PCB Tracing

Hi,

I have PCB of my home theater system which has gone bad.
The problem is that the voltage & ground traces on the pcb have been shorted due to some faulty component.

I am not able to trace out the component which is causing the short. I tried the rectifier IC but it turned out to be working fine. Other things on the power PCB section are a voltage regulator, some capacitors & resistors.

Does anyone know any device or technique to find the faulty component?
Please help me.
Thanks

 

The half split method, but you may want to consult an experienced electronic engineer.

 

Pretty sure the short isn't in your power section.
Try cutting (in a way you can then restore) at least the power trace exiting the power section. If the short is on the power you'll have yet no power out, otherwise you'd see it.
Same way if you have power: identify all power connections in the remaining circuit and possibly unsolder (or cut) their connections without resoldering until you have no more short.
Good luck!

 

What is the half split method? can u plz elaborate or give a link which can help me?

 

I had taken the pcb to an experienced guy, he told me that problem is in power section bcoz the fuse in power section blows out immediately after connecting.

Also the PCB is very complicated and I am afraid to try desoldering and soldering. (I will do it if thats the last resort). Please tel me if u have any other method.

Thanks

 

Fuse blowing issue come when, one or all of them due to surge goes bad..

Thermistor,Capacitor,Bridge rectifier/Diode,filter capacitor, Switching transsitor(internally short).

can you post schematic, image of power supply both sides.. ?


@Shashank (where are you from , I am at Bangalore)

 

@suds I am at Hubli,

I will post the image. I dont have a schematic as it is a company product and they dont provide it.

 

Well, here's a method, but it's better for finding shorts on a blank board than a fully populated one.

Apply some known current to the shorted circuit. The more the better, but it has to depend on the components you've got installed.

Put one probe of a voltmeter on the low side of the power supply where the feed to the board is connected (probably the ground trace). Then measure the voltage at different points along the trace. If you keep measuring a higher voltage, you're on the way to the short; if it stays the same, you're following a dead end. When you find the highest voltage on what's nominally the ground trace, you've reached the goal. But if your board has ground and power planes, I doubt if this method will work.

 

@suds - I am posting an image of circuit board. Hope it helps !!

@john - Thanks for this method, I ll surely try this!!

 

Hi,

replace fuse with a 100 watts light bulb to prevent blowing up fuses and do John P's method to locate the shorted component.

 

The last but one post on this thread was months ago. By now the OP has most likely given up on this thing, or possibly he now has it fixed.

 

Its Altec Lansing FX5051 - 5.1 channel home audio system

 

It looks like you have a burned-up trace next to the 9v regulator.

Why not post a more detailed photo of that area?

 

Yes, I did that long back.
I replaced the 9V regulator with a new one.
The fuse did not blow out now )

Now I have a different kind of problem. (

When I switch on the power now, I get a loud humming sound from the subwoofer. Still there is now audio output.

This was the problem I had in the beginning, i.e loud humming. A few times I tried to test the speakers with this loud hum present and then the problem of fuse blowing out started.

Now I am afraid the fuse would blow out again!!! A local technician told me that the amp IC must have blown up inside..

 

Hey MrChips. Thanks. I have quite a bit of experience in handling electronics as I am in 7th semester of Electronics Engineering.
Also I have made few PCBs myself, so soldering wont be a problem as long as they are not SMDs.

Now I have completely removed the connections. Only the amp is active now.

 

Yes I have a DVM, Scope can be arranged easily. I dont have a current probe though. I wil try to get one immediately.

Yes the amp is no longer blowing fuses.