A line guy's comment changed how I check old wiring

We had a regional jet sitting in the hangar in Tulsa last Tuesday, intermittent right side nav light flicker. I was about to start swapping connectors when the line guy Tony walked by and said, 'you ever just wiggle the whole harness where it's cable tied, not just the plug?' I laughed it off, but after an hour of chasing contacts, I did what he said. Turned out a chafed bundle near the rear spar was shorting only when the airframe flexed. He's not even an avionics guy, just watched planes for 14 years. Made me realize I lean too hard on test gear and skip the simple movement checks. Has anyone else had a non-avionics coworker point out a fix that saved you a full day of troubleshooting?

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hayden_nelson8511d ago

Honestly, I read a similar story about a mechanic finding a cracked ground strap just by moving the harness by hand, and it stuck with me. Tbh, it's the simplest stuff that gets overlooked when you stare at a schematic too long.