Repairing broken traces on a circuit board
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ย. 2024
- Broken traces are quite common, especially on vintage computers where corrosion has set in. Here are a few helpful tips for providing strong, long-lasting repairs for broken traces.
#soldering #electronics #tutorial
T-SHIRTS
Do you like my wacky t-shirts? I buy all of them from Qwertee. Use the discount code: BranchusCreations to get £1/€1/$1 off your order. Check out the range here:
bit.ly/3OrJZkT
If you enjoy the content and would like to support the channel, please consider becoming a Patron:
/ branchuscreations
Of if would like to make a small donation, you can do so here:
www.paypal.me/...
Tools/Products used (paid links):
SOLDERING IRON
Hakko FX951: amzn.to/31QvCMW
SOLDERING IRON TIPS:
Bevelled edge soldering iron tip (T12-BC2): amzn.to/45NSrBK
Small bevelled soldering iron tip (T12-C1): amzn.to/3YVH5K0
Bent conical soldering iron tip (T12-JL02): amzn.to/3sx8lSU
Chiselled soldering iron tip (T12-KU): amzn.to/44tAo2A
HOT AIR STATION:
Quick 861DW: amzn.to/2ZjYzPH
SOLDER:
Kester 63/37 0.5mm diameter: amzn.to/3uviEIg
FLUX:
StirriASM: amzn.to/43nT05e
SOLDER WICK:
Goot Wick 2mm: amzn.to/3YWlRvw
TWEEZERS:
Hakko CHP 3-SA: amzn.to/2NqkhPz
DT71 DIGITAL MULTIMETER TWEEZERS:
amzn.to/41VcvSb
OTHER:
Vevor 30L Ultrasonic Cleaner (5% off on all Vevor sites code: VVMH5%OFF):
AU site: s.vevor.com/bf...
US site: s.vevor.com/bf...
EU site: s.vevor.com/bf...
-----------------------------------------------------
Component suction tool (vacuum pen): amzn.to/44xyPkm
Microscope: amzn.to/2HnSI5H
Microscope camera: amzn.to/2TdSYsZ
Budget alternative microscope: amzn.to/2PmRagt
Budget alternative soldering station (uses T12 tips): amzn.to/2SeUpHg
Budget alternative hot air rework: amzn.to/3fN1ZU7
Helping hands (third hand): amzn.to/31JUhVL
Ultrasonic cleaning fluid: amzn.to/2YusoQQ
Fume extractor: amzn.to/2HuG0oU
UV Solder mask: amzn.to/2ZnK1yu
Swann Morton curved scalpel blades: amzn.to/2oN7qNn
No. 3 Scalpel Handle: amzn.to/2ngcx85
Kapton heat resistant tape: amzn.to/2xBnTso
28 AWG enamelled magnet wire (thick): amzn.to/32cRsLf
34 AWG enamelled magnet wire (med): amzn.to/35Bx20D
40 AWG enamelled magnet wire (thin): amzn.to/2J2Aisf - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
I don't even work on boards and have never touched a soldering iron but here I am watching and learning. thanks.
I can't believe I've just sat and watched it myself but I'm glad I did 🤘🏼
You guys should start haha.
@@umeshkirant I'm confident enough to give it a go now to say iv not much in the way of exsperance
@@umeshkirant truth is I've always been intrigued by this type of work. Even as a child I would take apart a radio or other electronic product just to look at the inside, wondering how everything works and having fun with tearing it down and putting it back together. maybe I should start.
That's my favorite thing about youtube. Always learning from other people
You just helped me repair a trace on my water heater’s thermostat circuit board. Thanks to you I was able to take a hot shower! Thanks a million!
BTW, I really like how you teach professional methods for repairing these boards. I really get annoyed at certain TH-camr's who take the pliers to caps without even bothering to see if hot air would work. Then gloss over them with nail polish. Your methods just seem more professional. Hell, it's almost like you actually CARE about the end results. :-)
I'm a self taught soldering freak. Thank you for making these videos.
Me too! And i can fix leaky copper plumbing too!
😁👍
A thing that most Jeffs also do. I aproove 😆
Any tip for a newbie? I would like to learn but im at zero knowledge atm
In 23 minutes and 49 seconds you have shown me why I’ve always struggled repairing a pcb and most times cracking the shits and throwing the device away out of frustration. Thank you so much.
This was amazing and such a big help!!! It might sound silly but the motherboard of my tamagotchi was messed up and thanks to your video I was able to perform a total miracle! 🤯🤩🥳 Thank you for this video!!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much! Your video has enough detailed information and shows all the steps yet is concise!
Last night I blew a trace on an expensive piece of equipment by accidentally connecting it in reverse polarity.
Your video undid my mistake and she works just fine now!
It’s guys like you that make TH-cam great!
You sir are a legend, your voice is so calmed and your explanatory skills are amazing, i wish my school teachers would be half as good as you on explaining things.
Thank you so much it really helped me to repair a broken trace on My Mitsubishi Colt Ecu.
The world needs more people like you Sir.
God bless you and best of luck
Today was the day I decided I wanted to learn more about board repairs. Thank you for sharing the knowledge. This looks pretty peaceful if one has all the right gear, supplies and patience.
I have a samsung aircon remote control with the smallest copper tracks you ever did see. I purchased the strongest reading glasses I could buy and they certainly magnified enough for me to do the job. I am normally ik doing these types of jobs but your video was so brilliant that it made my task run so smoothly. If I can impart some helpful hints, theys are: The board in the damaged tracks were corroded and bluish green corrosion product over the tracks. Possibly copper Chloride. I successfully removed this with a fine stiff paintbrush agitating CilitBang (citric acid) on the area and leaving it for 20mins. Then washed it off with water and dabs of tissue. The other tip I used was as the break in the tracks were so small, I shone a torch light from the otherside of the board and then the broken track could easily be observed.. Thankyou once again for such a down to earth and well informed video, you are quite a star.
New subscriber. Thanks for taking the time to show us and explain to us all about these repairs.. I really enjoy them and am learning a lot. I’m battling cancer and not able to work outside in the heat and so I am learning a new hobby thanks to you. Many blessings sir and keep them coming. I just ordered a Hakko soldering station and would like to get a microscope next as my eyes don’t work well either. Thanks again and God bless.
Thanks, it seems that contrary to popular belief, you can indeed teach common sense. I have been working on old electronics for much of my adult life, and several years of my youth. Growing up in the 50's and seeing the transformation from tubes to transistors has been a pleasure, and IC's have always amazed me. The use of fine tipped soldering irons has become a necessity now with the fine PC boards and tiny leads of the ever smaller devices now used in modern builds. This was very enlightening for me, I recently purchased an old 1958 model tube set with an early PC board. A previous owner had repaired the bad ground by stripping a stranded power cord and soldering it around the outside to repair the many broken traces from some liquid spill back in the day. I have yet to revive the set but this video should help me in restoring the old set to it's previous glory.
My father just sent me an old trace repair kit from the 80s, it is awesome! Thousands of various sized "trace materials" I can cut to size. This is gonna make this so much easier!
What a great instructional video this is what most people look for. Makes a change from the condescending videos that are all over TH-cam where they basically put you off attempting any repair yourself, how can you ever learn by doing that and who wants to risk shipping expensive irreplaceable electronic parts like Amiga motherboards etc.
Hands down, the best and most complete repair video I've come across. What, no tip / thanks button? I guess just a 'thank you' very much will have to do! You are saving people a lot of money. I'm going to attempt to fix my furnace / a/c board following your detailed instructions. Will save me hundreds if it works! A brand new circuit board has a fried spot due to a power storm surge. Hope this works for me.
You make it look easy im sure someone new can't do it that smooth with the finesse you have. Great job and thanks for the information
Outstanding. You have the patience of a saint! I thought my job was tedious (doing 3D Cad routing for automotive) but yours definitely tops it.
This is pretty common during R&D. If you are doing repair you should cover with soldermask or conformal coating after a good clean to stop the oxidation/corrosion getting worse. It's often a good idea to re-tin traces showing corrosion.
He does more than tin the traces he overlays them with copper wire. It is impressive. I was thinking the same thing about the conformal coating. Although not necessary prob not a terrible idea.
Thank you for making this great video Sir. I just wish I had steady hands again! You make it look easy.
@@johncox6666I think Pentachronic means other traces, where continuity is present but they are corroded so it's going to go away soon most probably.
But looks like in this video the goal was mot to fix a board so no point wasting time. It looked like it was some random old pcb picked for video since it most probably going to have a lot of areas with broken traces.
Btw, I understand I'm paranoid and overthinking but almost every time after cutting excess wire with a blade it looked like trace behind it is also cut. If not still it would be very important to mention something like "be careful not to cut the trace when cutting a wire". Stupid but for some reason almost all of us never think about it before it does happen 😅
P.s. thanks for the video. Most of "repair" either just do those "small precise motorics" very quickly rarely mentioning the details or just quickly go over them without putting accent on it. This video was a "calm experienced guy slowly and friendly showing basic things". Amazing ❤
Fantastic and thorough breakdown of an intimidating piece of repair! Many thanks.
That is a good way to fix broken runs. They do make circuit board repair kits that have runs, eyelets and through hole parts. And the runs are in a lot of different sizes and lengths for just this type work. If you don't have such a repair kit, this method does work. I usually lacquer clear coat the board after repairing broken runners and cleaning it well. It keeps other contaminates off the board that way.
This was a very good video. I also finally learned about how flux seems to make solder adhere to the copper in that tinning process, something I see many repair youtubers do to solder a bunch of little pads at once but never understood how they didn't short out every single pad with solder everywhere.
This is very well presented and informative! Unfortunately, the most information I have taken away from all this is that I don't have the means to repair the damaged board of my Xbox controller where I have soldered in new bumper buttons SEVERAL times, damaging the board a bit each time as I don't have a ton of experience. (ex gf somehow kept dropping the controller on the same bumper and wrecking the small button inside lol.) I have plenty of controllers and all I just like learning and fixing things 😁
I was about to toss a plasma ball that I discovered had a circuit board that got snapped in two but wondered if it would be possible to repair the traces without too much difficulty. This video was the first result and was a perfect explanation of the process. Guess I'm not throwing it out until I at least attempt to fix the traces. Thanks!
Beautifully done. Love the fact you take the time to follow the trace path, as you say not always entirely necessary (but sometimes is!) but a bit of quality all the same.
Standing ovation. One of the clearest soldering i have ever seen.
@Albanellys Zurita i repeared my first track past december. Not so clean job.
I'm not sure but ,if anyone else wants to discover
how to repair car
try Saankramer Electronic Magazine System (just google it ) ? Ive heard some unbelievable things about it and my neighbor got excellent success with it.
Not certain about the points made but ,if anyone else wants to uncover
repair a car
try Saankramer Electronic Magazine System ( search on google ) ? Ive heard some incredible things about it and my brother in law got amazing results with it.
For all the years ive been deguging boards ive never thought of reparing a trace this wzy. I would just run a jumper, but your work was no nice and so well explained i might give this a try. Thx for sharing.
For repairing really fine PCB traces on fried consumer audio stuff, I've used thin strands of wire taken from fine-stranded wire. Strip the insulation, fish out one strand and clip it off, then use the customary methods of tinning the circuit board traces and solder the little wire to it.
It works better if you lay off the caffeine that day so you don't have the shakes! Also, taking Zyban or Wellbutrin will REALLY give you the shakes, that stuff is a no-no for repairing circuit boards :)
Well done, I finally found someone who does repairs like I do!
Reviewing all I can before I jump into mounting a couple of simple kits . Great videos! Just like double checking with the instructor..... Safety first
WOW! This video has helped me lear what Ive been trying to learn on my own for the last twelve months, but in 20 minutes! THANKS SO MUCH! 😀
Forgot to add something, you mentioned in the intro that once the repair was complete, to check for continuity. I don't suppose you have a video for that too do you mate?
from all the lessons I see you are the best because you speak slowiy and ciearly Also because you are not taking to show us how good you are as many do ,but you realiy teach people Thank show me more please I am from Malta Gorg Cross
Awesome tutorial. Thanks for this. Its always nice to see how its done through the scope. Now to get a scope...
I wish I could afford one, I am saving up, as my eyes are like Bruce's and need all the help they can get!
What a fantastic video. Concise, clear and packed with useful info. I've thrown stuff away in the past because traces were broken, but next time I will certainly have a go at repair. Thanks!
This is just perfect. I'm fairly new to soldering, but this video makes me wanna improve my skills. Very detailed and clearly explained! Keep it up😃
Winner of a video, I have been researching "how long does epoxy take to cure?" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Ever heard of - Giyathan Bewildering Gratification - (do a google search ) ? It is a great one off product for discovering how to repair your electronic items like a wizard minus the headache. Ive heard some super things about it and my neighbour got amazing success with it.
Excellent description of tools, procedure, and technique. Well done sir.
Thank you for your skill sharing Bruce. You've encouraged me to tackle a circuit I accidentally burned the traces off. 😳 Wish me luck!
Good luck!
It didn't work :( but I did more research and found there's a pen with ink that has conductivity properties. I still have yet to try it, but if it works I'll let you know. Maybe you could do a video using one. They're about $30 dollars. (I don't know how much that translates to Australian currency) but if I have some spare left I suppose I could always ship it to you 🙂
Cheers from Houston!
@@BranchusCreationsHow do I repair a lifted and destroyed foil trace at the hole where the capacitor and or transistor goes?
Thank you
Very well explained. I am going to try it on my circuit damaged by battery fumes. Thanks bro.
Thank you kind sir. You just helped me with creating a wireable access repair for a gauge cluster that the plug end of the circuit board was broken off
Very, VERY informative. I am confident now I can do trace repairs on our first 486 muthaboard that no longer posts. Also, I very much like how you have links to what you have and also links to budget alternatives. Thank you!
Hope you've had success with it!
This was a great reminder. It’s been a while since I did any of this. We usually just replace circuit boards but right now we are making do and mending!
I've got a globe 3875v control board to repair and jumped on here to refresh myself. Great video. Everything I needed, great focus and no extra bs. Subscribed and checking out your other content.
just started n still watching (my 1st vid here) but reading from the comments, on top of crisps clear talks audio got me hooked. subscribed n hoping to watch the rest of your videos in near future. thanks for sharing the knowledge n experience.
Bruce, I’ve just discovered your videos and finding them incredibly helpful - many thanks!
You make it look so easy and no doubt you’re an Aussie. Thanks mate!
these videos are great and I regret not having watched them before i took my soldering iron to my now botched Allen & Heath mixer. What would be cool to see is a video on fault finding and identifying where and why things went wrong. I thought I had a simple job of removing some resistors and bridging the pads they were sitting on (as suggested in the manual - a simple mod that adds 6dB to the phono inputs at the cost of the warranty), but now I only have signal coming through the left channel on each input, as well as some crosstalk where I can here input from CH1 in CH2. I want to go back and do things properly having watched these vids, but I'm not sure if the problem only exists at the site of the pads I soldered (the crosstalk makes me think I damage in other places). All this to say, keen to see more. Very helpful for a beginner.
Exactly what I was after. Thanks for taking the time!
This was such a fun and interesting guide.
My 1st and recent soldering project was de soldering a dvd drive controller for an xbox 360 and re soldering to a new chassis it was only a couple of wires, when I powered on the xbox 360, saw that disc drive opened, and read a disc the amount of satisfaction was immeasurable to me. I think someone dropped the xbox because I tried realigning the tray which is easy to do and even swapped the metal shell outside of it and it kept getting stuck.
My next project is replacing the capacitors on another xbox 360 that has the red ring of death.
Outstanding video! Thank you so much! I think this is going to save my SIIG controller board in my new used 386 tower from circa 1990, and finally make it able to use hard drives after 3 months of troubleshooting!
This is definitely on the right path to trace repair. No bodge wires. It seems indicative of the videos I've seen on RoHS and the like compliant standards in trace repair.
you are master in soldering. in a few minutes you gave so many information
Thank you sir for the tutorial, I've managed to fix the PCB in my car’s climate control panel with limited soldering skill, equipment, and materials.
Excellent video as always Bruce! This is a great tutorial on trace repair, I now feel confident enough to try and troubleshoot my Quadra 840 AV. :)
This is glorious, been searching for "how to repair a printed circuit board" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you ever come across - Giyathan Bewildering Gratification - (do a google search ) ? It is a good one of a kind product for discovering how to repair your electronic items like a wizard without the normal expense. Ive heard some interesting things about it and my mate got cool success with it.
Great video. This pooped up in my recommended videos, and I hope TH-cam continue to give you the exposure you deserve.
I love it when things poop up unexpectedly! Cheers!
@@dsmithwc04 🤣🤣🤣 Hadn't noticed until you pointed it out. You've made my day.
Excellent tutorial for repairing my ‘81 Mercedes instrument cluster. Thank you.
I really hate you pcb youtubers. You guys are so detailed in describing the process with a patient demeaner and calm easy to listen voice, that I convince myself that i am know a pro, i go back and try to implent what i saw only to realize that i still suck. Haha.
Bs a side, thanks for sharing your craft . !
This is very helpful. I am at my wit's end with trying to repair a Magnavox VR-9655AT01 (Panasonic) VCR. It was my favorite VCR and I have it at a TV repair place. The person has explained to me that the power board has bad traces from a combination of being plugged in for too long and perhaps, some errors that I have made while soldering.
I have always had problems with lumpy solder and now I know I just need more flux
also a clean soldering tip.. if the tip doesn't want to wet (suck solder onto), it will not collect the extra solder as nicely..
Great video!
Note: In my opinion your iron temperature a bit high. Because when you touch the flux quickly evaporating.
Only by chance I came across this video. very impressive, great information and the technique you use make it look so easy. I will give it try and see how I get on, after all it was an amateur that built the ark and professionals built the Titanic.
Real professional. Excellent video thanks from Srilanka
Very nice and complete. I would add my stone : in some 'hardcore'' situations, think about scrapping the copper track from the outside to the border of the cut.. And I would cut the fixing wire before soldering it too.
Thanks again very instructive.
Thank you sir! I was able to repair a music sequencer that I love because of your sharing.
Not certain about the points made but ,if anyone else wants to uncover
electronic repair services
try Saankramer Electronic Magazine System (do a google search ) ? Ive heard some great things about it and my friend got cool results with it.
interesting points ,if anyone else trying to find out
electronic repair barrie
try Saankramer Electronic Magazine System (should be on google have a look ) ? Ive heard some awesome things about it and my m8 got great results with it.
USA
4aaaQ4
Very nice work! My tools are similar except for the solder mask, I use nail varnish, comes in different colours, even clear. I missed it you explained that some enamelled wire has a super tough polyimide coating which is way too difficult to solder through but very common. Don’t just strip some wire off a relay or transformer and expect it to work. The first link for wire that you give is not solderable from the description (they name the coating as polyester and polyamideimide which is probably wrong) in the first section but in the detail description they change the coating type to polyurethane coated solderable wire, check the description to make sure it is solderable “magnet wire”. Love your attention to detail, you must be a fantastic Pac-Man player, tidying up every last dot.
I'll need to update that link! Thanks for the tip!
Very useful info! I know next to nothing about soldering, and your videos that i've watched have given me the confidence to do it correctly. I hope! I've also watched your vids on AMTECH NC-559-V3-TF and will be ordering some.
Man it's not your first Rodeo !! Well done !
Awesome to watch, great explanation on how you go about repairing the trace, keep up the great work. Thank you 🇦🇺🇦🇺
Excellent, your knowledge has helped me with no end of bits and bobs 👍
Love the way you apply the solder and it runs everywhere you want it - I would have ended up with burning the board and massive blobs of solder dripped all over it. Its a black art, and you clearly got it haha
Thank you sir for your video, it's amazing to have people like you continuing to offer us education. The learning never stops :)
I love being abil to see what you are doing so much better then some you tuber's that dont.
im impressed from your hand accuracy
My mechanical keyboard had keys suddenly stop working or would double type, i took it apart and some of the traces were flaking off, didnt have enamel wire on hand, so i used normal 22 awg wire, its fixed now. thks for the video demonstration.
You are a gem a master piece imma hvac guy and electronic is taking over the on new refrigeration's equipment viewing your video make me understand why is it important to know these things I really great full you doing these videos to let us know the proper way on dealing with electronic thank you .
Thank you very much for this video. Very educational. I do data recoveries from damaged media and this kind of soldering is sometimes needed. After seen this video I can i the future do this kind of work much better that I did before.
You notice when using the knife draw the blade a way from the cutting edge, if you push it the other way the blade will dig in. Nice job btw
Repairing videos of board features are doing really good. You could also do a repair video for pin hole pads and how to restore connectivity at both sides.
Great. Plus, I could listen to your voice all day
Wow thank you!!! Can't wait to watch more of this series.
Excellent Video!! All procedures well explained. Direct and to the point.! I learned a new skill, now for some practice.
something i like to do, even though it's probably overkill, is to sand the wire flat where it's going to be soldered to the traces. i usually only do it on thicker traces, might be hard to do when you already need a microscope to see the wire :D
I crush the wires in a vise to make them flat.
@@wernerfritsch6436 Good tip! Thanks for that.
I have a Pace PRC 2000 station and generally repair and restore CB radios here in Australia.
I use copper trace film and other items from Circuit Medic.
Electrolytic caps can do some severe damage to old boards and sometimes you have to grind the pcb and apply epoxy resin then buff that to board level before replacing the trace then colour epoxy over it.
I have several different fibreglass erasers and a stainless steel wire eraser from Rush. The red coloured fibreglass erasers are very good for light removal and cleaning around the trace then a wipe with IPA and away you go.
I also have the Circuit Medic thru hole repair kit for via’s with eyelets. I also use the same style scalpel and have for decades.
Top quality tweezers are a must have. I use nail polish remover pump bottles for IPA as it makes it easy to get the IPA on toothbrushes etc.
I don’t use Qtips but foam headed types as they leave no fluff.
Obviously the Pace has proper vacuum desoldering irons so no need for wick. Theres not much that machine can’t repair even multi layer PCBs.
But a good video for those who just need to do a minor repair.
If you go to the Pace site or search here on TH-cam they have many excellent videos on repairs, also Circuit Medic has an excellentsection on all types of repairs with from go to finish descriptions and photos.
A few blows with a hammer on that copper wire flats it out nicely before soldering. Great video!
Very gratifying, watching you work. Thank you for the education!
Thank you for making these videos.
Reminds me of super gluing tin foil pads onto dysfunctional buttons of keypads. It was already trash so there was nothing to lose. Worked perfectly and restored complete functionality. Good video.
You know what else works on keypads? If you use a pencil eraser on the original pad, and scrub it until it turns a dull black instead of glossy, the pad will work like new and remain original. It also lasts for years!!
Very very informative, thanks to you I have successfully fixed my vintage 8 track porta studio😊
Holy cow this man is good
Great video with awesome explanation, going to give it a go on my fridge control board. Also, not exactly the work station I would expect a Mopar shirt👍CHEERS!
Incredible. I will be revisiting this. Ty Ty Ty!! Ste Rose du Lac, MB, Canada!
You've got a great demeanor Branchus and your videos are well made. I can tell your channel is going to blow up in time. Subed. The video that brought me in was recapping the Mac Color Classic. I don't have one but I've been doing a bit of research on TH-cam thinking about buying one.
Best trace repiar video on TH-cam!!!
I would like to see a video on how to use a hot air station. What temps and so forth, and what examples you would use it for.
that was so satisfying to watch
respect from Romania; thanks for sharing
Love your teaching style and I've learnt alot so thanks very much.
Looks gorgeous. Also be careful to avoid cutting nearby traces when cutting the new wire to length.
Tinning the wire first can speed up the soldering
Too much heat on the track/trace can lift up, making it worse - that is the main reason for using flux here.
Using a longer piece of wire (snipping afterwards) can be easier to hold in place - use pliers!
Do check afterwards for any solder whiskers/bridging
If you are using a cone tip [on the soldering iron] place the side of the cone along the trace/wire.
Thanks for teaching me something.
Two things, what was the temp of your iron you used. And personally, I would have cut out the damaged part of the trace. Otherwise, well done.
very neat love it microscope camera good-nail polish could work as a mask also
I often use nail polish for certain tasks, but the UV mask dries much quicker.