Hooked up P-mag EICAD
Got a ton of little stuff done today. I put connectors on the serial wires from the P-mag and made a patch cord to the computer in the house. I ran the EICAD software on the PC and was able to connect to the P-mag. I thought the P-mag had to be in setup mode, but it actually has to be in run mode to communicate. Various parameters can be set via the interface including advance angle, run mode starting delay, tach pulses per revolution, and a few others. According to the web site, live manifold pressure, RPM, and advance angle can also be read and the timing can be set, but that doesn’t seem to be available in the current EICAD software.
I finished up the EGT (exhaust gas temp) and CHT (cylinder head temp) probes and crimped on connectors for the fuel flow sensor. I’m pretty sure that’s the last of the sensor wiring. In fact all of the wiring is almost finished. Just a couple more small tasks.
I completed installing the eyeballs for the control cables. The tiny screws are a bit of a hassle, but not impossible.
The last task for the day was to install the sniffle valve. I’ve been putting it off because I though preservative oil would pour out of the engine. After thinking about it some more, I realized there shouldn’t be much oil in there. Maybe just a light spray. I removed the plug and sure enough just a few drops came out. I put in the special Piper sniffle valve that has a 90 degree bend. The normal valve would interfere with the exhaust pipe. I attached a short section of rubber hose and then transitioned to soft aluminum tubing. Ran out of time before securing the tubing to the engine mount.
