Alright, so today was about getting into the pilot cabin’s power system. Needed to hook up some new gear, and that meant finding a reliable juice point.
Getting Started – Safety First, Always
First thing I did, obviously, was make sure the main power was off. You don’t mess around with live wires if you don’t absolutely have to. I double-checked the master switch was disconnected. Gathered my basic tools – wire strippers, crimpers, multimeter, some connectors, zip ties. Nothing too fancy, just the essentials.
Finding the Right Spot
Okay, locating a suitable tap point. This sometimes takes a bit longer than you’d think. I pulled off the access panel below the main instrument cluster. Lots of wires back there, a real spaghetti junction sometimes. I wasn’t looking for the main battery feed, just a switched accessory line – something that comes on with the master switch but isn’t critical flight stuff. Had a look around for the distribution block or a fuse panel that handles auxiliary systems. Found a bus bar that looked promising, one feeding some non-essential cabin lights and outlets.
Making the Connection
Got my multimeter out. Even with the master off, I checked the points just to be absolutely sure they weren’t live from some backup or alternate source. All clear. Then I temporarily flipped the master back on just to confirm with the multimeter that this was indeed the switched power I wanted. Yep, got voltage when on, zero when off. Perfect.
Master switch off again. Found an existing terminal on the bus bar that had space, or sometimes you gotta add a new one if the setup allows. Cleaned the contact point a bit. Stripped my new wire, crimped on a suitable ring terminal. Made sure that crimp was solid – a loose connection is just asking for trouble later. Attached the new wire securely to the terminal screw. Did the same for the ground wire, finding a designated grounding point on the airframe nearby. You always need a good ground.
Testing, Testing, 1-2-3
With the new wires connected but the device itself not yet fully installed, I flicked the master switch back on. Used the multimeter again right at the ends of my new wires. Checked the voltage – looked good, stable power matching the system spec. Checked polarity – positive where it should be, ground where it should be. Wiggled the wires a bit near the connection points to make sure nothing was intermittent. Everything felt solid.
Cleaning Up
Power off one last time. Now for the tidy-up. Routed the new wires carefully alongside existing bundles, using zip ties to keep everything neat and prevent chafing. You don’t want loose wires floating around. Made sure nothing was pulled too tight or kinked. Put the access panel back on.
Finally, connected the new device I was installing to my freshly run power lines. Powered everything up one more time. The new gear lit up just as expected. Ran it for a few minutes, checked the connections weren’t getting warm. All good.
So yeah, that’s how I tapped into the cabin power today. Took my time, checked everything twice. Job done.
