Old timer told me to always check the ground strap first

I had a 737 with a flaky fuel quantity indicator back in March, and after 4 hours of swapping cards and chasing wires, I finally checked the ground strap on the tank unit. It was corroded clean off, exactly like the 30 year vet at my last shop said it would be. Has anyone else wasted a whole shift ignoring the simple stuff just because you thought you knew better?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameron31827d ago

Oh man, corroded ground straps are the absolute worst because they look fine until you really get in there and wiggle them. My old shop had a midsized sedan that we traced a no-start to for two full days, swapping relays and testing the crank sensor, and it was just the battery ground cable hidden under some crusty corrosion. You learn real quick that the simple stuff is usually the problem, but we all have to learn it the hard way first.

kelly_henderson8327d ago

My lube bay lost a whole day on a no-start before we noticed the battery ground was barely hanging on.

robertsmith27d ago

Yeah but honestly a loose ground is one of the first things I check on any no-start. That's a rookie mistake skipping the basics before digging deeper.