A trick with a dental pick for stubborn cannon plug pins

Had a pin that wouldn't seat in a 55-pin connector on a G1000 install, and a gentle wiggle with a curved dental pick while pushing the pin home did the trick without damaging the socket. Anyone have a different method for those stubborn ones?

4 comments

4 Comments

kai_ramirez383mo ago

Sounds like we're all just one stubborn pin away from becoming amateur dentists. Gotta love when the right tool is just a weird thing from another job. At least it's cheaper than buying another special tool you'll use twice.

rivera.hannah3mo ago

But those cheap fixes can cause way more damage than buying the right tool once.

patricia_hill6013d ago

I remember reading that professional mechanics sometimes use bamboo skewers from the kitchen (like for kabobs) to push pins into tight spots without scratching anything. Seems like the "right tool" is always the one you have on hand, even if it comes from a totally different world. But I do see Hannah's point about cheap fixes backfiring, a slip with a metal tool can ruin a connector pretty fast.

viola_garcia563mo ago

Oh nice. That dental pick trick is a lifesaver. Reminds me of trying to get a pin into a cramped avionics bay connector. Ended up using a tiny flathead from an eyeglass repair kit. Just had to be super careful not to slip and scratch the housing. Those little pins can fight you.