My headset cable got pinched in the cockpit door hinge today

I was in a Cessna 172 at KAPA this morning, running a radio check before the owner showed up, when the door slammed shut and my headset cord got caught in the hinge. The audio cut out completely, and I had the panel open for 45 minutes trying to find where the wire broke inside the jacket. Has anyone else had a door hinge mess up their headset cable, or am I just unlucky with how I route things?

3 comments

3 Comments

dianagreen28d ago

That 45 minute panel pull sounds like something I would do... I've spent way too long chasing a break in a wire that turned out to be right where I started. My own headset cord got caught in a 172 door hinge at KAPA too actually, and I felt like such a goof standing there with the wire hanging out. I ended up finding the break by accident after I dropped the cable and it landed on a certain spot and the audio crackled back to life. The splice kit is a decent idea but I'm terrible at soldering so I just used electrical tape and hoped for the best. It still works most of the time if I don't move my head too fast haha.

quinn_king162mo ago

Happened to me last summer in a 172 at KSDL. The door caught the cord right where it splits near the jack. Took me an hour to find the break inside the rubber sheath. I started wrapping the cable around the seat frame before closing the door after that. You tried patching the wire with a splice kit?

casey8432mo ago

Wait, you had the whole panel open for 45 minutes? Dude, that's wild. I would've just given up and bought a new headset after the first 10 minutes of staring at the wire. I've had a door catch my cord before too, but I never found the break, I just kept twisting the cord until it worked again for a bit. That splice kit idea sounds like a decent fix if you're patient enough to find the spot.