Pinched a wire in a flap actuator on a CRJ-200 at 2am

I was working night shift last month at a regional carrier in Memphis. Was swapping out a flap actuator on a CRJ-200 and managed to pinch a wire bundle between the actuator bracket and the mount. Didnt notice until I tested the flap movement and heard a grinding sound. Had to pull the whole actuator back off, splice two wires, and retest everything. Took me an extra hour. Anyone else ever crush a harness in a tight spot and have to re-terminate on the fly?

3 comments

3 Comments

avery_lopez1mo ago

Buddy of mine did something similar on a 737 slat track in the middle of a snowstorm. Had to unwrap half the bundle and re-splice three wires while kneeling on a wet tarmac.

hunt.quinn1mo ago

Avery had it rough with that snowstorm splice. @avery_lopez, I feel you man, I once tried to fix a wiring issue on a Cessna 172 in the middle of a Florida summer thunderstorm and ended up shocking myself so bad I dropped my pliers into a puddle. Had to fish them out with a stick while the owner was staring at me like I was an idiot. Worth it though because the plane flew fine after that, but my pride never really recovered lol. Nothing like kneeling on wet pavement to make you question your life choices, especially when you realize you forgot a heatshrink tube and have to start over. Stay warm out there, buddy.

miam7513d ago

Yeah but wait, that's a 737, not a 737 MAX or whatever right? I'm only asking because @hunt.quinn mentioned losing pride and needing do-overs, and I think the wire routing on those slat tracks is different depending on the model. I've heard some of the older 737s have a slightly different splice location under the track that makes it easier to access in bad weather, while the newer ones bury the wires deeper. So your buddy might have had it a bit worse if it was an NG or something because you gotta dig deeper into the bundle. Either way, re-splicing three wires while kneeling sounds like a nightmare, especially with snow melting into your boots.