# Fixing broken connections on a circuit board.



## Novice2000

I have a printer in which I found a loose switch on a small circuit board.  The wires which go through the circuit board and are soldered on the other side have pushed further out and broke the connections.  Not only the round part were the solder sticks, but they have also taken part of the wire part of the circuit board as well.  The long skinny, silver pathway.  I'm not sure what the technical name for it is, but it's the round part of the silver pathway that the solder sticks to as well as the long skinny silver pathway.  

The problem is that I can't solder this back together.  You know how the solder only sticks to the round parts where the wires from the other side stick out but stops at the edges of this round part?  Well the long skinny, silver part of the pathway has like a clear coating on it which prevents solder from sticking to it.  I have tried to burn this stuff off with the soldering iron with no luck.  

How do I make a connection again on this broken skinny, silver pathway on the circuit board?


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## TFT

The clear coating is a laquer, it can be scraped off carefully then you could bridge the gap with some fine fusewire or similar. Don't leave the iron on too long or you will lift the circuit board path.


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## Novice2000

TFT said:


> The clear coating is a laquer, it can be scraped off carefully then you could bridge the gap with some fine fusewire or similar. Don't leave the iron on too long or you will lift the circuit board path.



What's fuse wire?  Solder?  Or is it something different?  And I would probably be able to scrape it off with maybe a razor blade?  

As far as lifting it off the circuit board path, when the switch pushed through, that's what it did.  It lifted the round part, that the solder sits on, off the cardboard of the circuit board along with part of the path itself up to the point where the path broke away from itself.


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## tremmor

if its not smt (surface mount tech) and your soldering skills is good. 1/16 soder and kyler or minimum of something like telephone wire. this will work but a little stiff. Check radio shack. they have it. low wattage and soder fast so the heat does not track to component. Cut the trace with single edge razor at both ends to the component. (to seperate).  soder the wire directly from one component to the other. If the wires are long. or vibrate with a little shake. A glue gun works well. push the wires to the board. drop some glue to eliminate vibration. 

You may need a soder sucker to clear the hole. if so the kyler should push through all the way or may have to strip some insulation before performing this project. sorry. its the best i can come up with. if you have soder experience with boards then you should be alright. if not its risky business. else throw it away. which i know you will at least try.
good luck.

noteA: the part about soldering trough the hole. clearing can be a problem. 
           i would forget the solder sucker for the pin hole. a 1/32 bit is in order.
           radio shack or any pro electronic store will carry these. 
           Use the 1/16 solder run 400 or higher girt sand paper through it.
           forget the flux.  thin and quick is the key. a steady hand is in order.             
           just a thought.


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## paratwa

And make sure you "tin" the wire first. Tinning is heating up the new wire and having some solder wick onto it, so that when you go to actually solder the wire to the board, they heat up faster and make a better connection.

Here is a decent link about soldering and tinning.

http://www.mediacollege.com/misc/solder/tinning.html


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