Vent: Lost 3 hours hunting a cold solder joint that was actually a cracked trace

Pulled a board from a 2017 Samsung TV last Wednesday and spent all afternoon checking every connection with my meter. Turned out the trace under the main IC was hairline cracked, visible only under a 10x loupe. Anyone else waste time chasing phantom joints when the real problem is board flex?

2 comments

2 Comments

mitchell.wade24d ago

Man I feel your pain. That's exactly the kind of stuff that makes you want to throw the whole board against a wall. One thing I don't see anyone talking about is how thermal cycles make those hairline cracks worse over time. A board that flexes when it heats up and cools down can slowly tear a trace apart, even if it looks fine at room temp. Next time try heating the board gently with a hot air station while you probe around, sometimes the crack will open up and drop resistance when it gets warm. Also check for any spots where the board might be warped near heavy components like transformers or big caps, those are stress points that'll crack traces. Saved me hours more than once.

skyler_baker25d ago

3 hours just for a cracked trace under the main IC? That's brutal, makes me want to double check every board flex next time I'm in there.