I finally learned why my crimper was leaving bad connections on the ramp in Memphis

Last Tuesday I was out on the line in Memphis trying to finish a pitot static check on a CRJ. I kept getting intermittent resistance readings on a cannon plug and couldn't figure out why. After pulling the pins three times I realized my old crimper was just slightly out of adjustment from years of use. I borrowed a calibrated tool from the hangar and every connection came out perfect on the first try. Has anyone else had a tool get worn down like that and cause headaches?

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david12335m agoMost Upvoted

Dude, that exact thing happened to me on a 737 a few months ago in Atlanta. I was fighting with a cannon plug for like two hours, kept getting intermittent continuity and thought I was losing my mind. Turned out my old crimper had a tiny burr on the jaw from dropping it on the hangar floor like a hundred times. Swapped to a fresh one from the tool crib and every pin clicked in perfect first try. It's crazy how something so small can mess up a whole job. I swear those tools wear down over the years and you don't even notice until you're screaming at a wire bundle. Now I keep a backup crimper in my box just for that reason.