A B737-300 FLC HAS POSTFLT CONCERNS ABOUT THE MEL THAT WAS EXERCISED UPON A LEADING EDGE SLAT PROB THAT PERHAPS WAS ONLY PART OF THE REAL PROB AT HOU; TX.

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CHK OF MASTER CAUTION INBOUND TO HOU INDICATED A SINGLE CHANNEL FAILURE OF THE AUTO SLAT SYS. MAINT WAS ADVISED AND MET ACFT AT THE GATE. THEY DETERMINED THAT A CIRCUIT BREAKER BEHIND THE CAPT'S SEAT (EXACT BREAKER UNKNOWN) WAS POPPING AND CAUSING THE INDICATION. ACFT HAD A PREVIOUS WRITE-UP FOR AUTO SLAT SYS AND IT HAD BEEN DEFERRED AND SUBSEQUENTLY CLRED. MAINT ADVISED US THAT IT MAY BE A LONG DELAY TO FIND THE CIRCUIT THAT WAS CAUSING THE BREAKER TO TRIP; OR THEY COULD DEFER THE AUTO SLAT SYS AGAIN. CAPT AND I OPTED TO DEFER THE AUTO SLAT SYS. MAINT COMPLETED APPROPRIATE MEL PAPERWORK AND WE PROCEEDED TO AUS WITHOUT INCIDENT; WHERE WE TURNED ACFT OVER TO ANOTHER CREW. AFTER SLEEPING ON IT; THE FOLLOWING DAY; CAPT AND I AGREED THAT PERHAPS THE WRONG SYS HAD BEEN DEFERRED; IE; THE AUTO SLAT SYS PROBABLY WAS NOT WORKING BECAUSE THE BREAKER KEPT TRIPPING. RATHER THAN DEFERRING THE AUTO SLAT; WE SHOULD HAVE INSISTED ON DETERMINING THE CAUSE OF THE TRIPPED BREAKER BEFORE CONTINUING THE FLT. OUR DESIRE TO COMPLETE THE LAST LEG OF THE DAY ALONG WITH MAINT'S WILLINGNESS TO DEFER THE SYMPTOM; BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE CAUSE; COMBINED TO PUT AN ACFT INTO SVC THAT PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE THOROUGHLY TROUBLESHOT FIRST. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 512652: WE GOT A STICK SHAKER ON LNDG ROLLOUT. AFTER PARKING; WE NOTICED A CIRCUIT BREAKER LABELED 'SMC-1.PAC' ACFT WAS POPPED AND WOULD NOT RESET. STALL WARNING #1 WOULD NOT TEST. THIS HAD BEEN A PREVIOUS WRITE-UP AND HAD BEEN CORRECTED AND SIGNED OFF A DAY OR 2 BEFORE. IT HAD TESTED OK EARLIER IN THE DAY. NOTE: THIS ACFT IS DIFFERENT FROM MOST OF THE -300'S. DO NOT HAVE CIRCUIT BREAKERS LABELED 'SMC-1.' ALSO; THERE ARE ONLY 2 CIRCUIT BREAKERS FOR THE AUTOSLATS LABELED 'DC' NOT 'AC' -- AS THE CASE FOR MOST -300'S. I FEEL THAT PERHAPS THIS ACFT (AND MAYBE A FEW MORE) HAVE SOME DIFFERENT 'ODDBALL' SYS THAT CTLS MORE THAN JUST THE AUTO SLAT SENSORS; AND MAYBE THAT SYS NEEDS ITS OWN MEL.