Talked to a retired tech at the hangar about grounding straps

Guy with 30 years in said he sees more static issues from loose braided straps than bad connectors. Said he watched a crew chase a transponder glitch for two days before finding a corroded strap under the floor panel. Anyone else check those before swapping boxes?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_barbara18h ago

My buddy Tom was chasing a radio issue on a King Air. Swapped the whole stack. New tray, new connectors. Still static. Third day he pulled the floor mat and found the grounding strap. Looked fine on top. But underneath where it bolted to the frame it was green and flaky. One zap from a static shock and the whole radio went haywire. He said he felt like an idiot. But he checks them first now every time.

lee.casey5d ago

Huh, is that really a common thing though? I've had way more luck finding bad connectors than actual corroded straps in my 15 years of turning wrenches.