The new instrument panel

At last! I’m just back from Malbec for a quick lunch (salad, what else on a beautiful day like today) and here are the first shots of my Savannah’s new instrument panel actually in position, although not yet secured.

I managed to get all of the wiring connected by cutting most of the cable ties that had been previously fitted but it was still a tricky job getting it into place and some paintwork on the surround has been scratched. The task wasn’t helped by my not releasing the throttle locking screws which prevented the throttle lever rods from sliding through the panel fittings no matter how much I pushed – until I realised.

Most things that I’ve tested after connecting the power seem to be working OK, although I’ve not yet been able to start the engine to see whether gauges like the oil pressure and the oil and water temperature gauges are functioning correctly. The test button for the low fuel warning lamp isn’t working when it was before. It’s the same lamp as is used for the low battery warning which I don’t think was working before but now is, so maybe I’ve switched them round and one isn’t working correctly. I’ll have to check later.

But what of the new radio and transponder you might be wondering? The transponder powered up correctly and seems to be functioning OK. Certainly the codes change as they should and the buttons all appear to be working correctly.

Sadly, the same can’t be said about the radio. It powered up correctly but then none of the buttons did anything and there was no sound at all in the headsets. I then disconnected the headsets and all the buttons then seemed to function correctly, so it’s a headset problem. I’m wondering whether I was right all along and Alphatec gave me the wrong information about the headset monojack connections that I mentioned in my last post?

The Savannah has headset extension cords that run from the standard under-dash sockets to behind the seats so you don’t have cords draped across your legs while you’re in the air. When I return to Malbec shortly I’ll try plugging the headsets into the standard sockets and see if that resolves the problem. If not I’ll have to assume that I was misinformed by Alphatec or I mis-traced the wires down from my headsets. If that’s the case I don’t fancy resoldering the radio D-plug so I’ll probably either switch the connections in the standard sockets or those in the extension cables. I’ll decide depending on what I find – stay tuned!