Shoutout to that $80 part that turned into a $600 mistake on a 737 in Atlanta

Bought a used fan speed controller off eBay for a galley cart cooler, figured I'd save a buck. Installed it, ran the test, and it shorted out within 10 minutes, fried the whole cooling unit. Now I'm out the part cost plus the overtime to fix it and order a new assembly. Anybody else get burned buying used components online?

2 comments

2 Comments

markc841mo ago

That part turned into a $600 mistake" is exactly what happened to my buddy Dave. He bought a used bleed air valve off a forum for his CRJ, thought he was getting a steal at $150. Slapped it in and within two flights it started leaking hot air into the avionics bay, melted a wiring harness and blew two circuit breakers. Ended up costing him almost a grand in parts and a weekend of labor to put everything right. You ever see someone go from proud to sick in ten minutes flat?

perez.mia1mo ago

Sold my buddy a "good used" APU controller from a parted out 737. Tested fine on the bench but soon as it hit the plane, fried the starter relay and killed the battery bus. That $200 "deal" cost him $400 in diagnostic time before he just bought a new one.