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Battery Contactor Orientation

Tsabean

Active Member
Any reason a battery contactor can't be mounted upside down? RV8 aft mounted battery configuration on OP10 appears to show it inverted.

Thanks, Tom
 
Gravity. Potential for G loads disconnecting it. Also is why starter solenoid is the opposite orientation. So the older & wiser folks told me back when,,,
 
Contactor

I saw an article where someone calculated the G loading that would be required to disconnect a contactor...you are likely to have other, more serious issues, before that contactor will disconnect due to G loading...
 
no worries

I saw an article where someone calculated the G loading that would be required to disconnect a contactor...you are likely to have other, more serious issues, before that contactor will disconnect due to G loading...
I agree. It seems the battery contactor orientation requirement has been debunked as an OWT. Mount it any way that you like.
 
I saw an article where someone calculated the G loading that would be required to disconnect a contactor...you are likely to have other, more serious issues, before that contactor will disconnect due to G loading...

Unless the spring becomes weak.

The EAA electrical class that I just attended said mounting the contractor sideways would mitigate any problem with inadvertent activation due to G loading.
 
So

So where do you draw the line?

Pull enough G?s and other, more important parts, will fail, too...

Point is, in normal circumstances, orientation of that contactor is likely a non issue...
 
I couldn't find data for the Cole-Hersee (Littelfuse) 24115 Solenoid.

However, the White-Rodgers equivalent of the 24115 indicated that it shouldn't exceed 5G's Horizontal or Vertical...

I would mount as you wish; I think the 10 & 14 mounts them on the "bias" now..

Cheers!
 
Unless the spring becomes weak.
.

The contactor is not held closed by a spring. In fact, the spring works to push the contactor open. It is pulled and held closed by an electrically generated, magnetic field, opposing the spring pressure.

Larry
 
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