Chasing a bad crimp for 4 hours on a Cessna 172

Had a right nav light that kept flickering intermittently. Checked all the obvious stuff, swapped the bulb, cleaned the ground, even ran a continuity test that passed. Turns out it was a pin in the D-sub connector that looked good but the crimp was barely hanging on. Took me from 2pm to 6pm to figure out something that literally took 2 minutes to fix. Anyone else waste a whole afternoon on a single bad connector?

3 comments

3 Comments

smith.elliot2h ago

Wasted the better part of a Saturday once tracking down an intermittent short that ended up being a wire that had chafed through inside a bundle I couldn't see. Swore I'd just start replacing whole harnesses from now on, but I know I won't.

williamhenderson5h ago

Four hours on a D sub pin? I would have tossed the whole harness out the hangar door after hour two. There's nothing worse than a crimp that passes a continuity test but fails under vibration or a little heat. Bet you were about to pull your hair out when you finally wiggled that pin and saw it move.

danielr994h ago

Did you try spraying contact cleaner in the connector before you finally found it, or were you one of those guys who just stares at the wiring diagram for an hour hoping it will magically fix itself? That's usually my move, and it never works. The vibration thing is the killer, passes a static test every time but the second you wiggle things it's game over.

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