Opinions Matter

c/avionics-technicians

26

kevin218•20h ago

That Garmin G5000 install in a Cessna last week taught me a new wiring trick

We replaced the old avionics stack with a G5000 in a 750. One of the ARINC 429 lines kept dropping out during ground checks. Turns out the pin crimp had a tiny burr that looked fine under a magnifier but caused intermittent contact. Has anyone else had random ARINC bus issues from just one bad crimp?

5

the_drew•1d ago

Had to choose between a Fluke 179 and a Klein CL800 for field work

I was about to drop $400 on a Fluke 179 for troubleshooting LRUs on the flight line. Then a senior tech pulled me aside and said save your money, get the Klein CL800 for under $150. He showed me how the Klein does LoZ, capacitance, and min/max just fine for most avionics work. I picked it up three months ago and it's handled every 28V DC and 400Hz AC test I've thrown at it. Only downside is the leads feel a bit cheaper, but I swapped those out for under $20. Anyone else run into the Fluke vs Klein debate on the line?

23

davis.linda•1d ago

Old timer in Wichita showed me a better way to trace a bad ground loop

I spent almost a whole day chasing a ground loop in a King Air last month, swapping LRUs and checking pins. An old mechanic I worked with back in the 90s told me to just use a clamp meter on the bonding strap instead of guessing - found the problem in 10 minutes. Has anyone else tried that route or still rely on the ohm meter first?

26

anna567•2d ago

Rant: I chose a multimeter with analog display over digital

Ngl, everyone at the hangar in Phoenix laughed when I brought in an analog Fluke 27 for line work. But after 6 months troubleshooting interference in a Gulfstream, that needle helped me catch a 5-volt drop that a digital readout would have smoothed over. Anyone else stick with old school gear for signal work?

10

rosep87•2d ago

Why does nobody talk about how easy it is to mix up cannon plug pins

I spent about a year at a shop in Tucson cursing these intermittent faults that would pop up on the bench. Turns out I was using the wrong pin crimp tool for D-sub connectors the whole time. An old timer from another hangar walked by, saw me struggle, and pointed out my crimper wasn't seating the pins properly. Anyone else realize they'd been using the wrong tool for months before someone corrected them?

7

hugobarnes•2d ago

Had an old A&P guy at WestJet show me a wire routing trick I still use

I was working a line maintenance shift in Calgary last winter, wrestling with a bundle that kept getting snagged. This older tech, must have been there 30 years, walked over and said "stop fighting the aircraft, just let the wire find its own path." He showed me how to lay it loose first, then zip tie after the bend settles. I still think about that whenever I get frustrated with a tight harness. Anybody else got a tip from a seasoned tech that stuck with you?

10

derek_brown28•3d ago

Old mentor told me to always trust the ohm meter over my gut

Ngl I had this old timer named Frank at my first job at Atlantic Aviation tell me to trust the meter no matter what. Last week I was troubleshooting a nav light circuit on a King Air and I couldve sworn it was a bad relay. But the meter kept showing steady resistance at the switch. Turned out the wire had chafed through inside the harness where I couldnt see it. Anybody else ever get burned by trusting their gut too much?

8

campbell.david•4d ago

Spent 4 hours chasing a ground fault that turned out to be a loose screw on a bonding strap

Found it by accident when I bumped the panel and the multimeter jumped, has anyone else had a simple fix take way longer than it should have because you were looking in the wrong spot first?

29

kelly968•5d ago

Talked to a retired tech who fixed my thinking on test equipment

I was at the hangar last Tuesday complaining to a buddy about how my multimeter kept giving me wacky readings on a 737 nav system. An old timer named Mike overheard me and walked over with his beat up Fluke 87 from the 90s. He said the problem wasnt the meter, it was my technique for grounding the test leads properly. He showed me how he always twists the leads together before hooking them up to make sure they read zero. I had been chasing a phantom issue for two hours and his 30 second fix cleared it up. It made me realize how much I rely on the tool instead of trusting my own process. Has anyone else had a seasoned tech drop a simple tip like that that saved you a headache?

6

nancy824•6d ago

Dropped $600 on a handheld GPS signal tester that barely works in tight spaces

I bought that budget-friendly NavTester GT100 last month to chase a wiring fault in a Cessna 172 and the thing kept losing lock inside the wing cavity, so now I'm back to using my old cable and a multimeter - anyone else find those all-in-one testers just aren't worth the money for real bench work?

8

tyler_fox41•6d ago

That old Delta mechanic who showed me a trick with a paperclip

I was working a late shift at the hangar near Denver about 6 months ago, trying to trace a fault on a 737's nav system. This older guy, must have been 65, just walked over and handed me a bent paperclip. He said "stop chasing the schematics and think about where the vibration is." I thought he was crazy but he showed me how to use the paperclip to gently probe a connector while the system was powered on. Found a loose pin in less than 5 minutes that I'd been hunting for 2 hours with a multimeter. Never would have thought of something so simple. Has anyone else picked up weird tricks from the old timers that aren't in any manual?

29

lee627•9d ago

Hot take: crimp connections are fine with proper prep

I've been seeing a lot of guys in here lately saying crimp connectors are garbage and you should only solder. But I've been doing avionics installs for 12 years now and I've seen the opposite. Back in 2018 I had a customer's audio panel start cutting out at Sky Harbor because a solder joint cracked from vibration. I switched to quality crimps with a proper Deutsch tool and never had that problem again. The key is stripping the wire clean and using the right die for the wire gauge. Soldering has its place in testing rigs but for flight hardware, a good crimp joint holds up better to heat cycles and shaking. Has anyone else had more failures from solder joints than crimps in the field?

22

paigeg22•11d ago

That $40 Chinese handheld spectrum analyzer I bought on a whim actually found a ghost frequency in a King Air 200's NAV radio last Tuesday

Spent 3 hours chasing a glideslope deviation with a $12k IFR box showing nothing, pulled out the cheap knockoff just for laughs, and it pinpointed a harmonic from a cabin entertainment system that nobody in our shop had ever caught before, has anyone else had a budget tool save a job against the calibrated stuff?

20

finleyl55•14d ago

Tried a $30 multimeter from Harbor Freight on a Cessna 172 and it gave me a ghost voltage reading

Last Tuesday I was troubleshooting a intermittent nav light issue on a 172. Grabbed my cheap meter because my Fluke was in the shop. It read 12 volts at the connector so I thought the wire was good. Turned out to be a bad ground and the meter was picking up phantom voltage. Chased my tail for 2 hours then swapped in a Fluke and saw 4 volts. That cheap piece of crap nearly cost me a whole afternoon. Has anyone else had a cheap meter mess with your diagnosis?

19

dylan_thompson•17d ago

Blew a connector pin on a flight line install yesterday and almost caused a delay

I was out on the ramp at PDX yesterday afternoon swapping out an old nav radio in a King Air... had everything lined up perfect, but when I went to seat the D-sub connector, I felt it give wrong. Pulled it back and sure enough, one of the pins folded over and snapped off inside the shell. Took me 45 minutes with a dental pick and a magnifying lamp to dig the broken piece out without damaging the other pins. The crew was standing there waiting on me, and the pilot kept checking his watch every five minutes. Finally got a new connector soldered up and tested it with the multimeter before buttoning it up. Everything passed okay, but my hands were shaking the whole time from the pressure. Has anyone else had a D-sub pin fail like that on a tight timeline?

28

alex_hall91•17d ago

Spent $150 on a fancy pin puller tool that I never use

Bought one of those high-end pin puller kits for D-sub connectors thinking it would save me hours. Turns out my old dental pick and a steady hand work just as fast. Anyone else got a tool they regret buying for the bench?

20

haydenj90•17d ago

So tired of seeing people wire grounds in daisy chains on the bench

I was at a shop in Orlando last Tuesday and watched a guy run a single ground screw for three different boxes in a panel. In my experience that always comes back as noise issues or a complete failure in the field. Why are so many techs skipping separate ground points? Has anyone else had to fix a mess like that?

27

morgan512•17d ago

My bench tester threw a code I've never seen before on a Garmin G1000 yesterday

I was troubleshooting a GTX 345R transponder in my shop in Tulsa and the tester just kept saying 'RF LOOP FAIL' which isn't even in the manual I have. Turns out the coax cable between the unit and the antenna had a tiny nick that was barely visible. Has anyone else run into weird error codes that don't match the troubleshooting guide?

5

hollyramirez•19d ago

Took a gamble on a used spectrum analyzer from Ebay

Found a Rigol DSA815 for $400. Seller said it was 'untested.' Figured I'd lose the money. But I needed a spectrum analyzer for a side job troubleshooting a busted transponder. Hooked it up, calibrated it, and it works perfectly. Anyone else ever score on sketchy used test equipment?

18

dakota_taylor39•19d ago

Learned a new trick for tracing intermittent faults on the bench last Wednesday

An older guy at the shop showed me how to use a signal injector probe to find a broken wire in a harness that I'd been chasing for over 3 hours, has anyone else tried this method instead of just wiggling wires?

1

mary_kelly•22d ago

I finally get why some techs hate digital wiring diagrams after talking to a 30-year vet

Had a coffee break with Jerry, an old-school guy who's been doing this since the 80s, and he told me his biggest headache is when digital schematics don't match the actual plane. He showed me a case from last year where a 737 had a wire bundle color code mismatch between the PDF and the real harness took him 4 hours to trace. It made me realize I was way too reliant on my tablet and should double-check the physical markings first. Anyone else run into this where the digital maps are straight up wrong?

11

cameron_chen•23d ago

Debate: Did that $350 Fluke meter save me or was it just a flex?

I dropped $350 on a Fluke 87V last month after my old Klein started giving wonky readings on a 737 pitot-static test. It nailed the diagnosis in 10 minutes... but I could have borrowed a buddy's meter for free. Now I'm wondering if I wasted the cash or if having my own reliable tool is worth it for the peace of mind. What do you guys think - are top dollar meters a must or just bragging rights?

23

hollyramirez•24d ago

Shoutout to the guy who proved me wrong about thermal paste on avionics modules

I used to think putting thermal paste on connectors was total BS, a waste of time. Then I worked a job last March on a Cessna 172 that kept getting intermittent GPS lock loss. Pulled the antenna base and found dry, crusty paste. Reapplied a fresh coat of Arctic MX-4 and the problem went away completely. Customer said they'd been chasing that gremlin for 6 months at other shops. Anyone else have a fix that seemed too simple to work but actually solved a tough issue?

11

benflores•24d ago

Serious question, why do people route wires over moving parts in the avionics bay?

Was working on a King Air 350 last Thursday and found a bundle of wires literally rubbing against a cable pulley. Someone had routed them right over the top. Took me 20 minutes to reroute it clean with some clamps. I know it's an easy mistake when you're in a hurry but that's how you get a chafed wire and a short somewhere critical. Has anyone else found this kind of sloppy routing on older planes?

22

dianagreen•26d ago

That moment I found corrosion under a seemingly clean connector pin

Been seeing a pattern lately where folks pull a connector, see the outside looks fine, and slap it back on. Last month on a King Air I found green crust hiding under the pin sleeve on a cannon plug that looked perfect from the top. You gotta pull the pin and inspect the full barrel, not just the tip, especially on older aircraft with that wire seal compound. Anyone else running into this on the -100 series wing deice connectors?