Question Attempting repair of 6 and 8 pin connector (R9 280x). Thorough explanation needed :|

[fiRe_p0weR]

To spare you guys the back-story i'll skip right to the point. I need to re-insert 2 of those pins back to their "holes". A kind fella from this forum explained to me that these "holes" are not just ordinary "holes", they had something inside them besides the pin itself, something like a sponge to keep it firm and prevent overheating (as far as i understood him). Yes i am aware that the PCB has multiple layers, i am also aware that the whole PCB is covered with something to protect the copper and the tracks and you can't really see which component is connected to what which makes the situation even worse. Anyways my idea is to solder the pin itself to a cable at one end and the other not inside the "hole" (VIA i believe?), but to the copper trace that leads out of it. Now i really wanna hear some thoughts and ideas (preferably positive ones) on my case. And lastly i just want to point out that this GPU is "dead" from quite some time now and i've already scratched it off the list, but thats how i am, i like to tinker with stuff and it really pains me to just throw it away after all the years of joy that this GPU gave me. Anyways its "dead", it cant get any worse right ? Im expecting your brave thoughts fellas! ^_^

 

[USAFRet]

We'll need close clear pics of the damage.

 

[fiRe_p0weR]

Thought so too, i'll provide some in a bit (not at home currently), 10min or so.
P.S. Now i know it looks really bad, but i've measured the other pins with DMM while PC is ON with GPU connected, 12v on the positive ones, no shorts or anything.
P.S.2 Oh i believe i forgot to mention that theres some layer damage :> Tho as i said, i've taken care of it (or atleast i think since no shorts or anything happened when i powered it on)
P.S.3 I am also willing to measure or experiment with it if needed to, its dead already. Can't get any worse ^^ (Last time i tried to run that GPU the PC wouldnt turn on at all, no fan spin no noise, nothing, but after that i played a bit with the sodder on the pins and i managed to power the PC till the "No signal" point, GPU fans were spining too if it matters).

 

[lordmogul]

Oh that looks nasty, but I hope it looks worse than it is.
Assuming nothing else is burned, first step would be to remove all the solder to get a clearer view. Then soldering in a new port with "a proper amount of flux". Then check for functionality. Some of the traces seem to be hit, so some scaping and bodgewires might be needed.

If you attempt to do work on it, take your time. You can't break it because it's broken in its current state. But hey, with luck you might get a working card again.

 

[USAFRet]

What GPU is this, and what caused this to happen?
The whole backstory would actually be helpful.

 

[fiRe_p0weR]

Thats AMD R9 280x PowerColor. About the backstory, its really long and painfull and theres really nothing special about it, sufficient to say "it died, got revived, died again, got revived and so on like 10 times in a time spawn of like 3-4 months". Its not like im lazy or something, its just that when people see 4 scrolls of the monitor-wall-of-text they simply run away. Really nothing special about it, i had no idea what i was doing, but the GPU kept coming back to life until the day it finally died. I had little to no-knowledge at all about PCB components and how they're supposted to work, not to mention i didnt had almost any PCB-work-Tools (unlike now). I decided to leave it like that until i "level up" and i dare say it happened, fixed a 32" Toshiba TV (<Mod Edit> up bridge rectifier, replaced with a used spare one and worked like a charm), fixed a PSU (nothing much just changing few caps) and so on and so on, but obviously i didn't quite get enough experiance to fix the GPU ^^ (thats why i am here asking for opinions/ideas etc). If you need to know something in practicular just ask away ^^

P.S. It all started with "No signal" on my monitor, been changing monitors/HDMI/DVI cables like mad, but that cursed "No signal" kept coming back for more until the end of it >.>

 

[USAFRet]

That thing looks dead, beyond 'recovery'.

 

[fiRe_p0weR]

That thing looks dead, beyond 'recovery'.

That is the easy-exit. I respect your opinion, but im curious, what makes you think that ? Im curious because i've thought myself the same thing those ~10 times it got revived/died and so on...

P.S. This is the only spot with "damage" on the whole PCB, im uploading some more pics in a minute.

 

[USAFRet]

That is the easy-exit. I respect your opinion, but im curious, what makes you think that ? Im curious because i've thought myself the same thing those ~10 times it got revived/died and so on...

The circuit board on a GPU or motherboard is multi layer.
What you see and can connect to on the surface is not all of it.

The traces 2 layers down...what did they connect to and how will you fix that?

Some things can be fixed.
Some can't.

 

[fiRe_p0weR]

The circuit board on a GPU or motherboard is multi layer.
What you see and can connect to on the surface is not all of it.

The traces 2 layers down...what did they connect to and how will you fix that?

Some things can be fixed.
Some can't.

I agree you have a point there, the hole(s) in the layers really do look scary i admit, but lets think for a while, theoretically - IF there was a problem (at this ruptured spot), wouldnt that make a spark or some noise (short circuit)? Would the PSU let the PC power on after detecting a short? At the time those ruptures occured i took precautions (how effective i really dont know), took my dremel and VERY carefully seperated the walls of the ruptures from each other, tested with DMM for shorts between layers - None. After that i sealed them temporarely with tiny drops of silicone. Anyways i came asking "How to connect the missing pin to the grid, given theres no more VIA at that spot" (also pretty sure that the pin goes through all layers cuz the hole is from top to bottom (unlike other "holes" where they reach only to the middle layers).



Im really sorry for the quality of the pictures... im using Huawei Y5 2018... :|

 

[USAFRet]

I agree you have a point there, the hole(s) in the layers really do look scary i admit, but lets think for a while, theoretically - IF there was a problem (at this ruptured spot), wouldnt that make a spark or some noise (short circuit)? Would the PSU let the PC power on after detecting a short? At the time those ruptures occured i took precautions (how effective i really dont know), took my dremel and VERY carefully seperated the walls of the ruptures from each other, tested with DMM for shorts between layers - None. After that i sealed them temporarely with tiny drops of silicone. Anyways i came asking "How to connect the missing pin to the grid, given theres no more VIA at that spot" (also pretty sure that the pin goes through all layers cuz the hole is from top to bottom (unlike other "holes" where they reach only to the middle layers).

With that level of damage, anything is possible.

Silicone? That just insulated things from other things. Possibly things that NEED to be in contact.
Dremel? OK...now it IS dead.

 

[fiRe_p0weR]

OK...now it IS dead.

Oh well... thanks for stating the obvious Some actual help now perhaps ? Or atleast a work-around, on the topic? :|

P.S. The last time i tried to power my PC with this GPU i had attached the missing pins directly to the copper plane itself (thats why the ruptures... i figured the positive pins are all connected to something like "positive copper pane" (I may be talking complete nonsence, but thats how i picture it in my head, there are markings around the positive and negative pins soldering points, forming something like a square, a square for positive and a square for negative). As i said, the PC started, monitor had "No signal", but the GPU fans were spining (ya i know they can spin without the GPU working like overall) and there was some barely sensible heat around the memory chips and the core chip, also barely sensible heat in the area of those 7 tiny black boxes located near the metal block of passive cooling near the PWR pins. Correct me if im wrong, but i wouldn't consider something "beyound repair" having these vital signs

 

[Darkbreeze]

I think you've already received about the best, and most practical advice you're going to get here. When people get answers like you got from USAFRet they tend to ignore them as dismissive, but they are far from it. The thing is, we've been doing this for so long that we pretty well know instantly when something is pointless. If you think somebody is going to come in here with some pseudo magical engineering hack to repair a PCB that is clearly DONE HADDIT, you are seriously mistaken. Nobody is going to hand you a magic bullet for fixing THAT catastrophe, because none exists.