Rear Circuit Board Grounds

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davery
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Rear Circuit Board Grounds

Postby davery » Sat Apr 22, 2017 8:51 pm

I'm having a few issues with the rear circuit boards. I have a tear in the copper line on the drivers side board where the plug. This means no bulb is currently grounded. I'm thinking of just bypassing the board and running all new grounds. Can I drill out the ground rivet on each socket and run wire to connect all the sockets and then run that wire to the ground on the fender? Has anyone ever replaced the sockets on the circuit board? If so, where would one get the new sockets? Nothing I have found looks remotely close.
Don Avery
Dayton, OH/Sarasota,FL
1985 Pininfarina
2011 Eos
2012 Mercedes E550 Cabriolet

spider2081
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Re: Rear Circuit Board Grounds

Postby spider2081 » Sun Apr 23, 2017 11:56 am

It might be easier to post in " cars/parts wanted" section for a good used board.
Also I'm thinking the outside of the light socket is no always the ground connection for every light bulb on the boards.

davery
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Re: Rear Circuit Board Grounds

Postby davery » Sun Apr 23, 2017 12:57 pm

spider2081 wrote:It might be easier to post in " cars/parts wanted" section for a good used board.
Also I'm thinking the outside of the light socket is no always the ground connection for every light bulb on the boards.

It looks like the center section of each board is the ground and all bulbs connect to it. The problem with a "good" used board is that it may look "good" but not be. I tried to solder the tear in the copper ground, but couldn't get the solder to stick to the board. I think I may try running a daisy chain ground on this board to see how it goes.
Don Avery
Dayton, OH/Sarasota,FL
1985 Pininfarina
2011 Eos
2012 Mercedes E550 Cabriolet

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RRoller123
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Re: Rear Circuit Board Grounds

Postby RRoller123 » Mon Apr 24, 2017 6:36 am

You may be able to repair the copper tear if you are sure to remove all of the green solder mask, lightly buff the copper where you want to connect, and use a fully activated flux, denoted as "RA". You will need to clean the flux residues afterwards as they are corrosive. A Water soluble "WRA" would be good. A mildly activated flux, or a non-activated (RMA, R) probably won't have enough bite. Use a very powerful soldering iron with a wide flat tip to get the traces up the temp. Clean the tip well and "tin" it with solder once hot. I tend to use a Plumber's Flux, which is nuclear waste powered, but ONLY in places where it can be thoroughly cleaned with a solvent. Its residue is highly corrosive.

Failing all that, the suggestions to get one in the used parts bin is a very good one!

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Re: Rear Circuit Board Grounds

Postby DRUMMOND » Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:08 pm

Hi Don

I did it this way for additional ground effect. Drilled out this rivet hole and replaced it with a screw bolt soldered on both sides. Stronger ground effect this way.
Image
Image

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Re: Rear Circuit Board Grounds

Postby DRUMMOND » Mon Apr 24, 2017 11:11 pm

Image
Image

davery
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Re: Rear Circuit Board Grounds

Postby davery » Tue Apr 25, 2017 5:30 am

Here is rewired grounds for the circuit board. Since my battery is in the trunk, I went ahead and grounded this with the battery ground. Seems to work pretty well and may also do the other side after I figure out the rest of my electrical issues.
Image
Don Avery
Dayton, OH/Sarasota,FL
1985 Pininfarina
2011 Eos
2012 Mercedes E550 Cabriolet

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Re: Rear Circuit Board Grounds

Postby spider2081 » Wed Apr 26, 2017 8:47 am

Looks like you have taken the time to understand the PC board layout and good cure for the ground problem. Thanks for sharing the photos

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Re: Rear Circuit Board Grounds

Postby davery » Wed Apr 26, 2017 5:39 pm

spider2081 wrote:Looks like you have taken the time to understand the PC board layout and good cure for the ground problem. Thanks for sharing the photos


I guess I finally have realized that if I'm going to fix my wiring woes, I have to do my homework. Wiring is not intuitive for me. When I have an issue I have look at the diagrams and ponder for awhile. Now I need to figure out the short on fuse H.
Don Avery
Dayton, OH/Sarasota,FL
1985 Pininfarina
2011 Eos
2012 Mercedes E550 Cabriolet

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azruss
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Re: Rear Circuit Board Grounds

Postby azruss » Thu Apr 27, 2017 1:13 am

I found that all the problems with my boards were the physical connections between the board and the bulb sockets. I soldered all those joint and all my problems went away.

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Re: Rear Circuit Board Grounds

Postby RRoller123 » Thu Apr 27, 2017 5:57 am

That does make sense, as they are mechanical connections through use of rivets, and are subject to corrosion. Scuffing up the inside surfaces of the sockets with some 400 sandpaper or a small wire brush helps a little too.
'80 FI Spider 2000
'74 and '79 X1/9 (past)
'75 BMW R75/6
2011 Chevy Malibu (daily driver)
2010 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Ext Cab 4WD/STD BED
2002 Edgewater 175CC 80HP 4-Stroke Yamaha
2003 Jaguar XK8
2003 Jaguar XKR
2021 Jayco 22RB
2019 Bianchi Torino Bicycle

davery
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Re: Rear Circuit Board Grounds

Postby davery » Thu Apr 27, 2017 12:23 pm

azruss wrote:I found that all the problems with my boards were the physical connections between the board and the bulb sockets. I soldered all those joint and all my problems went away.


I thought about drilling out all those rivets and installing screws. I may still do that.
Don Avery
Dayton, OH/Sarasota,FL
1985 Pininfarina
2011 Eos
2012 Mercedes E550 Cabriolet


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