any way to fix the ribbon cable?!?!

[SHOdown]

Originally posted by nick[x1]
I broke the 4 pin cable on my lilliput lcd and I tried repairing it and its impossible for me to do it as i dont have a steady enouth hand so i just melted the cable lol
O well never mind

Nice work SHOdown

Thanks for the compliment, but I have faith you can do the repair!
It takes practice to be able to solder the way I do, but it CAN be done. If you are melting the plastic it is due to too high of tip heat, too long of tip to joint contact, or mis-application of tip (touching the plastic instead of the trace). Use a 0.5 to 2 mm max tip width when soldering these type of traces. A magnifying lamp can be a big help also. A non-magnetic helper stick can assist you in placing the wires.
Try placing your wire on the repair, in place for soldering then lay a toothpick across the repair at a 90 degree angle, then tape the ends of the toothpick down to secure the wire in place for soldering (I have not done this before, I am just trying to help you arrive at a solution to doing this without 5 pairs of hands)

[nick[x1]]

I think i am going to leave it as the wire is so dam small think its 4mm wide and its totaly snaped off

Might just sell it on as spares/repairs (controller etc) as i am thinking of buying another display

[ta3834bbl]

Thank you very, very much for the photo instructions. I am going to go repair my Lowrance Sonar cable since you have shown me how. I'll let you know if your instructions work! lol Todd

[ta3834bbl]

Well, I tried but didn't have the correct method I guess. With a 25w iron I burned through instantly, even wrapped a solid wire around the tip and used the end of the wire for the tip and it won't stick. Just burns through eventually. Still, awesome instructions. Thanks again for posting them. Todd

[bluedeath]

The only way is to trace the connection schemes , keep the connectors and solder a new ribbon cable to them.

[temp123456]

Wow! Beautiful photos and nicely explained. Thank you!

[doj]

Tried to repair a broken flex ribbon in my Microwave today. Even though I wasn't successful, thank you SHOdown for your pictures and explanations. Guess I'm just an intermediate guy on the soldering iron. I'll just call the manufacturer on Monday and ask, what a replacement front panel costs. My guess however is, it will be just as expensive as buying a whole new Microwave...

[Silvermagi]

Outstanding instructions! I currently work on micro soldering, and will be attempting a fix on a MUCH smaller ribbon cable. Possibly a lesson in futility even with my company microscope...but I'll post my results.

[seumina]

thank you shodown. it gave me and idea how to fix mine.

[apairofdocs]

N...N...NECRO POST!!

Sorry, just one more guy who joined just for this thread and I think I will be sticking around, this looks like a great forum. After a good bit of Googleing this is hands down the best tutorial I have seen for this problem. Big thanks to SHOdown. Very good guide. I don't know if I will use this method or try some other tricks (I believe the problem is the end of the cable a