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CANBus wing root connector?

BuckWynd

Well Known Member
Everything electrical in my wings has wing root connectors. That will make it easy to install the wings after everything is painted someday. I am installing a Garmin G3X system, and the autopilot roll servo (GSU 28) is in the right wing.

I'd like to use a connector for it at the wing root. Obviously, the CANBUS wires are very particular about having good shields.

Has anyone successfully installed a shielded, two-pin connector in a Garmin CANBUS line, and if so, what did you use?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Everything electrical in my wings has wing root connectors. That will make it easy to install the wings after everything is painted someday. I am installing a Garmin G3X system, and the autopilot roll servo (GSU 28) is in the right wing.

I'd like to use a connector for it at the wing root. Obviously, the CANBUS wires are very particular about having good shields.

Has anyone successfully installed a shielded, two-pin connector in a Garmin CANBUS line, and if so, what did you use?

Thanks in advance!

Any shielded connector should work fine, a D-sub with metal back shell, even a shielded RJ-45....there's no reason all your a/p wires can't go through the same D-sub if you go that route (maybe use two pins for power and two for ground). (CAN isn't actually THAT sensitive to shielding, lots of unshielded CAN in cars.
 
We ordered our wing harness from Aerotronics. Our wing root disconnect is a plastic DB15 connector with 13 wires in it. I assume one of them is the shield wire being carried through the interface. The wiring diagram hasn't been fully populated yet since we haven't finalized the rest of the system so I'm not positive on the pinouts yet.
 
The easy way is to run the two CANbus wires thru the connector, and add a third for the shield carry-through. Connect to the shield on the wing side and you're good to go. A few inches of "unshielded" wiring won't make a significant difference to signal integrity.

I used plastic-body Deutsch connectors at the wing root, so I needed to carry the shield through a contact in the connecor. If you're using D-subs with reasonable backshells, you can terminate the shield to the backshell and pick it up on the other side. I love the Garmin all-metal backshells with their ample threaded holes for shield terminations.
 
Just me

I am using the plastic Deutsch connectors. But I don’t plan to carry the shields through the connector. The shields will be connected at the other end. Yes the shields will only be terminated at one end of the harness; I made a conscious decision to not let the shields carry current from the wings to the instrument panel.
 
I am using the plastic Deutsch connectors. But I don’t plan to carry the shields through the connector. The shields will be connected at the other end. Yes the shields will only be terminated at one end of the harness; I made a conscious decision to not let the shields carry current from the wings to the instrument panel.

This should be fine, too .. the shields don't carry and real current. As long at they are grounded at an end, you'll be fine. You do, however, want to be sure that the shield is positively grounded somewhere. I elected to carry the shield through to ensure a positive ground. Yes, it's an all-metal plane, but I don't for a minute trust we have a solid electrical bond between the parts; it's not designed that way (and is why you shouldn't use the fuse as a ground return ... but primer like wars may ensue on this comment)
 
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This should be fine, too .. the shields don't carry and real current. As long at they are grounded at an end, you'll be fine.

Garmin recommends that the shield be continuous and grounded at each LRU.
 
I used a 15 pin sub-d connector and wired it exactly the same as the connector at the servo, essentially making the wire in the wing an 'extension cord'. That way I can unplug the wing and install the CAN termination adaptor at the wing root, or better said install the CAN terminator at the wing root before the wing was installed and fire up the panel with a functioning CAN.

The sub-d male and female connectors in the wing root have back shells with typical CAN (2 wire shielded) terminations leaving an inch or two at each connector unshielded. (Shields are connected across the connectors.)

No issues in over 100 hours of flying.
 
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