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A trick for chasing down a phantom voltage drop I learned from an old guy at a hangar in Phoenix
I was stuck on a King Air with a weird nav light issue, showing 10.8 volts at the lamp when it should have been 14. I was about to start pulling panels when this retired guy, Frank, who was just hanging around, asked if I'd checked the cannon plug shell. He said, 'Kid, the airframe is the ground path, but corrosion loves to hide where the plug meets the metal.' I cleaned the plug shell mating surface with a scotch-brite pad, and the voltage jumped right up to 13.9. It's saved me hours since. What's your go-to method for finding a bad ground on older airframes?
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graytorres5mo ago
Honestly, my go-to is just chasing the ground wire back to where it bolts on.
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hannahs715mo ago
That's usually the best first step. Found a lot of issues where it connects to the frame, all crusty. Clean that spot up real good and it often fixes everything.
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holly_young354mo ago
Wait, you actually chase the ground wire instead of just checking the battery first?
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