Replace wiring inside rudder without opening fabric

L

lynngarner

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Jan 3, 2025
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I am trying to install a tailbeacon, but the wiring inside the rudder fabric is too tight to extract so I can connect the power and ground wires. It is exposed where the front of the rudder meets the fuselage. Seems to be tightly tied off inside the fabric. Any suggestions about how to proceed? Thanks. lg
 
the wires come in the lower left corner and then go up through a grommet in the rudder rib before going to the tail light fixture. The wires I just pulled out didn't have a knot in them so I was able to solder new wires to the existing and use the existing to very gently pull the new wires down through the grommet. there's a ground wire screwed to the rudder frame, just cut it off as close to inside the fabric as you can.

I installed a new Whelen tail strobe/position light so it needed three wires. I twisted a length of three 20 AWG wires together, soldered them to the old nav light wire and made it all nice and smooth so it went through the grommet without pushing it out of the rib.

Worked ok and ground now runs into the fuselage and to the stud where the battery gnd. attaches to the frame instead of being attached in the tail.
 
Bartman said:
the wires come in the lower left corner and then go up through a grommet in the rudder rib before going to the tail light fixture. The wires I just pulled out didn't have a knot in them so I was able to solder new wires to the existing and use the existing to very gently pull the new wires down through the grommet. there's a ground wire screwed to the rudder frame, just cut it off as close to inside the fabric as you can.

I installed a new Whelen tail strobe/position light so it needed three wires. I twisted a length of three 20 AWG wires together, soldered them to the old nav light wire and made it all nice and smooth so it went through the grommet without pushing it out of the rib.

Worked ok and ground now runs into the fuselage and to the stud where the battery gnd. attaches to the frame instead of being attached in the tail.
Click to expand...
Very useful information Bartman. When I pull on the wires from either end, they seem to be very well attached to something inside the rudder. I wonder if that could be the grommet you refer to.Thank you. lg
 
the ground wire is screwed to the rib just inside the fabric and forward/below the grommet location. the power wire goes through the grommet, maybe two wires if you have a tail strobe but I don't think that was an option prior to LED fixtures.

It seems like the nav antenna wire is knotted between the mount and the first rib below that, I haven't been able to pull it through into the fuselage after cutting it from the antenna body. I wouldn't be surprised if your tail light wires have a knot in there to keep them from moving around too much. good luck with it.
 
Bartman said:
the ground wire is screwed to the rib just inside the fabric and forward/below the grommet location. the power wire goes through the grommet, maybe two wires if you have a tail strobe but I don't think that was an option prior to LED fixtures.

It seems like the nav antenna wire is knotted between the mount and the first rib below that, I haven't been able to pull it through into the fuselage after cutting it from the antenna body. I wouldn't be surprised if your tail light wires have a knot in there to keep them from moving around too much. good luck with it.
Click to expand...
I used your solder trick to get the new wires through the rib. I worked! Now to sort out how to mount a Garmin gtx320a on the left panel below the throttle quadrant. Thanks for your help.. lg
 
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