and another electrical question ...

[lrobichaux]

My EarthX ETX900VNT is installed in the aft avionics bay (which FX / EX do not have). I noticed that there are FOUR things connected to the negative battery terminal, two of which are the battery maintainer and battery jump pack. Very cluttered. Is there any reason that I cannot move those connections 6" to the connection where the battery grounds to the frame? It will meaningfully declutter / destress the negative terminal and make removal of the battery easier.

 

[ve6yeq]

Assuming (maybe correctly or not as I have not seen the full XCub wiring diagrams) that the 4 things are:

• Starter + Main Bus Contactors
• Battery Maintainer
• Jump Pack
• Electronic Ignition (the installation manual specifies direct battery connection and shielded wires)

But on the EX-3/FX-3, there is also a cabin power connector behind the pilot's seat, which is directly connected to the battery via a 5 A inline blade fuse. I am not sure if this is also on the XCub.

The battery maintainer (should be 10 A max) can be connected anywhere that has power when the master contactor is off. The jump pack can also be moved anywhere before the starter contactor that has the "thick" wiring (e.g. to the battery side of the starter contactor). And if it is just the cabin power connector, that can also definitely be moved.

 

[lrobichaux]

Understood, but I'm more interested in decluttering the negative terminal. See attached schematic. From CC, the negative terminal has two things connected to the negative terminal. The L IGN circuit breaker and a thick cable to the fuselage lug. Since delivery, two additional things have been added to the negative battery terminal. Battery maintainer and jump pack. I assume there's no problem moving the battery maintainer and jump pack negative leads to the fuselage lug, correct? The positive terminal isn't as crowded.

 

[ve6yeq]

Moving the negative and/or positive connections is equivalent.

And if the wires are long enough, I would move the jump pack negative and the battery maintainer negative to the "fuselage lug" if there is space (remember the 4 rings per bolt limit). If there is only space for one more on the fuselage lug, move the jump pack, as that has the highest current. The diagram also shows that the starter contactor input bolt is full, so I would move the "aux cabin power connector" (wire PWR016A20) from bolt A1 on the starter contactor (PWR-K2) to bolt A1 on the master contactor (PWR-K1). I would then connect the positive from the jump box to the now available spot on bolt A1 of the starter contactor and the positive from the battery maintainer to bolt A1 on the master contactor. That should remove 2 wires from each battery terminal.

 

[lrobichaux]

Excellent! Thank you!

 

[ve6yeq]

Remember to update the diagrams in your AMM for the future you…

 

[lrobichaux]

Are you suggesting that I might forget the wiring modifications I made? HAA! Excellent point-out.