Maintainers target wiring problems Published May 5, 2004 By Staff Sgt. Scott Eaton 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. (AFPN) -- Maintainers from the 4th Component Maintenance Squadron here have created a process that could potentially change the way the Air Force troubleshoots electronic systems.They combined one-of-a-kind commercial hardware with locally written software programs to locate wiring problems within three minutes -- in contrast to the 20-plus hours sometimes needed to accomplish the job manually.“(A commercial source) makes the tester, but our Airmen write the programs that enable us to test the wiring on the F-15E [Strike Eagle] quickly and easily,” said Master Sgt. Stephen Hoggard, 4th CMS chief of the electronic and environmental section.Still in development, eventually, the tester will be brought out onto the flightline to troubleshoot aircraft wiring.Senior Airman Timothy Weaver, a 4th CMS technician, is creating programs for the tester to troubleshoot the wiring on the Strike Eagle. Tom Jordan, from Air Force Engineering and Technical Services, is assisting in the programming process.“I research the schematics for the specific system, and then I write a program for it,” Airman Weaver said. “I also build test cables that connect the (tester) to wire harnesses and components.”The equipment can be used to test any electrical device if a program is written for it.“If it’s electronic, (the tester) can test it,” Airman Weaver said.Individual testing software programs for every system on the F-15E can cost more than $7,000 each if bought from a civilian contractor, Sergeant Hoggard said.Tasks such as fixing a secondary power harness, which is an extremely long and pain-staking process, can take up to a month to complete, but the tester can accomplish the task within a few minutes, Airman Weaver said.The $75,000 tester quickly paid for itself by saving massive amounts of manpower and numerous hours of aircraft downtime, Sergeant Hoggard said.“(It) is more accurate, faster and easier to use than anything I’ve seen, and we simply can’t build anything that can do what it can in this shop,” Sergeant Hoggard said.The device was purchased in September, and the programming is still in the early stages of development, said 1st Lt. David Grassie, 4th CMS assistant accessory flight commander.“The process is still maturing, but we think the (tester) will greatly improve a fighter wing’s ability to maintain the combat capability of aging aircraft,” Lieutenant Grassie said. “The tester has the potential to be used on every aircraft in the Air Force inventory, not just the F-15E.” (Courtesy of Air Combat Command News Service)