Live Wire has named Dallas Avionics as a dealer for its FaultChaser, which has long been used by the military and is now available to the civilian market. The FaultChaser uses spread-spectrum time domain reflectometry (SSTDR) to detect faulty wiring within an aircraft. It can detect both open and short circuits on wires and cables for up to 3,000 feet.
The most common source of a fault is aircraft vibration causing wires with breached insulation to touch each other or the airframe. On the ground, faults may be impossible to locate. Now, technicians can locate wiring issues in short order, saving labor and dollars. The FaultChaser comes as a complete kit with a case and sniffer to locate unmarked wires.
“SSTDR has been demonstrated to be effective technology for locating intermittent faults on aircraft wires carrying typical signals in flight," said Todd Enloe of Dallas Avionics. “Airplanes and helicopters have hundreds of feet of wire and coaxial cable. Much of this wire is routed behind panels or wrapped in special protective jackets and is not accessible even during heavy maintenance when most of the panels are removed. Among the most difficult wiring problems to resolve are those that involve intermittent faults. The FaultChaser enables easier detection of where the fault is occurring.”
