A Loose Screw Sent Me on a Wild Goose Chase

I was fixing a spotty radio on a Piper last Friday. The audio kept dropping out, so I pulled out all the schematics. I spent ages testing every circuit with my meter. Then I spotted a small screw bouncing in the avionics bay. I convinced myself it was shorting something critical. After tightening it, the radio still acted up. The real culprit was a worn wire behind the glare shield. I felt pretty silly for blaming the screw. Now I look for the simple stuff first before diving deep.