Got schooled on a 737 MAX autothrottle fault in Seattle last month

Last month in Seattle, I was working on a 737 MAX that kept throwing an intermittent autothrottle fault. The logs were pointing to the A/T servo, so I swapped it out, no change. My lead, a guy who's been doing this since the 90s, came over and just started wiggling wires in the MFD bay. Found a single pin in a cannon plug that was backed out maybe a millimeter. You couldn't even see it without a magnifier. He pushed it home, fault cleared, and I felt like a total rookie. It was one of those 'check the simple stuff first' moments that you know but sometimes forget when you're chasing ghosts in the system. Has anyone else had a headache fault that ended up being something stupid simple like a connector?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamie60220h ago

My old crew chief in Memphis swore half our snags were loose cannon plugs.

the_christopher17h ago

Isn't it funny how so many problems just come down to something not being plugged in all the way? I see it everywhere, from my TV cutting out to my internet dropping. Makes you wonder how much time we waste fixing things that just needed a good push. Your crew chief was probably more right than he knew.