Board repair and fixing chips/cracks around components

[Coreymcd22]

FOTD882.JPG

I'm a beginner who started a mod a while back. I made the mistake of trying to persuade a desoldered component out with pliers a little too much and I chipped the board around it. Do I need epoxy glue/pen or is this is a different kind of problem? I've included a picture so hopefully someone has seen this happen before. It's on the right side. Thanks!

[DrNomis]

With a bit of luck the chip/crack hasn't gone any deeper than the thickness of the lacquer covering the circuit board tracks, you can use a multimeter set to a low ohms range to check that the PCB track underneath the chip/crack hasn't been damaged, a zero-ohms reading should indicate that the track is okay.....

[Coreymcd22]

Cool, but I also forgot to include that I can't get solder to form there anymore so it looks like a repair of some kind is in order.

[Ice-9]

Just bridge it with a piece of cut off lead from a resistor, or a piece of wire should do the trick.

[Coreymcd22]

Forgive my ignorance but you're suggesting I press a piece of wire onto the chipped area as I solder to get the solder to form? Sorry if I'm making you spell it out for me.

[JudgeMingus]

Ice-9 is suggesting that you solder a piece of component lead from the (most appropriate) existing solder point to the spot where you need to solder in a replacement component.
IE: replace the damaged track with a piece of wire.

Sorry if that doesn't make it any clearer.

I have done the same when repairing damaged boards, but I don't have any photos here to offer for clarification.

EDIT: This article does a reasonable job of showing a similar(ish) technique: http://www.instructables.com/id/Solder-on-PCB-traces/

[Ice-9]

JudgeMingus - has explained exactly what I meant, but I also don't have any pictures to hand. Using the cut off lead from a resistor or some solid core wire you can rebuild the broken trace by soldering the wire/lead from one component solder pad to the other component pad. Using solid core wire or a resistor lead will allow you to bend the lead to suit the shape of the track. If you use normal multicore or kynar wire for the repair it is easy to make a repair that may stretch over a distance on a pcb but as your repair is two pads right next to each other then the solid wire/lead is the better fix.

[Coreymcd22]

What you're saying makes sense but when I tried it I still couldn't get the solder to form. I'm not sure if this picture really shows what I've done but it looks like the lead I'm using is not close enough to the track...or maybe I'm just way off.

[Coreymcd22]

I'd appreciate it if someone can look at that picture and tell me if what I'm trying to do is completely wrong, I've tried it a couple of different ways and I can't get anything to form.

[grrrunge]

You've been "persuasive" enough to pry the copper trace off the board, which is why the solder won't adhere to the board.
The technique with which you've tried to repair the damage you did to the board seems legit, but you should only connect the points that were once connected by the now damaged trace.
Once you've reconnected the points, glue down your new "trace". flying leads like that is just asking for more trouble.

Next time: use desoldering braid instead of persuation. It'll save you lots of time and frustration down the road...

[Coreymcd22]

There was only one point in the damaged trace, so are you saying I should find the two points closest together with that damage in between or solder the wire from the damaged joint to another solder joint?

Yea I've got a solder sucker that usually does the trick but I had a hard time getting one component end, I should have had some braid handy so I've definitely learned my lesson after this debacle.

[grrrunge]

...so are you saying I should find the two points closest together with that damage in between or solder the wire from the damaged joint to another solder joint?...

I'm, saying that you should only connect the points that were previously connected by the missing trace.

[Coreymcd22]

Ok, I've soldered a wire form the broken solder joint to the next closest one with the wire pressed down onto the broken trace. What would you recommend I use to glue it and how hard will it be to remove once glued? I appreciate the advice.

[grrrunge]

Ok, I've soldered a wire form the broken solder joint to the next closest one with the wire pressed down onto the broken trace. What would you recommend I use to glue it and how hard will it be to remove once glued? I appreciate the advice.

I use locktite. It will be nearly impossible to remove once it's hardened.
All the modding fun stops once you destroy the board

[uncleboko]

Or simply connect from component side

[Coreymcd22]

Or simply connect from component side

If you mean solder the spare wire to the good joint so it will stay that's what I've done, I've got the other end on the broken joint and am still not able to form an electrical connection/solder on the broken joint. Thats why I was wondering about glueing, although I'm apprehensive because if it's nearly impossible to remove I could just end with up with a broken trace with a wire on it if I've done this wrong.