Old timer told me I was wiring my connectors backwards, and he was right

I was working on a Cessna 172 last Tuesday and this 60 year old mechanic walked by, stopped, and just goes 'You're feeding your pins backwards, kid.' I mean, I'd been doing it the way my instructor showed me for two years. Crimp the wire, insert from the back, pull the test. Turns out he meant I should be seating the contact from the front of the connector housing first, then pushing the wire in. It sounds dumb but it stopped my pins from backing out when I did the pull test. Now I get better continuity checks and way less rework. Has anyone else had some old timer correct a basic habit that you thought was fine?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessica13028d ago

Dragged my dad out to my first car to show him how I'd wired up the stereo, real proud of myself. He didn't say anything for a solid minute, just stared at the mess of connectors behind the dash. Then he reached in, pulled one out, and showed me how the bare wire was barely touching the metal inside because I'd stuffed it in backwards. I spent the next three hours redoing every single one while he sat there drinking a soda. Thing is, he was right. Radio never crackled or cut out after that. Now I always check my connector depth with a paperclip before I call it done. It's one of those stupid little things that makes the difference between a job that lasts and a job that needs fixing next month.

jana_jones28d agoOG Member

Did that old timer show you why feeding from the front actually seats the contact deeper into the housing, or is it more about the angle of insertion? I've seen guys swear by different methods depending on the connector brand, wondering if there's a physics reason it holds better. Like, does it change how the locking bar catches the contact shoulder or something mechanical like that?

spencer_park2628d ago

Fourteen years wiring heavy equipment and I've seen it with Deutsch, Amphenol, everything. It's like tightening a bolt from the looser side first, Jana - that angle lets the contact shoulder slide in without the locking bar catching halfway. Same principle with a fence post, you gotta wiggle it in straight or the latch won't seat right.