ERI CTLR CONCERNED THAT THE RWY 6-24 HIRL LIGHTS REWIRING PROJECT SHOULD HAVE A DIRECT RESISTANT MONITORING SYS THAT MONITORS THE WIRE INSULATION STATUS; WHICH PRESENTLY IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE PROJECT. RECENT HIRL OUTAGES HAVE BEEN TRACED TO WIRE INSULATION BREAKDOWN.

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DUE TO THE AGE OF WIRING IN THE RWY 6/24 HIRL; NUMEROUS OUTAGES HAVE HAMPERED ACFT OVER 12500 LBS ARRIVING AND DEPARTING ERIE ARPT. MAR/XA/01 AT XA20 FAILED; RETURNED TO SVC. MAR/XD/01 AT XD55Z OUT FOR MAINT; RETURNED TO SVC. JUN/XA/01 FAILED XA50Z; RETURNED TO SVC JUN/XC/01 AT XB01Z. JUN/XD/01 FAILED XB00Z; RETURNED TO SVC AT XC35Z. JUN/XE/01 FAILED AT XA03Z; RETURNED TO SVC JUN/XF/01 AT XC10Z. THE ARPT AUTH RECEIVED AN EMER AUTH FOR FUNDING A REWIRING PROJECT FOR RWY 6/24 HIRL'S. THEY RECEIVED $75;000 FOR PROJECT. THE REWIRING WAS ACCEPTED AT $50;000. THE PLAN IS TO JUST WIRE THE LIGHTS -- NO MONITORING SYS IN THE PLAN. THERE ARE MONITORING SYS FOR ARPT LIGHTING THAT WILL MONITOR THE INSULATION ON WIRING (THE PROB AT ERIE WAS THE CONDITION OF WIRE INSULATION) BY XMITTING A SET DAMAGE THROUGH THE SYS AND RESISTANCE READINGS ARE PRODUCED THAT DETERMINE THE CONDITION OF INSULATION. THESE SYS IDENT DETERIORATING WIRE INSULATION BEFORE IT IS A PROB. XYZ COMPANY MANUFACTURERS THE INSULATION RESISTANCE MONITORING SYS WHICH ACCOMPLISHED THE ABOVE MENTIONED PROC. THE COST IS AROUND $3;500. WE FEEL A SYS SUCH AS THIS CAN SAVE THE AIRLINES TEN-FOLD IN COST REVENUE FROM ARPT CLOSURES. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR ADVISED OF NO CHANGE IN ARPT AUTH DECISION IN A RECENT MEETING WITH ALL ARPT EFFECTED ORGANIZATIONS ABOUT ADDING THE WIRE RESISTANCE MONITORING EQUIP. A TWR SPECIALIST ADVISED THAT THE TWR HAD THE STANDARD ON/OFF SELECT RWY/TXWY LIGHTING PANEL. THE SPECIALIST WAS AWARE OF THE ADDITIONALLY PROPOSED MONITOR PANEL. THE PROPOSED MONITORING SYS WOULD BE LOCATED AT AN ARPT MAINT STATION; ALONG WITH EXISTING ELECTRICAL MONITORING SYS.