I kept getting a leak on the static side and swapped every fitting before I realized the test set itself had a loose connection. The whole time I was blaming the airplane and it was my own gear. Has anyone else chased a ghost leak like that for hours before finding it was something dumb?
I've been using a $15 set from the hardware store for years and never had issues... until last month when I was doing a harness on a Cessna 172 and a pin just slid right out after I crimped it. The owner saw it and made me redo the whole thing with his Snap-on tools. Now I check every crimp with a pull test before I even seal the connector. Anyone else have a close call with bad crimps?
The shop I work at was upgrading a Cessna 172 and I had to choose between these two glass retrofit units. I went with the G600 because the local avionics guy said parts would be easier to get. Install went fine but the magnetometer mount gave me a headache for 3 days. Anyone run into calibration issues with the G600 after install?
Been working on a 737 pitot-static system the last few days. When I first started training I would always mess up the bleed sequence or forget a valve, and my lead would have to walk me through it. Yesterday I finished the hookup, did my leak test, and the check came back clean with zero leaks on the first pass. It felt good to just hand him the paperwork without any notes on it. For those of you who have been doing this a while, how long did it take before your first perfect checkout without a retest?
I was wiring up a Garmin G5000 retrofit on a King Air 200 about 8 months back. The senior tech, Dave, kept insisting I use terminal strip splices for everything instead of twist-on connectors like Wago lever nuts. Said twist-ons would vibrate loose in the panel and cause intermittent faults. I followed his advice for the first few radios. Man, it took twice as long and troubleshooting a bad ground later was a nightmare because I had to unscrew every terminal to trace it. After redoing one whole section with lever nuts, I had zero issues on the next flight test. Dave still gives me dirty looks when I pull them out. Any of you guys use Wagos in certified panels or is that just me?
I had this older guy watch me tin a wire on a Garmin GNS 430 connector last week and he said I was putting way too much solder on. He showed me the right amount is just enough to wick up the strands, not form a blob. Ever since I changed my technique the connections look cleaner and I haven't had a single cold joint issue. Has anyone else had a veteran tech call them out on their soldering habits?
Took me nearly 4 hours to find a pin that was barely seated in the connector. Everything checked out on the continuity test but the ohms were just slightly off. Turned out the crimp was good but the pin wasn't fully locked into the backshell. Has anyone else gotten burned by a connector pin that looked seated but wasnt?
He showed me the backshell strain relief should go on before the pins, not after, and I've been doing it backwards for 12 years - anyone else have a basic habit they had to unlearn?
Ever since that day I check each pin with a micro-ohmmeter before pinning up the connector, has anyone else had a book value burn them on a critical system?
I spent forever trying to trace a intermittent fault in the weather radar system on a 737NG and my old $40 meter was giving me crazy readings. After swapping in a Fluke 87V from the lead tech, I found the issue in like 10 minutes - a corroded pin in the coax connector that my cheap meter just couldn't pick up due to noise. The difference in filtering and accuracy was insane, I honestly felt dumb for fighting it so long. Now I'm thinking about upgrading my scope too since the analog one at our hangar in Miami is pretty outdated. Anyone else have a similar story where a better tool saved you a ton of time troubleshooting? What's your go-to multimeter for tough avionics jobs?
Spent 20 minutes reseating pins on one connector because the cheap crimper wouldn't hold tension, grabbed a Daniels from the senior guy and it clicked perfect first time every time - has anyone else had a tool upgrade save them that much frustration?
I got a beat up old spectrum analyzer off a guy on Craigslist in Phoenix for 400 dollars. The screen has a scratch and one knob is a little sticky, but it helped me track down a weird interference issue on a King radio install that I had been chasing for three days. Turned out the coax was running too close to a strobe power supply and picking up noise. Swapped the cable route and the problem just vanished. Now I take that thing on every job, it's been a lifesaver more than once. Has anyone else picked up used test gear that ended up being way better than you expected?
Tbh I was on the fence about buying a used ARINC 429 bus analyzer from a guy on eBay or just going for a fresh one from the usual supplier. I went with the used one because it was $400 cheaper and the seller had a 30 day return policy. It's an old Excalibur unit from like 2018 but after I cleaned the connectors and ran a self test it's been solid for the last two weeks. I was nervous at first because I've been burned on used gear before but this time it paid off. Has anyone else had good luck picking up older test equipment from online marketplaces?
Spent 3 hours chasing a phantom short in a Cessna nav light circuit before I swapped to a Fluke and found the real problem in 10 minutes, anyone else had a tool lie to them like that?
I caught three separate installs last week at our shop in Phoenix where folks just tucked the harness and called it done, ignoring the clearance spec by a half inch. Has anyone else noticed this shortcut becoming more common or am I just working with a lazy crew?
I always swore by my old beam-style torque wrench for avionics work, figured digital was just a gimmick. Then I had a connector pin on a Honeywell comm unit strip out at 14 inch-pounds because my arm fatigue threw off the reading. Switched to a Snap-on digital and the audible beep saved me on the next 12 terminations. Anyone else resist changing tools until a bad job forced your hand?
Used to just go by feel on those old school click-type wrenches but after torquing a D-sub too hard and cracking the housing on a King radio tray I finally gave in and bought a snap-on digital one now I just set the value and it beeps when I'm done way less guessing has anyone else made the jump or still sticking with analog?
I had a senior tech named Bob who worked on F-16s back in the 80s tell me that dielectric grease does more harm than good on cannon plugs in dry cabin environments. He said if the plug is properly sealed and torqued, you don't need it and it just attracts dirt over time. I ignored him for about 6 months because every other guy I worked with swore by it. Then I pulled a plug on a King Air that had a thick layer of crusty grease mixed with dust and moisture inside. Three pins were starting to corrode underneath all that gunk. Bob took one look and said "told you so." I cleaned everything out with contact cleaner and a stiff brush, put it back dry, and that plug has been fine for the last two years. Has anyone else run into problems with grease causing more issues than it solves?
I was troubleshooting a comm issue on a King Air in Bakersfield and the Collins VHF-22 just stopped transmitting entirely. Turned out to be a corroded pin in the backplane connector, not the radio itself. Has anyone else found corrosion in those older Collins trays causing intermittent failures?
I was just checking my logbook and realized I haven't had a single rework or callback in 500 straight avionics installs. That's about 14 months of work on regional jets and bizjets. My lead tech said "you're either lucky or you're checking your work twice," and honestly it's the second one. Has anyone else tracked something like this just to see where you're at?
He said the compression fittings hold tighter and prevent signal loss over time. Has anyone else noticed a difference after switching?
Honestly, I always used Fluke meters for line work, but my new shop has a bunch of Klein MM700s. Tried using the Klein to chase down a generator control unit fault on an A320 APU last Tuesday. It worked fine for basic voltage checks but the auto-ranging lagged hard when I needed quick readings on the frequency output. Swapped to the Fluke 87V and caught the glitch in under 2 minutes. The Klein is probably fine for general use but for bus power troubleshooting, the Fluke is way snappier. Anyone else stick with one brand for complex stuff?
Was working a panel on a CRJ900 at MRO Tech in Oklahoma City. Had a D-sub that tested fine on the bench but gave intermittent readings on the bird. Pulled it apart and found corrosion hiding under the crimp. My usual routine was just a quick wipe with contact cleaner. Now I'm using a fiberglass brush and DeoxIT on every single pin before I seat it. Shop foreman saw me doing it and said "that's how we did it in the Navy." Anyone else run into hidden corrosion in crimped connections?
I was doing a post-install check on a King Air 350 in Wichita when the HSI started showing a 30 degree heading error. At first I thought it was a bad magnetometer, but the compass system checked out fine. Turned out the ARINC 429 data bus had a loose pin on the backshell connector. Re-crimped the pin and reseated everything, and the error cleared right up. Has anyone else run into intermittent issues like this with the Garmin G5000? It was a pain to track down.
I was working on a King Air 200 avionics upgrade back in July. We had this contractor pushing us to finish in 5 days when everything was set for 8. By day 3 I had been there 14 hours with no break and a tech from another shop kept resetting my wire labels. The lead just shrugged and said 'that's just how it goes' when I complained. I packed my box and left right then and there. Has anyone else had to walk away from a gig because management wouldn't back you up on safety or basic respect?