battery box. It looks almost like an alligator clip.

It is...

- Pay no attention to the random pigtail on the starter contact.

George

 

[rv8bldr]

Here's mine from, gulp, 6 years ago (hard to believe I've been flying it for 5 years )

The voltage regulator in the top center went away when I got the alternator with the built in one.

There is a 60amp blade fuse in the lower left near the heat vent.

Fuel flow transducer is in the lower right.

The Hall Effect sensor is just slightly left of dead center going to my RMI uMonitor engine monitoring computer.

Knock wood, I haven't had any issues with the electrical system or anything under the cowl since I started flying 5 years and 300+ hours ago.

Cheers

 

[f1rocket]

My suggestion would be to keep as much stuff off the firewall as possible for two reasons. One, everythingt looks accessable now but once the engine is hung it won't be, and two, all that stuff will collect oil, dirt, and grime rather quickly. It is a known fact of the universe that Lycomings MUST spit and leak oil from somewhere.

On my Rocket, I only had two things on the firewall, the engine heat box and the 3-port manifold van's sells for all the engine sensors and both were up high where I could get to them.

Just a thought.