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Electrical Connections

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macleod(at)eagle.ca
Guest

Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:03 am Post subject: Electrical Connections

List:



I want to share two related events which are giving me concern and get

your comments.



About 18 months ago on the day of the EVENT I noticed that my transponder

did not seem to be responding to the Calgary terminal radar although it

appeared to be otherwise working fine.  A few days after the EVENT when I

was dismantling the plane for salvage/junking I noticed that the terminal

screw on the power supply to the transponder was loose.  I thought at the

time that 1 screw out of hundreds loose was cause for concern but not 

real worry.



Last night I was removing the components from the dead planes instrument

panel for installation in my new 601 and was amazed to find that about 30

percent of the screws were slightly loose and two were very loose (the

ring terminal on the wire was flopping around on the screw).



I had definitely tightened all these screws to the max during construction.



The screws on the Ray Allen switches seemed to be the most prone to

loosening.



The dead plane had 200 hours, the vibration levels on the instrument panel

were very low.



A question:

For my 601 I want to ensure that all electrical screws remain tight.  I

purchased some “Starbright - Liquid Electrical Tape” which seems to have

some thread locking capability.  In light of my much higher screw failure

rate is there something better for electrical connections?



Mike

601XL waiting patiently for Rotax FWFwd

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psm(at)ATT.NET
Guest

Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:15 am Post subject: Electrical Connections

Hi Mike,



I wonder if you installed lock washers on all the nuts?



Paul

XL fuselage

do not archive



At 08:58 AM 12/18/2007, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  I had definitely tightened all these screws to the max during construction.



The screws on the Ray Allen switches seemed to be the most prone to

loosening.

- The Matronics Zenith-List Email Forum -

Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:

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Jaybannist(at)cs.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:22 am Post subject: Electrical Connections

Mike,



I have used lock washers on all my electrical screws and nuts. Some of the equipment came with either split ring or the "many little grabber" type washers on the screws. On the ones that appeared more vulnerable to vibration I also used blue LockTite.  Since I haven't yet started rattling things, I don't know how they will perform.

Fingers crossed,

Jay in Dallas 601XL N2630J



macleod(at)eagle.ca wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  



List:



I want to share two related events which are giving me concern and get

your comments.



About 18 months ago on the day of the EVENT I noticed that my transponder

did not seem to be responding to the Calgary terminal radar although it

appeared to be otherwise working fine.  A few days after the EVENT when I

was dismantling the plane for salvage/junking I noticed that the terminal

screw on the power supply to the transponder was loose.  I thought at the

time that 1 screw out of hundreds loose was cause for concern but not

real worry.



Last night I was removing the components from the dead planes instrument

panel for installation in my new 601 and was amazed to find that about 30

percent of the screws were slightly loose and two were very loose (the

ring terminal on the wire was flopping around on the screw).



I had definitely tightened all these screws to the max during construction.



The screws on the Ray Allen switches seemed to be the most prone to

loosening.



The dead plane had 200 hours, the vibration levels on the instrument panel

were very low.



A question:

For my 601 I want to ensure that all electrical screws remain tight.  I

purchased some “Starbright - Liquid Electrical Tape” which seems to have

some thread locking capability.  In light of my much higher screw failure

rate is there something better for electrical connections?



Mike

601XL waiting patiently for Rotax FWFwd

- The Matronics Zenith-List Email Forum -

Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:

http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Zenith-List

dredmoody(at)cox.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:38 am Post subject: Electrical Connections

In addition to internal tooth type lock washers, a bit of Loctite on the threads would help a lot. The clamping pressure of the screw binding on the ring terminal and the anchoring terminal should provide all the electrical continuity you need and the Loctite in the threads will prevent movement caused by the vibration inflight.



Dred



---- macleod(at)eagle.ca wrote: 

 	  Quote: 	
		   

 

 List:

 

 I want to share two related events which are giving me concern and get

 your comments.

 

 About 18 months ago on the day of the EVENT I noticed that my transponder

 did not seem to be responding to the Calgary terminal radar although it

 appeared to be otherwise working fine.  A few days after the EVENT when I

 was dismantling the plane for salvage/junking I noticed that the terminal

 screw on the power supply to the transponder was loose.  I thought at the

 time that 1 screw out of hundreds loose was cause for concern but not 

 real worry.

 

 Last night I was removing the components from the dead planes instrument

 panel for installation in my new 601 and was amazed to find that about 30

 percent of the screws were slightly loose and two were very loose (the

 ring terminal on the wire was flopping around on the screw).

 

 I had definitely tightened all these screws to the max during construction.

 

 The screws on the Ray Allen switches seemed to be the most prone to

 loosening.

 

 The dead plane had 200 hours, the vibration levels on the instrument panel

 were very low.

 

 A question:

 For my 601 I want to ensure that all electrical screws remain tight.  I

 purchased some Â“Starbright - Liquid Electrical TapeÂ” which seems to have

 some thread locking capability.  In light of my much higher screw failure

 rate is there something better for electrical connections?

 

 Mike

 601XL waiting patiently for Rotax FWFwd

- The Matronics Zenith-List Email Forum -

Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:

http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Zenith-List

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