Brief Description: Wiring Up The New Instrument Panel - Part 01
Project HOBBS Meter: 23 Days
One mistake I've seen on a LOT of instrument panel installations is the inclination to run wires directly to the various jacks and switches mounted to the panel. The problem is that if you ever want to pull the panel out, you're going to have a heck of a time doing it without breaking or scratching something. Having to unmount the jacks and switches generally results in scratching the instrument panel or breaking a wire termination or both.
I gave the whole process quite a bit of thought and came up with a plan to terminate all of the wires that left the panel in a single DB37 connector. All of the instruments that were removable like the EFIS display and the VP-200 display, had their own connectors and could be removed from the panel normally. I was pretty pleased with how everything came out and even more pleased with how easy it was to install and uninstall the panel later in the process. A little patience and forethought always seems to pay off in this game...
