Damaged ribbon cable - is it possible to repair?

I came across this wireless heating programmer that was unusable due to a split ribbon cable. This normally spells doom, but I had an idea for a potential repair.
Outro music: Calvary by TrackTribe

[@JamesChurchill]

The real trick for this is 3M Z-Axis conductive adhesive tape - Adafruit carries it. Only conducts through the thickness of the tape, not through the length or width. As long as the traces are aligned properly, the tape will handle the connection without shorting to adjacent traces.

[@Murphydeffa-oq8lm]

thats also works, but you have to make sure that pressure is maintained. My experience is if you dont have pressure it will last few month and then fail.

[@stevesoldwedel]

Nice job. I love to see repair-minded stuff like this as opposed to it simply being thrown away, even if the device itself is just a proof of concept.

[@tookitogo]

FYI, in the electronics industry this is not called a ribbon cable, because that term was already taken by the older type that is simply many insulated wires stuck to each other. This kind is known as a “flat-flex cable” or FFC.

[@SpareTimeRepair]

Thank you - that's an important distinction. I will try to get it right from now on.

[@MatroxMillennium]

I'd never thought about using a Cricut for this type of repair but I can think of several times it would have been useful. Will have to keep this in mind!

[@K.P.Alexander]

Pretty genius idea and proof of concept! The only modification I would suggest is gluing the tape segment a little further down to hold it in alignment for the clamp.

[@SpareTimeRepair]

Good idea - if this was a product I wanted to retain I would definitely go back and do that.

[@Murphydeffa-oq8lm]

You can use silver conductive epoxy. One used to repair car window heaters. Just mask off areas between. Also make sure its thin layer or it will crack. Done it on similar things.

[@kevtris]

it's a bit small for this type of repair, but rear window defroster repair products work. it is basically a conductive paint meant to bridge broken heater wires on the window. it works for things like keyboards where the features are larger.

[@Xydail]

I repaired a lot of ribbon cables in my time. There are two types. The first type is some kind of electronic ink. It is used in some Macbooks, a lot of keyboards and carseats. The only option you have with this is to make your own metallic ink which is not really accurate. The other type and the one you have is called FFC. You can take some higher quality flux like amtech, small speaker wire in the desired thickness and bismuth solder like mechanic x. Then you can use a fine tip like a JBC C210 under a microscope and solder to the leftover pads. It helps to use a fiber brush to clean it up a bit. Wrap in kapton tape for stability.

[@englishrupe01]

Amazing job.....well done, indeed.

[@sublimationman]

Since I have 3D printers, I would have printed a small rectangle with a slot in it barely big enough for both the original cabe and your home made one so you would say slide it over the original good part and then have to squeeze the new bit in with it thus assuring a tight fit to each other and keeping them properly aligned. Assuming you don't have a 3D printer though. Worked and that's what matters in the end.

[@neofloripa]

The aluminum tape maybe will react with the conector pins if they are not gold, or nickel plated, galvanization will ocour if the conector pins is made of brass.

[@terrymiller111]

That clamp you made was masterful.

[@SpareTimeRepair]

Ha! It took a lot longer to apply than it appears in the edit.

[@BertSingels]

It was, nice work indeed

[@dougbarry8399]

Nicely done, makes me want a cnc cutting machine. Perhaps a dab of superglue on the clamp ends or something to hold it in place against the plastic would provide some mechanical resiliance. Also, classic mistake from Honeywell (all manufacturers do it though) putting a hole with a critical connection behind it in a place the uninitiated would shove a screwdriver! Thanks for sharing.

[@janusu]

Thanks for this. I damaged the ribbon on one of my iPods. I think I'll give this a try before resorting to buying a replacement click wheel. Conductive glue and copper tape suggestions noted from other commenters below might be the way I go.

[@JoeMuc2008]

Good job, nicely done! My attempts to repair ribbon cables in CD player optics, based on soldering, were horrible and didn't last. Wish I had the skills and tools to do it like this.

[@Onionbagel]

Impressive solution. well done~

[@RandomCapeDude]

You can use conductive glue, i know some people who use them on unsolderable ribbons to fix them. They come in tiny 0.2ml, 0.4ml, etc syringes

[@killingmercy]

I thought of that too but it will be very difficult not to short the wires together

[@tookitogo]

@@killingmercyNonsense. That’s what fine brushes are for.

[@Dad-ij2qy]

Nice work! Am glad to see you fixed it. Now am wondering if there's any easier repair without needing the expensive investment you have already made in equipment and in Adobe software. A way to make and maintain the 6 electrical connections using an off-the-shelf part ?

[@SpareTimeRepair]

If you were careful I think it would be possible to do the same thing with a craft knife and some precise measurement.

[@eded8045]

great hack!! copper tape and I would use a wooden Dowling cut to length as a semi circle and place it under the flex and twist 3 4 solid strands of copper wire to tighten off for a solid connection

[@Swenser]

Tried fixing touch screen flex on sony tablet. The lines were just too thin to work with. Why do they have to make them so small?

[@duanecjohnson]

COOL!!!!!!!!!!!! That seemed too easy. Very NICE. AD0TJ

[@soluzaroi]

Massive gain!

[@MrMattmoffett]

You could try using a low temp acetate or something else which melts at a lower temp and then using a heatgun to bond it to the previous ribbon? Idk just an idea I'd like to see fleshed out more

[@terrymiller111]

297th subscriber. I have a good feeling about this.

[@Hagledesperado]

If you used copper tape on kapton tape instead of aluminium tape on acetate film, the finished ribbon cable might be solderable.

[@monkeh3612]

Yeah but the ripped ribbon isnt

[@tookitogo]

It wouldn’t even need to be solderable if made using copper tape with conductive adhesive.

[@nickst2797]

Thanks! Do you know a way to reattach a detached 'Flexible Printed Circuit', back to its mother board?

[@SpareTimeRepair]

Not reliably - those are certainly a problem.

[@nickst2797]

@@SpareTimeRepair Thanks

[@KiloFeenix]

Wait a minute.... You're not Big Clive!

[@SpareTimeRepair]

Very few people are.

[@kborak]

You could have just soldered single strands of wire across the gap and used kapton tape. You just over complicated the snot out of a simple and easy repair.

[@DrQuadrivium]

Naughty... You are not supposed to repair over complicated, overpriced consumer electronics. It hurts the hearts of the corporations' shareholders. Buy new. Buy more.

[@firepower9966]

you could also clamp ribbon between 2 small neodymium magnets.

[@SpareTimeRepair]

I didn't think of that - good idea.