Broken traces? What causes them?

M

Mellor

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Is it a physical scratch or knock? Or can they break anyway.

I have just bought 2 possibly knackered MV 1FS's from Ebay. I got them for £23 and one of them is now working after a good clean up. The other is buggered and I am at a loss to the cause but suspect broken traces. If this is so are they always at the base of the board, becasue of knocks. Or absolutely anywhere? And will a broken trace just display the darker green underneath?

All the board does it displays a green screen that changes to white after a few seconds. Does this point at larger traces as it does nothing?

Thanks for anyones help. I enjoy restoring things but pcb's are a bit of a nightmare.
 
Razoola

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Mellor said:
Is it a physical scratch or knock? Or can they break anyway.

I have just bought 2 possibly knackered MV 1F's from Ebay. I got them for £23 and one of them is now working after a good clean up. The other is buggered and I am at a loss to the cause but suspect broken traces. If this is so are they always at the base of the board, becasue of knocks. Or absolutely anywhere? And will a broken trace just display the darker green underneath?

All the board does it displays a green screen that changes to white after a few seconds. Does this point at larger traces as it does nothing?

Thanks for anyones help. I enjoy restoring things but pcb's are a bit of a nightmare.
Click to expand...

Mainly knocks, scratches and PCB flexing cause broken traces. The board that hangs on a green screen could have a calander error. To test this turn all hard dips into the on position and power on the board. You should see a work ram test message. After thats been on the screen for a few seconds turn all the hard dips to the off position and see what happens then.

Raz
 
M

Mellor

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Thanks for the reply, it didn't hold on the green it turned white after a bit.

I have tried a few things like re seating the Bios and even replaced the battery. Cleaned all contacts and board. Wiggled the cart and to no avail.

Things change on it now. With all the dips to off the screen is now turqouise/light blue. With all of them on it is a dark sky blue. Mean anything?
 
Razoola

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Mellor said:
Thanks for the reply, it didn't hold on the green it turned white after a bit.

I have tried a few things like re seating the Bios and even replaced the battery. Cleaned all contacts and board. Wiggled the cart and to no avail.

Things change on it now. With all the dips to off the screen is now turqouise/light blue. With all of them on it is a dark sky blue. Mean anything?
Click to expand...

I have a feeling some RAM is bad, so bad that it cant actually display anything.

Raz
 
J

JussFlee

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I've had it up to here with broken traces today! I spent the best part of the day looking through a mgnifying glass trying to fix a 2slot to no avail!
Just ran it through the dishwasher, hopefully that will help!
Good Luck!
 
M

Mellor

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Not sure if its worth messing with. I can see a few darker green specs on various traces. But bridging them is quite difficult. At least you have some sort of display with yours, there is some hope!
 
J

JussFlee

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lol, yeah I guess If you squint the picture almost looks halfway near clear!
If the dishwasher doesn't work its a trip to Ebay with the bugger!
 
MKL

MKL

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JussFlee said:
I've had it up to here with broken traces today! I spent the best part of the day looking through a mgnifying glass trying to fix a 2slot to no avail!
Just ran it through the dishwasher, hopefully that will help!
Good Luck!
Click to expand...

But you removed the backup battery before putting it in the dishwasher, right? :annoyed:
 
M

Mellor

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Is that all you have to remove?

I may just shove mine in there if that is the case. It may help to spot trace breaks from specs of muck.
 
Razoola

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Yea, just remove the battery. Of course make sure the board is totally dry before powering it on once done and of course put the battery back on.

Raz
 
R

RiotoftheBlood

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I've also encountered burned traces, where too much current has heated up a trace so much that it simply burns up. This is another form of a broken trace.

A DMM is a great tool for checking traces.
 
Razoola

Razoola

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RiotoftheBlood said:
I've also encountered burned traces, where too much current has heated up a trace so much that it simply burns up. This is another form of a broken trace.

A DMM is a great tool for checking traces.
Click to expand...

Yes thats another type too. Also traces corroded by lithuim is another type.

Raz
 
channelmaniac

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Another source is a shitty repair job...

If you overheat the solder pads when you put the replacement chip in you will end up with breaking the pad loose from the trace.

RJ
 
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