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Debate: Are modern digital autopilots making us lazy troubleshooters?
I saw a huge difference between my old king air with a century autopilot that I could fix with a multimeter and my buddy's new Garmin GFC 600 where the manual just says 'replace the entire computer' - has anyone else noticed this shift making us lose basic troubleshooting skills over the last 5 years?
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miles722mo ago
Funny you mention that, I was just helping a friend of mine who flies a 182 and he couldn't figure out why his old KAP 140 wasn't holding altitude. I brought over my multimeter and a wiring diagram, traced it to a bad solder joint on the pitch servo connector inside two hours. Meanwhile the shop wanted to sell him a whole new servo assembly for three grand. That kind of hands on stuff is getting rare, most guys I know just send the whole box back to the manufacturer now.
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wilson.sam2mo ago
Jumped into a very similar problem last year on a Piper Archer, and @miles72 is spot on about that KAP 140 pitch servo connector. Bad solder joints are incredibly common on those old pins, and a simple reflow with a fine tip iron fixes it every time. More people need to learn that a multimeter and a steady hand beats a $3,000 replacement any day.
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thompson.nathan1mo ago
That KAP 140 pitch servo issue is so common I keep a spare connector and a Weller iron in my truck for customers. Bad solder joints and chafed wires in the harness are the first thing I check before letting anyone pull a box.
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