The old tech who taught me to never trust a pin tester caught me slacking 3 months later

Back in February an old timer named Jerry at our hangar in Tulsa told me to stop using my cheap pin tester on cannon plugs because it gives false readings. I brushed him off thinking he was just stuck in his ways. Then three months ago I spent half a day chasing a short on a King radio that turned out to be a bent pin my tester said was fine. Jerry was right and I should have listened. Anybody else had a tech give you advice you ignored until it bit you in the wallet?

3 comments

3 Comments

alext521d ago

Start by saying Jerry was probably right about a lot more than just pin testers too. I had a crusty old avionics guy tell me to stop using dielectric grease on every connector I touched, said it attracts dirt and causes problems. Laughed it off until I spent a weekend pulling a corrosion nightmare out of a nav radio that had more grease than a fast food kitchen. Jerry saved your wallet, just like my guy saved mine, but man does it hurt to admit they were right.

blake_kelly1922h ago

Man that "more grease than a fast food kitchen" line hits home. @alext52 I had almost the exact same wakeup call with a Garmin GPS antenna a few years back. What finally worked for me was switching to a very thin, uniform layer of Corrosion-X instead of globbing on the grease. I still use dielectric grease but only on the rubber seal itself, not the pins. Took a crusty old timer explaining it to me twice before I listened, but after that nav radio job you did, I bet you're never going back either.

cora_west521h ago

Started globbing dielectric grease on trailer connector pins a few years back. Thought I was being careful. Ended up with a truck that wouldn't light up the brakes. Took the whole plug apart and found a thick goop of grease caked with grit and grime. Cleaned everything with contact cleaner, put it back dry, and it worked perfect. Jerry would have just shook his head and walked away.