Looking for electronic help

Q

quadna71

Member
I'm in the middle of replacing a bad touchscreen. All was going well until I noticed the ribbon on the new panel is much shorter than the original - short enough that it won't reach the socket. Is there a way to extend the ribbon? Do they make/sell extensions? Can the longer one somehow be soldered to the shorter one? It is hard to tell if there is a membrane that I can peel apart to access the metal connections. :shrug:

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Shorter ribbon on the left connected to the new screen is the problem - longer one on the right is the necessary length and came free while removing the original cracked screen.
IMG_1791.jpg
 
For some reason I did not get the PM.

Yes, you can solder the older one to the newer one. But you need steady hand. Not hard really.

From looking at the picture, I would cut the large end off of the longer one. Then peel back the plastic covering. Not all of it. Just enough to solder the ends together. It looks from the picture that the shorter ribbon cable has about a 1/4" of exposed lead that inserts into the socket.
You might have to help it with an X-Acto knife or razor blade.

Then when you have enough of the leads exposed, you will have to cut out the plastic around the leads (on the longer ribbon cable only). This will just leave the four leads exposed, allowing you to solder them to the existing ribbon cable.

Pre-tin both sets of leads and using a small wattage iron (25 watts or so). Don't use too much heat. Just enough to get the solder to flow.

Make SURE you have the extension ribbon with the correct side UP. Just make the extension ribbon oriented the same way as the ribbon that is connected to the touchscreen. With both sets pre-tinned, lay them on top of one another and use the soldering iron to flow the solder between the two. Do this for each set... Try to use a tip that is somewhat square and not pointed. That way you have better heat transfer in the shortest amount of time so you don't burn the plastic backing on the shorter ribbon cable when you solder the two cables together.

After it has cooled, inspect for solder bridges and remove any that you inadvertently put in. Now you should be done.

Then cover the exposed area. Electrical tape should work or something suitable. I don't know how much stress or flexing the cable has to endure.

Go slow and it should work out. I have done this type of repair underway, at sea, to get a particular piece of gear up and running again.
 
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