Repairing printed circuit?

[John Mc]

Guys, while removing the dashboard on my ‘77 Town Coupe, I tore the printed circuit where the plug enters the circuit. Is there a tape or some way to repair this?

[Lee]

If it was a typical phenolic board, you could just solder it, but I don't think the flexible backing will stand that heat. The paint you can buy to repair defroster grids "might" work, but if there is much electrical resistance, it could affect gauge readings.

My old company produced silver filled epoxies, so I'm most familiar with those. Very low resistance, and good adhesion, and that should do the trick, but make sure you carefully scrape away any insulation or dielectric that may be covering the copper strip at the edges of the break. Downside is it's expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-Con ... 63576&th=1

[Dan Szwarc]

You can repair these with leaded low temp solder, so a jumper wire can be done. I’ve seen it. However, you need some practice at soldering if you’ve never done it before. I had experts available for my repairs (burned traces).

But your problem might be that the repair interferes with the mating terminal.

It might be better to solder a line wire with a single connector and then splice the connection into the dash harness (assuming there’s space in the dash to access). Connect it separately then Connect to the cluster.

Keep it up John. I love seeing your work.

[John Mc]

You can repair these with leaded low temp solder, so a jumper wire can be done. I’ve seen it. However, you need some practice at soldering if you’ve never done it before. I had experts available for my repairs (burned traces).

But your problem might be that the repair interferes with the mating terminal.

It might be better to solder a line wire with a single connector and then splice the connection into the dash harness (assuming there’s space in the dash to access). Connect it separately then Connect to the cluster.

Keep it up John. I love seeing your work.

Thanks Dan and Lee for your insight. What about this copper tape with adhesive I’m reading about?

[John Mc]

Lee and Dan, could I have lucked out here? Upon closer inspection of the circuit shows it going to the gauge group and no where else. Additionally, the corresponding slot in the plug has no pin, should I assume this portion of the circuit is dead? Thanks and here is a photo that explains my point.

[John Mc]

Also, found this tape, which might be of value to everyone here. I might not need it, but I ordered it for possible future use. It is 6mm and the width on the circuit is 4mm, so I could alway trim it down if needed. Think this will work guys?
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1128#tutorials

[Dan Szwarc]

No pin means there's nothing to fix, except the tear itself.

[John Mc]

As a follow up, I did purchase and install the product noted above. Its application was easy and all works perfectly. Thanks for Dan and Lee and all the input.