What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Taking out old panel, trick to cabin heat and alt air source cables?

Mdragon

Active Member
I’m in the process of putting in a new Dynon system.
I have everything I need out of the old panel except for the cabin heat cable and the alt air cable. Tried to unscrew the knobs on the proximal end so I could get it out of panel, but no luck. Outside of removing the cables from the air box and heater box, and all the work involved in unhooking and backing out the cables, is there a trick?

Trying to avoid unnecessary work.

Thanks for any help.
 
You have to unhook them from the thing it is controlling and back out the entire cable.
 
The Sad Truth

The sad truth is that yes, to remove or replace the cable, they gotta come all the from the thing that they control (much to my dismay :eek:). What some people do is horseshoe out the hole so that it can be loosened and slid down the gap and out, but many find this unsightly, or possibly unsafe if it can get out of the hole somehow if it were loose. You could get fancy though, and have some sort of 2 piece hole with nutplates or something.
 
McFarlane Aviation sells a line of push pull cables with removable knobs, but I don't know if the cable can be pulled through or if there's something obstructing that. Might be worth investigating for the replacement.

Dave
 
When I re-did my panel a few years ago, I put these controls on their own little brackets just under the panel precisely so that when I need to remove the panel, I won't have to futz with them.
 
Depends upon the cable, I suspect. On mine, I was able to remove the main push rod (most all bowden cables allow this) and then the front bezel was un-screwed off the threads of the body, which was just a hollow bolt, so that it could be removed from behind.
 
Last edited:
Unfortunately the A-740 style control cables (heat, alt air, carb heat, etc) supplied in the kits are solid & would require total disconnect at both ends in this case. As mentioned above, you could remote mount them after your panel upgrades, or change them out to cables that come apart for easier removal.
 
Last edited:
I opted to horseshoe the alt air and the cabin heat, which were the only two I couldn't easily detach from the panel. Turned out well.

Figured as soon as I had everything put together, I would need to pull the panel and be cursing myself for not modifying the attachment points for easy disassembly.
 
Back
Top