Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 50; Flight Crew Total 748; Flight Crew Type 400
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem
Aircraft; Human Factors
At 6000 feet MSL in cruise; I attempted to plug an adapter into my cigarette lighter to aid in charging an iPad using my Garmin pilot app in flight for weather. As I placed the adapter into the socket and turned it slightly to better align the wires to keep it from conflicting with any other aircraft systems; (i.e. flap handle and my knees); there was an immediate short which took my EDM 830 engine monitoring system off line and my Garmin 430w began to display an info box which stated dead reckoning only. I immediately [advised ATC]; unsure what might fail next and wanted to make ATC aware of any issues I might have as well as preparing for any eventual help I may need. Then I noticed that my autopilot GNSS steering was displaying a fault by a blinking light; knowing that this was from the GPS system fault; I immediately switched this from GPS to heading; which kept the autopilot working and following my heading bug and not the GPS track from the 430w. This kept the autopilot flying the airplane wings level in IMC and allowed me to begin to deal with the [situation]. The 430w quickly reoriented itself and within a minute began to display normal function; I again switched the GNSS button back to GPS which then allowed the autopilot to follow the flight plan loaded into the equipment. This to me was a huge factor in allowing me to assess the situation and determine my course of action. ATC asked me to say intention; I relayed my panel information at the time and elected to continue the flight toward VFR conditions which I knew was well ahead of my current position. This to me was much safer than trying to do an approach into an airport that almost certainly in my current position; in the mountain area of West Virginia; was low IFR. The engine continued to run strong and showed no signs of any issues; based on basic engine sound and remaining engine instruments on the panel. I continued to my destination airport and researched the cause of the [issue] and found a blown 30amp in line fuse as part of the cigarette lighter; replacing the fuse all systems were back to normal; which at this time was only the EDM 830. The actual [situation] was handled extremely well by my controller at the time; he was calm; kept everybody else quiet while he clarified my situation; once he understood my issues and my intentions he let the next controller in line know my situation; it's a true blessing to have these folks there when you need them; their training and professionalism really pays off to those in the clouds.
BE19 pilot reported losing a number of electrical components when he plugged his iPad into the cigarette lighter.