GO 720 - trouble replacing LCD

[oscarmeyer]

I was replacing the LCD on my 720 and I broke the latch on the flex connector. Can anything be done to repair this or is it garbage now?

 

[canderson]

Nuts. You probably lifted it a bit too high. Anything over about 30 degrees from flat is too much. Without anything in it, 45 is the absolute max.

That's a tight little SMT connector and would be an impossible problem for even someone skilled with an iron and solder wick (that's the trick to doing lines of SMT pads like that - blob it on and wick it back off) - assuming you could even source the component. I can't see connector replacement as a viable option for anyone.

You have at best a one-shot try at making this work. I can't say I have tried this nor that it will work, but I suppose it beats tossing the thing in the trash.

First, assure that the unit would work if the latch were able to compress the ribbon cable correctly. That means holding the cable in place manually by pressing on the brown latching bar while powering up the unit. You'll need to put a bit of a squeeze on it.

If the display appears to operate (no fun trying a 'button' press or two while holding the connector, I know), then at least you know there's some hope for the ugly second step.

Now you are going to have to find something that will apply enough pressure to the connection, specifically to the brown latching bar which sits lower than the top of the white part of the connector, to hold it in place while you (ugh) "pot" the assembly with something that will hold it in place forever. That's why this is a one-shot deal - you'll never be able to disconnect the ribbon again. I would suggest something that could be removed for a 2nd attempt, but I don't know anything that would hold well enough that could be removed. We're probably talking epoxy here.

I don't give you good odds for fixing the thing, but you won't have a lot of time invested and you could get lucky.