ECU & HIC
TLDR
- Installed ECU and connected all cables for ECU
Details
Finished installing ECU today.
The unit is mounted upside down below the dashboard. It’s very difficult to access and install the 4 mounting screws, not to mention there were 4 grounding straps that needs to be tucked under the screws. As usual, I pulled a few muscles crawling under the space. But eventually I got it done.
Connector
There were 3 connectors going into the ECU. 2 of the cables had a grounding wire that needed to connected to the airframe.
Before installing the ECU to the airframe, I first connected the 3 connectors to the ECU. The connectors are not supposed to be pulled off repeatedly. In fact they can onl be connected 20 times. This log entry tracks the first time of them being connected,
Mounting
With the connectors attached, I started to mount the ECU unit to the dashboard deck. Due to the access, it was extremely painful :-<
After trying to reposition myself about 100 times while turning the mounting screws, I finally was able to get all 4 screws to attach and secure the ECU unit.
Grounding Wires
One complication was that I also had to attach 4 grounding wires to the airframe: 1 from Lane A1, 1 from Lane B, 1 from HIC A and lastly 1 from HIC B. The 2 from Lane A & Hic A were NOT long enough to reach the back of any mounting screws, so I couldn’t just screw them to the airframe using the ECU mounting points. The ground wires from B were long enough though, so I just tucked them under one of the mounting screws and secured to the airframe.
For the 2 wires not long enough - I make a short ground cable using #12 wire and ring terminals. Then I connected one end of the wire with the 2 ECU ground wires, and attached the other end to the ground bus, which was also on the dashboard deck.
Clean up
After all wires were connected, I sat on the pilot seat and put my feet on the rudder to check clearance. They were a little too close to my feet. I once again crawled under and used zip ties to bundle things up.
