i need help repairing Gottlieb Cout-down MPU 1 board

fluffychan

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i need help repairing Gottlieb Cout-down MPU 1 board

hello i bought a countdown pinball machine, the only bad thing is that the battery mounted on the mpu board has totally corroded a couple connector traces, there is no more copper left on the connectors. i need help on how to repair/replace these connector traces. which is better to do? replace or repair?
 
which is better to do? replace or repair?

Well, it depends... How patient are you? <grin>

First, you need to clean the corrosion from the affected area, and remove all damaged parts, connectors and sockets. Clean with vinegar to neutralize the battery gunk, clean with alcohol to remove the vinegar, and sand the corroded material off. Be sure to clean off all resulting dust and debris.

Once the section of the board is clean, you can repopulate with new parts. Damaged traces can be repaired by soldering in bits of wire. For most traces, I use 30 gauge insulated wire - for power traces you might need something a bit thicker. Replace all damaged IC's with good quality sockets. Be sure to check all affected areas with a meter, the throughhole plating is often damaged by the corrosion, and the connections will need to be repaired.

Depending on the severity of the damage, repair might not be feasable. I've fixed a couple boards this way. It's doable, just tedious.

If it's a relatively common board, it may be easier to buy a used/working board, and sell or trade in the old one. For some machines, an aftermarket replacement board may exist.

If you're handy with a soldering iron and are not afraid to spend several hours working on a board, then go for it.

-Ian
 
thank you

thank you for the quick response, so far i cleaned it and rewired the dead traces and also replaced a couple transistors, however for the connector traces im afraid to us sand paper on them, i might be wrong about this but the connectors are totally eaten away i cant solder anything to them iv tried. should i go ahead and us a fine sand paper ti remove the corrosion and see whats left?
 
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