# How do I fix a burnt PCB trace?



## freaksavior (Apr 4, 2010)

How can i fix the trace


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## brandonwh64 (Apr 4, 2010)

take a small piece of aluminum wire and solder it in the holes were the trace leads. that should fix it.


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## IggSter (Apr 4, 2010)

What brandon suggests is the best and permanent way to fix a burnt/broken trace (the wire is called re-work wire)

Another quick and nasty fix is to use a pencil and draw the trace back in (graphite is highly conductive)


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## Deleted member 24505 (Apr 4, 2010)

Or you could try conductive silver paint.


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## BUCK NASTY (Apr 4, 2010)

brandonwh64 said:


> take a small piece of aluminum wire and solder it in the holes were the trace leads. that should fix it.



I agree with brandonwh64. Solder a jumper wire across the affected solder joints. I would use a thin copper wire due to it's ease in soldering and high conductivity. This is the same method we have been using for 25+ years.


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## brandonwh64 (Apr 4, 2010)

BUCK NASTY said:


> I agree with brandonwh64. Solder a jumper wire across the affected solder joints. I would use a thin copper wire due to it ease in soldering and high conductivity. This is the same method we have been using for 25+ years.



+1 my electronics engineering kit came with just plain red/black aluminum wire and a boat load of resistors ranging from 10 ohms to 5M ohms.


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## freaksavior (Apr 4, 2010)

Okay thanks guys. So just solder from the contact point before the burn and after the burn contact? I want to make sure I do it right so can someone mark where to solder to where. ?


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## Frick (Apr 4, 2010)

I would do it on the joints already there.


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## dr emulator (madmax) (Apr 4, 2010)

none of you have told him to put a multimeter across the burnt link to make sure what he is going to join back up doesn't burn the rest of the board,:shadedshu  
i'e it hasn't got a short circuit , if it's to a speed controler transistor/mosfet it might have shorted out (i have had this happen btw)


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## angelkiller (Apr 4, 2010)

I'm pretty sure this is what everyone is talking about. If not, it's how I would do it.

*Edit:*


dr emulator (madmax) said:


> none of you have told him to put a multimeter across the burnt link to make sure what he is going to join back up doesn't burn the rest of the board,:shadedshu
> i'e it hasn't got a short circuit , if it's to a speed controler transistor/mosfet it might have shorted out (i have had this happen btw)


I do think this is a good idea. Did this fan controller just stop working one day, and you took it out and found this? (maybe a component shorted out) Or were you running like 10 fans on one channel and it stopped working? (simply too much current) Either way, it would be a good idea to check for a short.


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## dr emulator (madmax) (Apr 4, 2010)

i'd still check it with a mutimeter on the ma setting 250ma 
that way if it has a bad transistor/ mosfet it'll only blow the muti's fuse and not smoke the hole board 
i'd like to see the other side of that board


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## freaksavior (Apr 4, 2010)

Well I had the red and black switched. So I'm pretty sure I just need to resolder it. I'll still check with a multi meter.


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## dr emulator (madmax) (Apr 4, 2010)

looking at it, it might still allow some power through although it wouldn't be much 
sorry to be nosey but is it the connection that goes to the + 12 volts?  
because if it is, it should have a diode to prevent reverse polarity, and should have protected the rest of the circuit

back on topic 
if i fix boards i sometimes use a tinned piece of wire (with the cover still on) across the burnt bit 
best to use is heat shrink tubing on pretinned wire as it's less likely to melt


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