What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

wire number marking systems

K

keitht

Well Known Member
Just getting to the wiring interconnect design for my RV-7 and looking at connectors and wire number identification systems.
Have been looking at the 3M numbered reel system and using transparent heatshrink over printed paper labels. Would really like to find colored heatshrink beads to slip over the wires to mark the wire numbers. I plan on using all aircraft quality wiring (mostly white) with high quality connectors. Avionics will be Dynon HDX dual screen, dual electrical systems with IFR capability as a strawhorse for the avionics and wiring
Been looking at a number of the top end autosport sealed connectors as well as 38999 style connectors. I want to keep the cost in the reasonable level if possible so prepared to go with top end automotive connectors. Most of the aerospace programs I worked on in a past life had connector/ wiring reliability issues so I want to avoid reliving the past as much as possible.
Would be interested in in any recommendations.
 
I started out with the printed paper labels with clear heat shrink tubing over it, but found it to take more time and effort than I wanted. So I switched to Dymo Rhino 4200 Label Maker with Industrial Heat Shrink Tubes - Black on Yellow in several sizes. I purchased these from Amazon.

This has worked out well, as I can quickly create a label in the shop as I need them. Also, these can be initially placed onto the wire and they will generally stay in place while I work with the wire. Once I have completed crimping the connector to the wire, I then hit it with a heat gun to shrink the label.

This is how several certified avionics shops label their wires.

Hope this helps.
 
keitht said:
Just getting to the wiring interconnect design for my RV-7 and looking at connectors and wire number identification systems.
Have been looking at the 3M numbered reel system and using transparent heatshrink over printed paper labels. Would really like to find colored heatshrink beads to slip over the wires to mark the wire numbers. I plan on using all aircraft quality wiring (mostly white) with high quality connectors. Avionics will be Dynon HDX dual screen, dual electrical systems with IFR capability as a strawhorse for the avionics and wiring
Been looking at a number of the top end autosport sealed connectors as well as 38999 style connectors. I want to keep the cost in the reasonable level if possible so prepared to go with top end automotive connectors. Most of the aerospace programs I worked on in a past life had connector/ wiring reliability issues so I want to avoid reliving the past as much as possible.
Would be interested in in any recommendations.
Click to expand...

The K-Sun BEE3 worked well for me, with different sizes and many color combinations of heat shrink.

BTW, there's a GIDEP alert out on certain vendors re: CPCs including 38999s. Quality problems.
 
It may not be necessary to label all wires.

As an example if you have 4 or 5 wires going down a conduit you are really only interested in identifying the wires at the ends.

This can be done simply with short length of colored heat shrink, shown here when Kitplanes published my idea.

wire-ident-001.jpg


With all white wires two or three different colored pieces will give you lots of combinations.

I do like the print-on heatshrink option, and it works better for individual wires as opposed to bundles, but boy is that heatshrink expen$ive.
 
For connectors, I like the standard subD connectors like what you find on most avionics these days. If you use the machined crimp pins, I doubt you could do better from a reliability standpoint. Only issue is lack of a sealed housing; usually not a problem in most airframe locations.

They're easy to get, and not terribly expensive compared to many other connectors.
 
RV7A Flyer said:
The K-Sun BEE3 worked well for me, with different sizes and many color combinations of heat shrink.
Click to expand...

+1 for the K-Sun Bee3

I picked mine up for around $100 on E-Bay. Heat shrink was on the order of $25-30 per cartridge. I used 3 cartridges to label everything in the entire aircraft. 1/8" tube worked the best for all but the largest wires.
As a bonus I picked up a cartridge of pain old label material and labeled other items as well.

The numbering system I used is detailed here:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=152279
 
Last edited:
I splurged a bit (<$100) for my Brady BMP21 label printer but would do it again. Cartridges are a bit expensive but you'll only need 2 or 3 for your entire build (20-30 ea).

You can opt for heat shrink cartridges too but the standard labels work fine to wrap around the wire. If you can fit the text on one line, it will print twice on the label or you can add more text on the second line.
 
While having wires labeled is nice, the most useful approach is to keep a log of what pin does what on each connector. This is most useful when you do a mod to the panel.

I used the following connectors:
- for power to the panel (so the panel can be removed), large pin Molex.
- for the trim servos, small pin Molex
- for the autopilot servos, large pin Molex
- Nav/strobes, large pin Molex
- for the wings, no connectors (but enough slack to cut and resplice if I ever need to remove the wings)
- for everything else, D connectors (and these are most of the connectors)

Carl
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top