New info on this HID
light. I am looking at the power pack using a mirror. I’ve
identified the product: it is Harbor Freight item 95058, and called a Mini
Convex HID light. 12 Volts, 3 amps. I found the manual for this item
at Harbor Freight but can’t find evidence they still sell this or a
replacement. The manual doesn’t describe any trouble shooting
steps.
I’m still wondering if someone
can give me some tips on that.
Thanks,
John
Barrett
Hello all,
I have HID landing lights and the power packs are installed
in the winglets – they were provided by and installed by Fibercraft –
Matthew Collier’s shop about three years ago or longer. Have not removed
the power pack yet, because that will be a knuckle buster. I can see that
it is a black box and rated at 15 V. Can’t see a manufacturer’s label but
there is a label that says “ Item #62028” on one face.
I am wondering if anyone has advice on how to check the power
pack to see if it is operating correctly without pulling it
out. Also are these things generic? If I can’t find a direct
replacement will another with the same ratings be interchangeable? I
notice that looking online for HID systems, the wires and the connectors in the
photos look very similar to the ones I have.
The scenario is that I pinched one of the wires when
assembling the winglet onto the wing. There was a short created because
the pinch went through the soft insulation rubber on the wire and created a
circuit through the graphite wing that resulted in a hot spot on the wing root
of the aft spar. Jon Hadlich located the circuit and he taped up the
pinch after verifying that the wire was still intact. Since that time, the
HID light on that wing has experienced intermittent current spikes that are
about 10 amps. It is rated to draw about 3-4 amps max. When the
light is operated, it will sometimes pop the circuit breaker (electronic) and
sometimes will result in the entire bus going off line with subsequent auto
sequencing to the emergency bus. And sometimes it has resulted in E bus
failure as well. Sort of close to complete electrical failure. ( I
have Vertical Power 200 that either simplifies or further clouds the issue
depending on your point of view).
One additional piece of information is that I have a Wig Wag
function built into the VP system and when that is operating – if I try to
operate the right HID light, there is sometimes a strobe effect where that light
tries to cycle on/off rapidly.
Since these events were discovered and cause/effect was
fairly well localized, I have been flying with this landing light shut off and
the electrical system seems to be OK with the exception that there appears to be
battery drain so that when the aircraft sits for more than a couple of weeks,
the batteries might be too drained to start the engine. (probably
unrelated).
Any and all advice appreciated.
Regards,
John Barrett, CEO
Leading Edge Composites
PO Box 428
Port Hadlock, WA 98339
www.carbinge.com