Got tired of chasing intermittent faults on a G1000 autopilot circuit.

For years I'd just wiggle wires and swap boxes until it acted up again. Then a guy at the hangar in Pensacola showed me his thermal camera setup. Now I run the system under load and scan for hot spots first, saves hours. Anyone else have a go-to method for finding those ghosts?

4 comments

4 Comments

parker_thomas1mo ago

Ever try the "percussive maintenance" method? I spent a whole day tapping on a nav radio with a screwdriver handle before I finally gave up and found a loose ground wire, lol. Felt like an idiot but it worked.

nora_murphy1mo ago

Oh man, that's a brilliant trick! I had a similar gremlin with a flap motor that only acted up when it was cold. My old boss finally caught it by misting the wiring bundle with water from a spray bottle while watching for sparks in the dark. Found a cracked insulator we'd missed for months.

abbyf791d ago

Wait, you did that in the dark?

drew_walker1mo ago

Check for voltage drop under load across each suspect connection.