Chasing a cold solder joint for 4 hours on a simple power supply

Ngl, I thought I had a bad cap in this Samsung TV power board, so I swapped all the electrolytics in like 20 minutes. Turned out it was a tiny crack in a solder pad under the main transformer that I couldn't see without a loupe. How long do you guys usually give a repair before you admit you need to step away for a bit?

3 comments

3 Comments

perry.jesse19d ago

Hour thirty, then I break things if I don't walk away.

dylan_ward19d ago

Take a step back after about an hour of spinning your wheels, honestly. That same cold solder joint frustration hits everywhere in life, like when you're searching for your keys for ten minutes and they're in your hand the whole time.

sagejackson19d ago

Man, that's brutal. Four hours is a serious chunk of time to lose on something that tiny. I've had similar where I replaced a whole row of caps, checked every resistor, and it was just a hairline fracture in a trace that barely showed. Those are the ones that make you start questioning your eyesight and your sanity. I give it maybe an hour of going in circles before I force myself to walk away and get coffee or work on a different board for a bit. That mental reset is the only thing that's saved me from throwing a scope across the room more than once.