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Hi folks,

Can anyone manage to replace a board to board connector on my mib2 unit?

See pics
The dvd drive connector looks okay, but the base board one is toast±!

HELP!

You need to source the connector and take it to some eletronic repair center, like laptop motherboard repair or phone repair and they can swap it. Its pretty easy with right tools

Trying to find the connector is proving to be a nightmare!!

probably best to just buy a complete new unit off ebay.

can't see how you managed to break that connector

Count the pins then search for connector. Or see if there is any marking in it.

Dink wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 2:41 pm probably best to just buy a complete new unit off ebay.

can't see how you managed to break that connector

Neither do I, I only opened it as the release key was stuck for releasing it, no bit in the unit either..

amer6R wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 4:25 pm Count the pins then search for connector. Or see if there is any marking in it.

60 pin, 2 rows of 30, the height seems the challenging bit, any pcb guys on here who think they could help please drop a message!

Try posting on some eletronics forum. Does some kind of cable clip into that connector or is it some kind of a board. If it's a cable or a board that doesnt affect the height placement you could use any 30x2 male and female connector.

Any halfway decent electronics repair place should be up to replacing a simple connector in 30mins or so. You could even do it yourself with a heat-gun and some solder paste, but that could be another disaster waiting to happen.

The difficult bit is sourcing the correct replacement connector. That looks like a Board to Board (BTB), Female Receptacle (F) , Surface Mount (SMT) PCB Header

This is the closest one I could find without any information.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ochoos-Female- ... B07QF5QZFW

The problem is! Though many look very similar. However they are substantially different where it matters!! The pins have numerous different pitches. 0.5. 0.6, 0.63, 0.635mm Likewise the heights come in all sorts.

RS/Farnell/CPC all have reasonable part finders.
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/connecto ... 4294885285

If you're lucky you may be able to spot a part number on the body that may help your search. You could try measuring it but you need to be very accurate to get it right.

I think your best bet would be to try and find another faulty unit cheaply and scavenge it for parts.

wolfie wrote: Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:54 am I think your best bet would be to try and find another faulty unit cheaply and scavenge it for parts.

best possible option but difficult one.

my two cents -- with different pitch and height and number of pins -- a long shot would be either to get pin header strip or Male to Female Jumper Wires used with breadboards (with andrino or pi)

https://www.google.com/search?q=breadbo ... 66&bih=626

https://www.google.com/search?q=Male+to ... 66&bih=626

and as suggested here by our forum members electronics shops with pliers and soldering guns would be subject expert to help you.

My thoughts were.

If you cannot find an identical connector. Then measure the original one and buy a replacement Male and female headers then at least you know they fit together correctly and replace both halves. Measuring the height accurately would be the crucial bit. That and getting both connectors in registration so the align correctly.

It is a pain when you can't source like for like parts.

Issue is breadboard is too coarse pitch, as 2 rows of 30 connections,

Connector stacked is 8mm, width is only 12mm with it about 5mm thickness

Hope someone has access to find out the actual connectors

What do the two connectors connect?. Lol just use ribbon cable end extent both sides from the board and solder them to universal 2x30 connector. And just tuck the connector away so it doesnt rattle. Everything will work. Sure it wont be oem, nut its not dumb if it works.

Ribbon cable extension will help you move and place the two boards in what ever position you need.
Something like IDE cables that we had in our old.computers. sure its not beautiful but it worked. They connected harddrive to motherboard.

Robbo770 wrote: Fri Apr 23, 2021 7:37 pm
Connector stacked is 8mm, width is only 12mm with it about 5mm thickness

Hope someone has access to find out the actual connectors

That type of connector is called an "Arrayed-pin" Specifically a BTB (Board To Board) STM (Surface mount) There are literally dozens of variations. First off you need to know the size and arrangement of the actual pads on the PCB. (when they design and manufacture these beasties. Then tend to choose a connector and then lay the boards to suit the connector they've selected)

You've said it's 60 pin but what pitch are the pins, etc. Some layouts are pretty common with lost of connectors that match the layout. However some layouts are not so common so finding connectors that suit will be a pain or even impossible. If you can find something that suits then narrow it down to the correct stack height if you can find something. You may not be able to find an exact match. However you may well find an alternative that fits the pad layout on the board. (even if it means removing both parts of the connector to fit the alternative.)

Have a look on here. It's just the RS parts catalog, but it might help your search.

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/connecto ... 4294885285

Surface mount pads by their very nature are small and delicate. Trying to attach wires to them normally end up in the pads leaving the board as it requires too much heat. You might get away with the odd pad, but 60! you've got no chance.

It might be worth a phone call/email to anyone you can find that specialises in car audio repairs. They might be able to tell you or even sell you the part (I wouldn't put money on it though)

Good luck with sorting it.

what is the part number of the unit you have ?

i really think you are going to spend weeks trying to find a part just to lead to dead ends or over priced/complicated solutions

second hand units can be fitted to cars no problem using legit means and you can even get fully unlocked cracked units that are just plug and play.