Debate: sticking to the manual or trusting your gut on weird intermittent faults?

I spent 3 hours chasing a ghost on a G1000 system last Tuesday, finally found it by bypassing the schematics and checking a ground strap that looked fine. Boss says always follow the book, but that ground would've taken another 2 hours to confirm the old way. Anyone else find shortcuts that actually work better than the factory steps?

2 comments

2 Comments

wade_perez1mo agoMost Upvoted

Used to be a book guy through and through, but that whole episode flipped me. @theawest nailed it, the manual doesn't know about fifteen years of grime on a connector you can't even see. Sometimes the fastest route is the one you figure out yourself.

theawest1mo ago

Does the manual really account for every random corrosion spot or loose crimp that can show up after years of service? I've found that factory steps are great for brand new systems but they assume everything else is perfect too. Sometimes your gut knows when a procedure is wasting time on the obvious stuff.