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Wiring schematics for RV9A

buchaneer

Member
Hi,

Anybody got any basic wiring schematics and layouts for a RV9A
Not decided on avionics or panel yet but want to put together some wiring looms for wings and rear fuselage which contain the needed cables and nessesary wiring sizes.
Have purchased 18 and 22 AWG wire to make them up from but looking to advice of what equipment to include supplies to. Will have pitch and roll servos fitted and electric trims controlled from sticks.
Any advice welcome and some installation pictures as to routing and position if available. Looked on the forum before but couldn't find too many pictures.
 
I would suggest you order a basic wiring kit for your airframe from Vans Aircraft. In it you would receive a BEGINNING quantity of wire, connectors & components you will need to fabricate your harness. You already have some wire, but this extra quantities will not be waisted as you will be astounded how much you will eventually go through.
The most important part of the wiring kits is the basic wiring drawings that come with it. You will find these schematics (before you get confused with the huge array of options) are the foundation which you build THE REST OF YOUR SYSTEM from.
 
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Agree w/ Ralph. I found the basic kit and diagram to be very helpful. I'm sure that if I'd ordered one of the premade harnesses I'd end up cutting and splicing it a bunch. Why not start with fresh wire?

I found that the quantity of wire supplied was sufficient, but my RV is a pretty simple build.
 
A great source

Hi,

Anybody got any basic wiring schematics and layouts for a RV9A
Not decided on avionics or panel yet but want to put together some wiring looms for wings and rear fuselage which contain the needed cables and nessesary wiring sizes.
Have purchased 18 and 22 AWG wire to make them up from but looking to advice of what equipment to include supplies to. Will have pitch and roll servos fitted and electric trims controlled from sticks.
Any advice welcome and some installation pictures as to routing and position if available. Looked on the forum before but couldn't find too many pictures.

Bob Nuckolls AeroElectric Connection is a great source for not only schematics but also a primer for everything electrical that goes in an airplane.

AeroElectric Connection

Highly Recommend!
 
RV9A wiring

Thanks for your replies.
Anybody willing to give me a copy of these basic wiring diagrams as these are my basis for asking these questions. Not economical to buy the Vans kit as already purchased a lot of cables and fittings. Didn't imagine my first loom would not be added to as I added avionics etc. Just wanted to get basics done for equipment already mentioned.
 
If I was in your place I wouldn't run any wires yet. Just put conduit in. Vans had a form instructing you how to run conduit for the wings and also through the mainspar. In addition drill for snap bushings in the seat ribs, drill the mainspar web for pass throughs and possibly run a conduit from the aft baggage bulkhead all the way to the bulkheads beneath the HS. Perhaps also look at additional conduit under the baggage floor. Also don't forget to allow for your pitot/AOA/static lines. Work out your ballpark dream wiring, then add 20-50% capacity in your routing to allow for expansion and oversight. If you do all of this now you will future proof your aircraft. If you run wires now you will simply tie yourself into potentially obsolete technology. Not all wiring for autopilot servos, magnetometers, pitot heat etc are the same. I wouldn't purchase any off the shelf wiring kits, or you will end up with a heap of gear you don't need. I also wired my aircraft with colored wire. Not only red for power, black for ground etc. but also striped wires for each circuit. It makes trouble shooting and tracing wires so much easier. I drew a diagram of the aircraft with measured wire run lengths then created a spreadsheet with all my respective components and respective wire runs/sizes. This spreadsheet became more important during the build than the wiring diagrams, and is way easier to edit if you need to. I can shoot you a copy of you send me a PM with your email address.
Good luck.
Tom
RV-7
G3X Touch, IFR
 
OP Drawings

You can get a basic idea of wiring needs from some of the OP drawings (purchased separate from Van's or on the CD). OP-10 and maybe OP-12 would be useful for an RV-9.
 
Email me and i will send you my diagram with the G3X and Vertical Power system. Even if you don't use the Garmin or VP, it can give you an idea what a system looks like. Have fun.
 
I would suggest you order a basic wiring kit for your airframe from Vans Aircraft. In it you would receive a BEGINNING quantity of wire, connectors & components you will need to fabricate your harness. You already have some wire, but this extra quantities will not be waisted as you will be astounded how much you will eventually go through.
The most important part of the wiring kits is the basic wiring drawings that come with it. You will find these schematics (before you get confused with the huge array of options) are the foundation which you build THE REST OF YOUR SYSTEM from.

+1 on what Ralph said. My RV-7A was my first experience wiring an airplane so I bought this from Vans: Part Number = ES WH 6/7/9 KIT. It gave me great start and drawings. From there, I've extended and modified my system.
 
Before you order anything, make a list of all the electrical things you want and the expected amperage draw.

Once you have that list made and know how many amps each item will require, you can start designing your electrical system. The good news for you is that some of the LED lights and strobes hardly draw any power.

Here is a partial list. You will have to add and/or delete the things you want in your plane. Remember, the more things you add, the more complex and heavier the plane becomes. It is up to you to figure out which items you can combine and which you want to stand alone. For example, with my Taildragger, the landing and taxi lights are on separate breaker switches because I need one with the tail down and both with the tail up. You could combine this to one three position switch and a separate breaker but I just used two breaker switches.

Landing Light
Taxi Light
Strobes
Position Lights
Interior Overhead Lights
Panel Lights
Pitot heat
EFIS 1
EFIS 2
AP Roll Servo
AP Pitch Servo
Audio Panel or Intercom
ANR Headset Power
Radio 1
Radio 2
Transponder
ADS-B
Nav GPS
VOR/ILS
Backup GPS (Handheld)
Backup EFIS
Backup Radio (Handheld)
Flap Position Indicator
EICommander (Sorry, had to add that!)
Left Ignition
Right Ignition
Starter

etc.

Good luck!

PS. I used Microsoft Visio to draw my schematics, available on my website. it is a great tool for these things.
 
Hi,

Anybody got any basic wiring schematics and layouts for a RV9A
Not decided on avionics or panel yet but want to put together some wiring looms for wings and rear fuselage which contain the needed cables and nessesary wiring sizes.
Have purchased 18 and 22 AWG wire to make them up from but looking to advice of what equipment to include supplies to. Will have pitch and roll servos fitted and electric trims controlled from sticks.
Any advice welcome and some installation pictures as to routing and position if available. Looked on the forum before but couldn't find too many pictures.
It really depends on what you want to install, though you can run looms for things like nav lights and trims through the wings and tailcone, that's fairly standard.

I used a free online schematic generator from Digikey to produce my drawings. I have a single-screen SkyView system, VP-X and only a KLN-90 for navigation (not shown, it's a recent addition). You can download the original size HERE
16460096391_8d4cdc9237_z.jpg
 
Nice drawing

...
I used a free online schematic generator from Digikey to produce my drawings. I have a single-screen SkyView system, VP-X and only a KLN-90 for navigation (not shown, it's a recent addition). You can download the original size HERE
16460096391_8d4cdc9237_z.jpg
That's a very clean drawing - wow. Well done.
 
Steinair

Figuring out the wire runs between all of my components had me stumped. Dual Skyview, GTN 650, SL40, VPX, ...... Analysis paralysis for sure. Contacted Stein (where I purchased most components) and he advised they could provide me a wiring diagram of my WHOLE plane. That was 5 years ago & believe it was $125. Best $125 spent.
 
Now days it?s in the $400 range(avionics) I did have them draw out my avionics and it was the best thing I ever did.
 
Thanks to all of you for your replies it has certainly got me thinking.
A great deal of info to get me started, much appreciated.
Only one issue I have when using this site as a resource is when you view older posts some or all the photos have disappeared/expired and to quote the proverbial " a picture speaks a thousand words" has been lost.
That said This place is great to point you in the right direction whatever your issue.
 
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