Redoing all electricals

[sanships]

I am now going through the electrical system in the major restoration project I am currently undertaking. The plane is a 52 model ser. # 25287. It has the original electrical system. What upgrades will be the most important for safety? Do I have to change to circuit breakers? Master avionics switch? I will only have 1 com, 1 transponder, whelen wingtip strobes, intercom and the usual items. I do only vfr flights. I am also changing all the wires to new ones. Thanks.

[zero.one.victor]

FWIW,I removed an avionics master switch a previous owner installed--just one more thing to fail. I felt it was unnecesary with only a navcom,txp,intercom,and gps. If & when I have a $20K radio stack I'll probably reinstall the av master.
Circuit breakers are a nice upgrade from fuses. I like the "pull-off" type such as the Potter & Brunfield W23 series. They're in the $15-20 range,about double the non pull-off P&B W58 series prices. Klixon CB's are good stuff I guess but pretty spendy,according to my Spruce catalog.
The pull-off or click-off types are real nice if you have an electrical emergency,you can more easily isolate the problem(s) using both switches & CB's.
Good luck with your electrical project. Let us know how it turns out and if you come up with any good tips for the rest of us.

Eric

[GAHorn]

Alvin, my set up uses the rot.bcn switch location for wingtip strobes. The orginal, unused cabin heater switch location was used for "Radios" for a master.
Everything is protected by CB's in the former fuse locations. Since my airplane was undergoing complete restoration, the switch label panels/CB panels were remanufactured so that the switch/CB functions appear as if they were originally such.
What Eric said about possible failure of a master switch has merit. Cessna thought they had the solution (later airplanes) in using a master relay that latched when the avionics master was engaged, and would not unlatch until the Aircraft Master was dis-engaged. I always thought that was the dumbest thing I'd ever seen. (Their intent was good. It was their results that stank. The plan was that a power failure to the avionics master would keep the avionics alive regardless. The problem was that avionics couldn't be switched off except individually.)
I'm not too concerned with the pull-type switches reliability. They're dirt simple and reliable. (I once had a landing light sw. get a little contrary, but pulling on it firmly put it back in action. Disassembly showed how really simple the switch design is. Needle-nose pliers can bend the tabs and open the switch up. It works by using a sliding set of contacts against a phenolic-mounted set of stationary contacts. Cleaning them up with emery paper and applying a bit of lithium grease, and 5 years later it still works fine.) If the master switch does fail, I guarantee it's cheaper to replace than any of the individual avionics power switches that can be worn out from extra use due to no avionics master. Carry a hand-held for a backup if you're worried about total system failures, gets my vote.