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Oops! I accidentally broke an unobtanium switch

Shrugg

Shrugg

Active Member
Hello all, I just made a dumb mistake. When I was redoing rca connections and other joints on my Yamaha AX- 900, I accidentally put the iron down on top of the board, searing a hole straight into the switch that changes between mm and mc cartridges. :( The switch no longer latches properly, springing back into the outward position. Is there a way to repair or replace this switch?
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Those switches are still available and replaceable. Unsoldering the pins can be a PITA, but just be careful.

BTW, where did you touch with the iron? The "latch" is under that blue plastic piece.
 
The Iron went through the back of the switch body after I set it down, resting on the RCA Jacks (Yes, that was dumb). Is there a convenient source for switches like these?
 
You can replace the guts without desoldering the pins. Just be careful. Recommend disassembly inside transparent trash bag to catch things. You might even be able to 'trim' the melted plastic from the inside, since it's stopping the plunger from going in far enough for the spring latch on the other end from working.

Pry the flat top off gently and incrementally, after cutting away the adhesive/sealant around each chopped-off pin. (You're fortunate they're chopped off.)

But even before that, I would be tempted to try to recreate the scene of the crime, and melt that plastic again -- but this time, press the plunger back in after removing the iron, to press the plastic down as it cools. Cycle it quickly a few times, so the plunger doesn't get stuck to the cooling plastic.
 
Sorry for the rather anticlimactic solution, but I figured out there was a small burr of plastic from the melted hole, so I just pushed in the switch with a bit of force, and it started working again. Anyways, thanks for the help! Now I need to finish with the bad solder joints, which, of course, are rather numerous
 
Used to do that on speaker relays with noisy contacts/ Melt a small hole in the top of the relay and apply your favorite spritz through the hole. Works every time. When desoldering parts from PC boards always use solder wick for a clean removal. Solder suckers often become foil suckers.
 
Glad you got it working. I was just about to post that the end you hit shouldn't have affected the latch portion. Now I understand what happened.
 
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