PT20J

I looked into eliminating the avionics master switch when upgrading the panel. According to my Garmin dealer, most Garmin equipment is supposed to be on an avionics master. Some units that display engine instruments are designed to be on the main bus. The difference is brown out protection in the power supplies. Some of them don't like the voltage sag when the starter is running.

You can glue it, but it won't be invisible and to get a strong solvent weld you really need to clamp it which will require some sort of jig to keep it flat. It would be easier to make a new one as @EricJ suggests. You will probably have to make two since it may be hard to find the identical shade of acrylic. @DonMuncy makes a similar visor and he might be able to make some parts to fit your hardware for a reasonable price.

I’ve ordered some from Mooney also.

Get a length of vinyl hose that fits snuggly over the vent and blow into it with your lungs.

+1 for Aircraft Magneto Service.

Get the blue fluorosilicone o-rings. They don’t deteriorate rapidly and so don’t require replacement. Mine are 6 years old and look like new and pass the pressure test and the caps are easy to open and I never have to adjust them. I lubricate the caps at every oil change: Vasoline on the big ring; Triflow on the shaft to lube the small one. Skip

Hmmm. I get a globe that I can rotate and zoom in on. The GPS status overlay is green, yellow, red and transparent so I can see the political boundaries and city names as I zoom in,

That doesn't look original. I think the indicator rod is supposed to be clear acrylic rod with a reduced diameter at the top painted black. My M20J IPC shows that there is a cap crimped onto the cable end and the rod rests on that attached with heat shrink tubing. K is probably the same.

I take mine to my Garmin dealer because they do a lot of pitot-static certs from installations. No guarantee, but I think it’s more likely a better bet than my A&P.

The windshield tube in my J is non-magnetic (stainless steel). Is this true for all models/years?

What does the STC say about the prop? As @Frank B. said, it shouldn’t turn 2700 rpm static without changing the low pitch stops.

1994. Weighed after panel upgrade. 1895 lb. empty; 1005 lb. useful load.

Tension bolt. Those are the ones you remove to run a magnet into the lower tube to check for rust.

Pitot static test is actually a misnomer. The test is for static system leaks and altimeter accuracy. Unless you ask for it (and they have a fancier test set) they do not test for pitot leaks or airspeed indicator accuracy. The static system test set does include a connection to the pitot because you don’t want abnormal differential pressures on the airspeed indicator which can damage it.

I wonder if this would work. https://www.crcindustries.com/battery-cleaner-with-acid-indicator-11-wt-oz/. Anyone know if 2-Butoxyethanol is safe for aluminum?

I don't notice any rubber dust in mine, but I use a liberal amount of talc on assembly. The tubes are within the tires and thus protected from UV and ozone, so the rubber doesn't deteriorate like it would if exposed. The biggest issue with tubes seems to be that they stretch and it's very easy when reusing a tube to get a fold in the tube between the tube and the tire. On the other hand, I've talked to mechanics that do a LOT more tire changes than me and they tell me that tubes with folds are common and they work just fine that way. Personally, I would replace the tubes when replacing tires, but I'm not at all sure it's necessary if they are carefully inspected, not too old (as in reused through several tire changes) and installed carefully.

The Garmin STC allows use of the originally installed shunt. The installation manual contains the following note, "Shunt installation is outside the scope of this STC and must be approved using other means."

Maintaining an airplane is a hassle. These things were designed 70 years ago and many are at least 50 years old. As one mechanic once told me, "When they fly, they break. And when they don't fly, they break." Here's how I do it (and not without some pain ) 1. I have always done as much supervised maintenance myself as I can. This includes annual inspections. It helps me stay up on the status of everything. 2. I try to fix every issue as it occurs because I know from experience that each one may involve unforeseen complications and take a lot longer to resolve than expected. I like to focus on one problem at a time. 3. The annual is the annual. The airplane gets inspected and serviced. The only things that get fixed during annual are discrepancies found during the inspection. If discrepancies are not airworthiness items and cannot be fixed expeditiously (perhaps because of parts availability) they get scheduled for a later date. 4. I maintain good relations with several shops. I know which are the best for certain types of problems and take it to the shop best suited to deal with that issue. Not every shop is uniformly good at everything. I also keep up with the maintenance literature from Mooney and Garmin. It's hard for a shop that maintains multiple brands to keep current on them all, and I find that they always appreciate it when I have done the research. Skip

True, but M20J came with an ammeter, so the G3X should have been connected as an ammeter to match the certified instrument configuration. I suppose it’s possible it was installed as a loadmeter, but that would take a bit if rewiring.

Have you tried swapping the CHT probes between cylinders 2 and 4 to rule out instrumentation? My CHT used to show a similar result for #2 after installing the factory rebuilt engine with new CHT probes. When I replaced the EDM 700 with a G3X/EIS using the same probes and wiring, CHT #2 fell in line with the others. Personally, when the engine is running well, but some gauge shows a problem, I have learned from experience to suspect the gauge.

Since you are reading 28V, I presume the engine is running and turning fast enough that the alternator is supplying current to the electrical system. Therefore, the current cannot be negative and the sense leads on the shunt are likely reversed. Whether or not 7 amps is reasonable depends on whether this reading is taken shortly after a start when the alternator is recharging the battery, or during cruise when the battery has been full recharged. In the former case, it is reasonable. In the latter case, you should be seeing very close to zero (zero with a fairly new battery) and so the shunt calibration was probably not entered correctly. If this is a new installation, I would take it back to the dealer and have them fix it.

Bruce Jaeger sold me some very flexible silicone edge trim that I really like. I had to glue it on with clear RTV. But it doesn’t get hard and shrink. Maybe the new owners of Jaeger Aviation still sell it.

I tested my new pulsing LED recognition lights by aiming at the control tower 5 miles out and asking if they could see them. They could. I generally fly with the LED recognition lights, landing lights, and taxi lights on all the time. The strobes are on, too. If I had a logo light, I'd light that up.

The KAP/KFC 150 are good autopilots and with the number removed for upgrades, there should be a lot of serviceable used parts available. Bevan, Mid Continent and Executive still have people that know how to service them. The issue for me was simply the reliability of old avionics. I just got tired of fixing random failures.

The cyanoacrylate glues have high tensile strength but very low shear strength. I used SCIGRIP Weld-On 16 Cement. It is a thickened acrylic glue. https://www.amazon.com/SCIGRIP-10319-Acrylic-Cement-Low-VOC/dp/B0046768VS/ref=asc_df_B0046768VS/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=192257135964&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15826144592155287261&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1024543&hvtargid=pla-304348895660&psc=1