All,
I play around with broken TVs, Monitors and the alike on occasion and recently I found a small LED TV that appears to have a back light issue of some kind. Originally this TV was used for my young kids monitor.

Upon further investigation I found a ribbon cable leading to the back panel lights connector. The connector is more like the type you push in the ribbon and place a small tape over the top to hold in place type. To remove the cable there was a pull tag (blue). It does not have a clamp down like IPADs etc.

Anyways this TV appears to have corroded at the connector to the point that it arc'd/corroded/turned green over time at the connection. I cleaned the panel connector up with Electrical connector cleaner and a soft brush. The panel connector appears clean now but the ribbon suffered extensive damage from the arcing/corrosion at the connection points.

I went looking for an exact replacement. The model and make of the TV (RCA Led24a45rq) appears to must have had more than a single type of connection for the back panels as I found a replacement back light cable but it has solid connectors.

Is there a way to clean or reuse this very thin cable (Its not the type you score with a knife and pull insulator off)?

For example could I cut off the bad, tape off area prior to the new connection location point on the ribbon, and sand things lightly with fine sandpaper to get a good connection?

Or is there a place to by ribbon cable by the foot (pre-stripped)?

Thanks for all the help,
Chris

 

I have bought pre-stripped and tinned cable at DigiKey. You are restricted to a limited selection of lengths. I assume other distributors offer the same.

If the current cable is long enough, it is also possible to cut the bad end off, strip, and re-tin (if necessary). Rather than score, I would use heat as the conductors are very thin.

 

I have bought pre-stripped and tinned cable at DigiKey. You are restricted to a limited selection of lengths. I assume other distributors offer the same.

If the current cable is long enough, it is also possible to cut the bad end off, strip, and re-tin (if necessary). Rather than score, I would use heat as the conductors are very thin.

How do I know the size,conductors,width will be right...Are there numbers on the cable or a standardization?

Thanks
Chris

 

There are 9,333 "active" choices here: https://www.digikey.com/products/en/cable-assemblies/flat-flex-ribbon-jumper-cables/457?k=fpc

I don 't recall referring to "size." What do you mean by size? Here are some of the characteristic to sort:

length
number of conductors -- yours looks like twelve, double check
are conductors flat or wire -- yours look flat
spacing (center to center) of conductors, aka "pitch"
width of cable -- related to number and pitch of conductors
whether there is backing at the contacts -- yours looks like that is lacking
thickness of cable (often in mils)
whether contact is made on top, bottom, or both sides
what's the insulation material -- yours looks like PVC

Those numbers on the cable may have significance, but you would need to look up the codes. Some of the numbers, e.g., "80C," refer to a temperature limit. Others refer to certifications. If you search on "E17223" or "E17223 AWN20798" you will get some interesting results. Not sure they completely specify your cable, though.

 

Have you got any spare ribbon cables? You could use a longer one, or a wider one, cut lengthways, providing the spacing matches the original.