Pro tip: Check your pin crimps on D-sub connectors before you button everything up

I was working on a King KX 165 nav comm in a Cessna 172 last Tuesday and couldn't figure out why the audio was intermittent. Turns out one of the pins on the 37 pin D-sub had a bad crimp (not even fully seated) from the factory install back in 2018. Saved me a whole afternoon of chasing wires by just pulling the connector and giving each pin a gentle tug. Has anyone else run into bad crimps straight from a radio shop?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_hayden5d ago

Found a loose pin on a brand new Garmin GPS 175 last month. Drives you nuts.

dixon.james5d ago

Good money and all that QA, then you find a loose pin staring back at you like it's mocking you. @the_hayden, I swear my luck with electronics is so bad I half expected the box to be empty instead. Must be something in the air, my buddy bought a new radio last week and the screen had a dead pixel right in the middle of the frequency display. Makes you wonder if they're rushing them out the door on Fridays.