Because Owning And Flying Your Beechcraft Can Be Done Safely AND For Less Money!
  Bi-Color LED for Auxiliary Landing Gear Light Indication & G5 Install

 

Bi-Color LED (Red/Green)

 

Auxiliary Panel Indication of Gear Lights

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you find it difficult to see your gear lights over on the co-pilot side and have yearned for an "in your face" gear light solution, or are doing a panel makeover and would love to add an auxiliary gear light indication, this could be the ticket for your panel. The above is a bi-color LED that will react to the power feed that your existing factory gear lights receive. Obligatory Warning/Disclaimer: This bulb is NOT an FAA/PMA approved component. Nothing in this page supersedes your responsibility, along with your licensed A&P mechanic as to the airworthiness of your selected parts for your certified aircraft.

 

Below is my most recent 2020 B55 panel. The Bi-Color LED is mounted at about the 11 o'clock position to the VSI.


Continue reading below for a link to purchase this bulb.

 

Panel-2020


 

  Below is a Bonanza Panel Makeover w/Flap and Gear Indications using Bi-Color LED




Simple one hole (0.313" diameter) install into the panel, fed by the Green and Red power wires of the existing gear lights and a simple ground connection. One bulb with two indications! How cool is that?

 

 

The proper wires that feed the factory gear lights can be identified by looking in your Beechcraft Shop Manual wiring diagram section. The wire ID numbers can be found in the bundle leading to the gear switch and can be seen by an agile person equipped with an LED headlight laying on their back with their head under the co-pilot panel. An appropriate tap into those wires and fed to the red and green sides of the bi-color bulb will result in an auxiliary gear light indication in a place of your choosing.

 

My B55 wiring diagram is shown below as an example of what to look for in YOUR SHOP MANUAL FOR YOUR SN.

 

 

 


 

Below is an example of a Bonanza landing gear wiring diagram - Remember, you must look up the wiring diagram for your specific SN to properly determine how to make your connections. The wiring diagram below does NOT apply to all Bonanza SNs.

 

In the above wiring diagram you can see that the Red and Green lights are fed CONSTANT POWER positive voltage through the LG motor CB. So, this would mean that the circuit for each light is GROUND activated.

I have recently learned that this Bi-Color LED is NOT bi-polar. Meaning that it will not light with a GROUND triggering connection to the red and green wires.

So, if your gear light circuit is of the GROUND triggering type one would need to consider using an appropriate 5-pin voltage relay to accomplish the Green and Red light triggering. A suggested wiring for the relay might look like this:

 

 

 

Here are some 12V relay suggestions

 

 

 

Amazon 12V, 5-Pin Relay Click HERE

 

Amazon 12V, 5-Pin Relay and Wiring Harness Click HERE

 

Advance Auto 12V, 5-Pin Relay Click HERE

 


 

Here is another Bonanza wiring diagram example for the SNs: D-7977 thru D-9068 (w/o Safety System) in which the positive (+) trigger wires for the red and green of the Bi-Color LED can be tapped. REMEMBER: Use YOUR SN Wiring diagram to determine the trigger wires for the Bi-Color LED connections.

 

 


 


Maybe This Bonanza Driver Forgot To Look At His Indicator?







As with all things in this realm of modification, consult your IA/A&P before proceeding with tapping into your factory gear indicator wiring to add this auxiliary indicator. Some IA/A&P's may simply view this as a logbook entry minor modification and others may not entertain it at all. Your A&P/IA will fill you in on his view.

 

These Bi-Color LED bulbs are available in 12V and 28V versions.

 

If you are seeking a better visibility solution for your gear indication lights in your Beechcraft, please click the Buy It Now Button below for the voltage unit corresponding to your airframe. Your purchase supports the time and maintenance of the CSOBeech.com site.

 

Purchase Price includes FREE USPS First Class Mail Shipping for US addresses. International Purchases will be shipped 1st class US Postal International Mail.


 

Shipping Options
28V Bi-Color LED

 

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Shipping Options
12V Bi-Color LED

 

 

 


 

Another Pirep on Panel Indicator Lights

 

 

Above is an image of what Dr. Dave Rogers did for a better (remote) gear indication plus a number of other functions, e.g., HSI1/2, Alt out, GPS indications, oil pressure/CHT.

 

The annunciation indicators are all Eaton brand. They can have 1, 2 or 4 indication on a single display. They also come as switches with/without press to test as shown.

 

Click HERE for the complete history of Dr. Rogers Bonanza panel evolution and his sources for the Eaton annunciators.

 

David F. Rogers, PhD, ATP

Professor of Aerospace Engineering (Emeritus)

Annapolis, MD

www.nar-associates.com

 

"Pilots know how TO fly airplanes.

Aeronautical Engineers know HOW airplanes fly.

Seldom do the twain meet."



 

 Below is another landing gear indicator light relocation idea:






 


G5 Install Pirep


Here are more pics of a G5 install and floating panel refinish project. Note to others, building a ship in a bottle would have been easier, so when you get an eye popping install quote for a G5 install, know that it is very tedious and time consuming work that requires patience and focus to accomplish neatly and correctly. The post light wiring spaghetti was maddening but I tamed the beast with some rewiring and reorganized routings. Work such as this requires an A&P or A&P supervision of your work.





Re-plumbing the pitot and static instruments was essential since the 50 year old instrument hoses had given every measure of service they could be expected to deliver. This too required very tedious planning and execution in the tight space behind the panel.









Below is the routing diagram that I created to insure that all went back together correctly. It took five "T" fittings to accomplish the hose routings. 




In retrospect a manifold fitting (PN: FPM44S) could have been employed to make this plumbing addition much simpler for the numerous static connections .


Or if you need a 1/8 NPT manifold, HERE below is a 6-port suggestion from Grainger.








A GAD13 module was later added to the nose shelf, where the magnetometer is mounted, and the lower cost Davtron probe kit was purchased from Gulf Coast Avionics. The GAD13 allows the G5 to display OAT, KTAS, Density Altitude and a Wind Vector on the HSI page. The Davtron probe mounting drawing is HERE.


The probe location was chosen for it's decent proximity to the GAD13 module in the nose shelf and the location mimics, albeit a little forward, the factory pilot side OAT probe location on the side of the fuselage. This location also allows for nose cone removal without having to deal with another set of wires to disconnect.



 



Below are OAT probe locations showing the factory Bonanza mounting location and a seemingly successful Insight G2 OAT probe location in the inlet air duct slightly aft of the alternator. Bob S., II reports that this inlet air location "always seems to indicate within 1/2°F or so of the probe under the storm window."





The below image from the Garmin G5 install manual shows the preferred single engine OAT probe location as the UN-shaded areas.


 




AV30






Modernizing the panel with a pair of AV30s while retaining the CIII AI & DG for AP functionality.







The project wouldn't be complete without fresh placards for everything. These were made at my local trophy shop at, in my opinion, reasonable prices.