That time in Atlanta a bad solder joint almost grounded a 737

Was helping a buddy at his hangar near PDK last month, tracing a intermittent comm issue. Turns out a cold solder joint on the back of the audio panel was breaking contact when the plane hit bumps. We spent 3 hours pulling panels before I just started reflowing every joint I could see. The fix was simple but the lesson stuck with me, has anyone else had a ghost problem that turned out to be a bad solder? I'm thinking about getting a better iron now.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jennifer1mo ago

Took me right back to my old Cessna days. Had a radio that would cut out on rough runways. Turned out to be a tiny crack in a solder joint on the power supply board. Used a cheap iron for years after that and never trusted it. Finally bought a Hakko station and it made all the difference. You just can't see those cold joints sometimes until you start poking around.

eva_thompson1mo ago

Learned that lesson the hard way too with a car stereo that kept glitching on bumpy roads.

lunag301mo agoMost Upvoted

@the_jennifer what is it with cars and equipment dying on the worst possible roads?