A bad electrical connector on the factory installed landing light caused a costly repair

Cirrus SR22-G3 factory landing light electrical connector failure, photo credit wikiWings
Cirrus SR22-G3 factory landing light electrical connector failure, photo credit wikiWings

Total time on our airplane was only about 1,000 hours when the original factory installed landing light had to be replaced. These landing lights are suppose to last 5,000 hours, but the electrical connector shorted out which then shorted out the landing light.  Both the harness and light had to be replaced. It’s a costly failure to repair.

The Cirrus Authorized Service Center said they’ve seen the same problem before.  And, owners have posted similar issues with the factory installed landing light on the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) site.

The replacement price quote for a matching landing light was $1,875 plus about two hours of labor for installation.  We also obtained a replacement quote for the Lopresti BoomBeam X5, which was $2,199.  In our opinion, the new Lopresti light appears to have an improved connector, and the light pattern is better and brighter. The installation time on our final bill was 3 hours.

The Cirrus Aircraft SR22-G3 landing light is in the lower front center of the engine cowling.  We also have two LED recognition lights located on the outer front edge of each wing.  Those wing lights have been problem free.

Our airplane is in a shared aircraft ownership.  This type of repair was categorized as a fixed cost because we did not budget for a landing light replacement in our hourly rental rate.  We agreed to share fixed aircraft cost equally among members.

Cost summary Cirrus Aircraft landing light repair
Description Amount
LoPresti BoomBeam X5  2,199
Labor  285
Shipping  27
Total  $2,511

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Lu 8:20

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