I’ve received some requests for my electrical system specifics. So I have exported the diagrams to a PDF file. This file includes some things that aren’t specifically “electrical” such as the graphics for the switch panels and instrument panel layout.

621CM Electrical System

If you have any questions about my electrical system, please don’t hesitate to ask.

I will offer up one opinion: The Vertical Power VPX-Pro is probably one of the smartest choices I’ve made with respect to product selection. Here is a very short list of some of the features that have me grinning like a kid at Christmas:

• Wiring is significantly easier than it would have been had I used traditional circuit breakers.
• You can see exactly how much current individual devices are drawing.
• Changes (and no matter how much you plan, there are always changes) are much easier to implement.
• Built in starter switch lock out.  When the engine is running, you started button is disabled.
• Built in landing light wig-wag which is activated by a pre-set speed.  (the downside is now I have a Xevision wig-wag module that I don’t need)
• Variable speed pitch trim.
• Support for backup EFIS battery.
• Support for dual alternators.

Any questions I submitted to Vertical Power were responded to in usually less than 4 hours.  Many times by Marc Ausman himself. But a few years ago Vertical Power was acquired by Astronics.  I was worried that the support would suffer. But that has not turned out to be the case.  Responses are just as quick and helpful as before.

But in the spirit of full disclosure, there are some downsides.  The biggest for me is the number of available circuits.  There are only about 23 user definable circuits. That sounds like a lot, but once you start adding up all your devices, you come up short real fast (I have about 32 individual devices not including the accessory power ports). So you have to take one circuit and split it off and use fuses to support more devices. For example, I have one of the VPX circuits driving the Overhead Lights, Panel lights, Map Light, and Warning Lights. Because each of these are independently dimmed, each leg had to be protected by a fuse.