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How to Check Circuit Board Components

Major components included in practically every electrical instrument as

well as electronic devices are circuit boards. It has radically altered the

globe for all time. Even when a circuit board also isn’t required for

technical purposes, operating with a defective one is typical. Every

engineer at one time has been in a dangerous situation, where they

managed to survive.

It is crucial to learn how to inspect the circuit boards for errors in order to

effectively use the instruments. Due to the diversity of the components

that make up circuit boards, there may be some flaws in the board

diameters.

Fluid leakage, burned circuit components, power-related

concerns, soldering errors, including connection shorts on PCBs are

among the prevalent failures on the circuit boards.

Despite the seemingly lengthy list, you may rapidly verify these issues

using the multimeter. As a result, we will talk about how to inspect the

Board for electrical faults using the digital multimeter. Let’s think about

numerous approaches of testing and how to check circuit

board components.

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Table of Contents

Checking Faults in the Circuit Board Components

These are some crucial actions you may do to test the circuit boards.

Locating damaged components on the circuit board; detecting short

circuits in the PCBs; testing for any short circuit present on the electronic

boards;

Locating PCB short circuits or other circuit board flaws

The multimeter seems to be a trusted tool for identifying shorts as well as

other technical defects in virtually any electrical device. A circuit board can

be quickly checked for capacitance, current, input voltage, DC & AC voltage,

resistance, fuse shorts, with a multimeter.

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The tool is typically thought of as a mixture of the ammeter, voltmeter,

and multimeter because of the way it performs numerous circuit board

testing tasks simultaneously. It’s crucial to try various examination

techniques first before turning to multimeter probes to locate electronic

issues. Let’s think about them.

Vision examination

If, after the breadboard design stage, the circuit breaker isn’t really

present, the first thing you should do to find any short circuits on a PCB is

to thoroughly examine the entire PCB surface.

Also, if one is available, utilize a low magnification microscope or

magnifying glass throughout the examination; this is how to check circuit

board components.

Look for the tin whiskers between both the solder pads or joints starting

with the supply of power. Solder lumps or cracks should draw your

attention when you see them. If you requested unplated vias, make sure

they are present throughout the vias, and the same is true of the circuit

boards. Poorly plated vias can assist in the formation of short integrated

circuit present in between these layers, now that everything is connected

to ground, VCC, or both.

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You will notice some charred patches on the component whenever the

short gets too serious and causes components to achieve critical

temperatures.

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Comprehensive Physical Inspection

A thorough physical examination will also provide you with some

important and applicable insights about a broken circuit board. It’s also

helpful in locating the defective parts that you would not often be able to

locate through just visual inspection. You can use an oscilloscope to

achieve better results.

Infrared Imaging

You can find places where there’s significant heat generation by using an

infrared camera. Also, even if the short is seen between internal layers of

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the circuit board, there’s a likelihood of having one when you’re not

observing hot areas far from active components.

The resistance of the short is typically higher than that of the solder joints

or an ordinary trace. This occurs because it fails to benefit from the

design’s optimization. Because of this resistance and the high

current which results from the ground and power lines’ direct electrical

connections, the conductor found in the PCB short circuit will eventually

become heated.

Start with the smallest current possible. Ideally, you’ll catch this short even

before it causes additional harm.

Checking Electronic Circuit Boards Components for Any Short Circuit

Other than visual inspection, you can find various approaches to identify

the main reasons for a circuit board short circuit.

Testing of circuit boards components Using the Digital

Multimeter

You must examine the recognized resistance existing between the various

circuit locations on the circuit board in order to test it for any short circuits.

But, if the visual examination is unable to provide any information

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regarding the location or origin of the short circuit, obtain a multimeter,

then try locating the Board.

Online, particularly in most of electronic forums, this multimeter method

typically elicits a variety of conflicting reactions. Nonetheless, tracing the

short circuit’s test locations might be quite helpful in identifying the issue.

The multimeter you use in this situation needs to be milliohm sensitive. It

would also be fantastic if it could warn you the moment you begin

investigating shorts.

For instance, when measuring resistance between adjacent traces or pads

on the circuit boards, high resistance must be measured as well.

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Finding Grounds on the Circuit Boards

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The fact that this situation concerns the grounded plane as well as

grounded via is a crucial one. Return pathways will be present

on multilayer Boards with internal ground planes. The vias and pads on

the surface layer of the board are best inspected and verified in this area.

Place a probe upon that board’s ground connection then afterwards touch

the remaining probes to the other conductors of the board.

Moreover, other locations of the board will also have the ground

connection. This indicates that when each proof is applied to two different

and grounded vias, you will only detect a very modest resistance. Take

note of your layout when trying to do this; you won’t want to have errors.

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Shorted Components

This indicates you are using the multimeter to measure the resistance

while you’re looking for defective or shorted components. If a

component’s visual inspection will not really show any additional metallic

solder or flakes between the pins or pads, the short might well have

formed in the interior layers between both of them.

Poor fabrication practices can also result in shorts, which is another

reason circuit boards need to go through DFM and design rule checks.

Pads and vias put close to one another may unintentionally short or

bridge when being manufactured.

You will need to gauge the resistance between those pins of a connection

or IC in this situation. Moreover, close-spaced pins usually experience

shorts.

Additionally, shorts are frequently caused by pins that are close together.

Shorts could still develop in other places, though. Verify that there’s a

minimal resistance between the pads/pins and ground connection, as well

as between them.

Limit Your Search Area

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When you believe you have discovered shorts between two conductors as

well as between earth and a particular conductor, you should focus on the

neighboring conductors to pinpoint their location.

Locating Defective Parts on the Printed Circuit Board Components

The board may experience issues due to faulty or poorly placed

components. It’s possible that these parts are defective or fake. This

produces the look of shorts.

Faulty components

There is a chance that some parts could go bad overnight. The

electrolytic capacitors forms a prime illustration of this. Check any

component that you suspect first if one is present. Now, if you’re unsure,

you can search for any component that you believe failed on Google.

Moreover, see if the problem is a regular one.

You might have short circuits as a result of the burned-out component in

situations where you detect an incredibly low resistance between the two

pads/pins. This warning plainly shows that such a capacitor is defective.

Moreover, capacitors swell whenever they are damaged or when the

voltage applied exceeds the necessary level.

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What to Do If a Circuit Board Component Is Faulty?

Utilizing a defective circuit board component or printed circuit board

component could be dangerous for different devices.

As a result, you might need to either repair or replace the damaged or

defective circuit board. As stated by the EPA, the main purpose of this is to

prevent dangers from these broken pieces. Thus, hiring a qualified

electrician to help you replace the circuit or copper traces with shorts is

strongly advised. This guarantees that the device operates properly.

Conclusion

Learning how to check circuit board components is easy. This is why we

have explained the process. Fluid leakage, burned circuit components,

power-related concerns, soldering errors, including connection shorts on

PCBs are among the prevalent failures on the circuit boards. Smaller

copper trace is typically used to make printed circuit boards. Moreover,

accuracy is employed during the connections. As a result, even a very

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small flaw can completely destroy the device. It’s one of the reasons why

it’s important to learn how to inspect such integrated circuits and circuit

board components for errors in order to ensure the user’s safety and that

these electrical devices function properly. Once you identify the issue

successfully, you might either find solutions to it by yourself or get an

expert in the field to assist you.

Related Posts:

1. What are the Different Ways on How to Check Circuit Board?

2. How to Test Electronic Components on a Circuit Board?

3. Components of a Photodiode Circuit

4. The Essential Guide to Choosing the Right Simple Circuit

Components

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