Just realized how much a bad crimp can mess up an entire shift

Last week I was down at the hangar at BWI helping a buddy trace a weird intermittent fault in a G1000 display. Spent maybe 3 hours swapping boxes, checking pins, pulling hair out over nothing. Finally one of my guys on the crew back home called and said hey did you check the D-sub backshell on the harness we made last month. Sure enough I found one pin that had a cold crimp that was barely holding. Honestly I always thought I was pretty careful with my crimpers but that little mistake cost us half a day of labor. Has anyone else had a tiny crimp issue turn into a massive headache or do I just need to upgrade my tools?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair_nguyen2d ago

Wait, you actually DON'T pull test every single pin?

max_hernandez272d ago

Oh man, I heard a buddy swear by using a magnifying glass on every crimp now.

dixon.james2d ago

Respectfully gotta push back a little here. A cold crimp that barely held ain't a tiny issue, that's a straight up bad joint that should've been caught in a pull test before the harness ever left the bench. If you're not pulling every single pin after you crimp it, you're just hoping for the best. I've seen guys spend days chasing ghost faults that trace back to one lazy crimp, and it's usually not the tools it's the process. Upgrade to a decent ratchet crimper if you want, but half the battle is just being systematic from the start.