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Basic Electronic Repair – Part 2, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 1.)

Regarding spare parts – switches, relays, jacks, screws, battery holders and all of the other mechanical bits in electronics can be expensive to replace, and if you don’t have a decent stock you’ll almost always have to end up buying a replacement part (assuming you even can). I’ve found the best source of spare electronics parts are old discarded devices. All of my friends and family know that if they have an electronic device they’re going to dispose of that I’ll always take it. I’ve been given or found in the trash hundreds of devices over the years, and harvesting parts from them has a number of advantages:

I have a lot of small plastic storage bins with switches, relays, jacks, small screws and a myriad of other parts, all organized, labeled and inventoried. To keep things from getting too messy in my shop I try to limit how many devices I’m working on at any given time, and I’ll promptly throw out any remains once I’ve harvested everything I can.

Knowledge

Before you get started on repairing anything electronic, it helps to have some basic knowledge and skills. Discussing everything in detail here would make this article way too long, so I have a couple of recommendations:

Another source of knowledge I highly recommend collecting is documentation on your specific devices. Whenever I add a device to my collection one of the first things I do is download every piece of potentially useful information I can find. Start with identifying the actual model number of the device, which may be different than the marketing name. For example, the ‘Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0’ tablet actually has a model number of SM-T350, which can usually be found in small print on a label somewhere on the device. Then go the manufacturer’s web site or use a web search to locate an electronic copy of the user’s manual and download it your local system. Your next stop should be one of several web sites that provide instructions for various repairs:

I’ll also spend some time doing web searches for forums, blogs, etc. that might provide additional details on issues identified or repairs that other people have made for the device and save copies of those pages. I organize and save everything in Joplin Notes [11] with the web clipper plugin, but you can just set up some folders on your computer and save the pages as PDFs.

It’s also important to understand what’s probably the biggest secret of electronics repair – the vast majority of problems you’ll ever encounter with electronic devices aren’t actually caused by problems or failures in the electronic components themselves, they’re usually caused by either power or physical issues. Power issues are related to the battery or other power supply, and physical issues are things like loose or broken wires, connectors, switches, etc. Modern solid-state electronics are incredibly robust, and the odds of a semiconductor or discrete component like a resistor or capacitor failing are pretty low. It does happen, but a lot less frequently than you’d think. This means that you don’t necessarily need a detailed understanding of integrated circuits to successfully repair a lot of problems that crop up with electronic devices.

Let me in!

If the problem is anything beyond the device not being charged or used correctly, there’s a good chance you’ll need to open it up and get at the insides to fix or replace something. Unfortunately, most companies that produce modern electronics don’t want you getting inside, so opening up the device without destroying it can be one of the most difficult parts of the troubleshooting process. Most plastic devices are put together using one of four methods – screws, tabs, glue, or sonic welding. Screws tend to be the easiest to deal with, as long as you locate all of them, take care not to lose them and remember where they go when reassembling. Screws can sometimes be hidden under labels, so make sure you check carefully. Tabs need to be pressed to release their hold while at the same time separating the two parts, which sometimes requires three or four hands, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. Glue can be difficult, and you may have to apply heat to loosen it. Sonic welding is the hardest, since the two pieces have essentially been melded into one, so you may need to carefully cut along the seam using a small knife, saw, or a cutting disc on your rotary tool.

Before you start to take anything apart, see if you can learn from the mistakes of others. The device-specific information sources I mentioned earlier provide step-by-step instructions on how to open up many different types and brands of electronic devices, even if it’s not specific to the repair you’re doing. For example, if you need to open a device to replace a broken switch, the first part of a video on how to replace the internal battery can provide detailed instructions on how to open it up safely. If you can’t find instructions in one of the sources listed, you can do a web search for “model_name disassembly” or “model_name teardown”, where ‘model_name’ is both the marketing name as well as the actual model number. Keep in mind that many manufacturers use different model names for physically identical devices that have different internal features like memory, storage, network interface, etc., so check the manufacturers web site. Another good source of details on different models of tablets, cell phones, etc. is gmsarena.com [12].

If you can’t find any details on how to open your device on the Internet, here are some general guidelines that might help:

Is It Obvious?

The first thing to do when troubleshooting an electronic device is to look for obvious physical signs of damage or issues.

Leaking batteries are one of the most common reasons people throw electronic devices away, but getting the device working again may not be that difficult, depending on how badly the leakage is and how long it’s been happening. Cleaning up battery leakage can be straightforward:

(To be concluded tomorrow, in Part 3.)