byrdman454

After searching for a very long time, I finally found a brand new printed circuit for the older models up to '84. This printed circuit is NLA.

I received the part today, but it was shipped folded in thirds. This normally would not be a problem, but this printed circuit has a board with hard connectors attached to it. As it was folded and shipped, these connectors cut through the part of the circuit it was against (since it was folded). There is a cut through one of the gold colored electrical runs on the printed circuit. The other connectors did not hit any of these runs. Can this be repaired?

Thanks

robot808

Mike,
I bought one (after l very long search) that was NOS. IIRC in the box it was folded in thirds.
For the repair, you can try some stuff that NAPA sells to repair window defrosters. It paints on like nail polish but is conductive.
It is kind of hard to say if it will work on this with pictures though.

Ducman82

+1 on that.

byrdman454

Never seen that before. This sounds like a very good idea. Has anyone tried it, or is this an untested possibility?

lonnie77

If you have some solid telephone wire or a resistor cut a short piece from it and solder it across the cut trace.

tveltman

I have personally used the window defroster stuff to fix a keyboard for a laptop. It definitely works, although I suspect there are better products to use, since the paint is actually designed to be somewhat resistive. I think there is straight-out conductive paint available, although I am not positive. I'd try that for this application, however a membrane keyboard IS a PCB, essentially, so I can confirm that it works. It might act as an in-line resistor though, so be careful that you don't throw off your gauges.

Maleficio

Why bother buying a new one if you can repair what you've got with conductive paint?

robot808

Maleficio,
These things can get really jacked up over the years. Parts of mine were just barely hanging on. I made a bunch of repairs to mine, and got really good at pulling the pod. Being good at it, did not make it any more fun.

Maleficio

But if they shipped equally jacked up, I can't see the point in bothering with a "new" PCB. Nonetheless, I hear you.

Dave928S

I wouldn't risk the possibility of a future dry/resistive joint by using a paint on repair, considering that it's a PITA to get to again. Nothing wrong with a good soldered bridge if done properly.

WallyP

I agree with Dave and Lonnie - I would solder small flexible copper across any breaks., or just parallel the broken trace with small copper wire from end to end.

Jim Devine

Consider taking it to a good small independent computer repair shop. If you find the right one, chances are they have lots of experience repairing boards. Also, if they can't / wont do it they may be good for a referral. They have to get boards fixed too. Can't hurt to try.

Don Ashe

Something like this is what you need. Although this is not necessarily the cheapest source.
Solder will not flex with the substrate, resulting in joint fatigue and early failure of the repair.

HTH,
-don

robot808

Mine replacement was folded, not jacked. The one that was in my car looked old, and the plastic was splitting apart. The "new" one was folded in the box, but looked new and fresh.

byrdman454

How would you solder this? Wouldn't the heat melt the flexible board? Should I just use the regular solder used for wiring or is there something else out there that would be better for this application?