Instrument cluster repair

[jht3]

After posting to a previous thread I decided to start my own

I have two problems with my instrument cluster:
-left turn indicator doesn't light up
-right orange bulb doesnt light up (which means my OBC doesnt light up either at night)

i disassembled the entire cluster and poked around w/ my DMM and ETM. i found that infinite resistance between the positive side of the turn indicator and the pin from the C2 connector. upon closer inspection i think i can see a small hairline crack in the trace.

the cluster illumination is a bit more complex. the right bulb draws power from the left bulb and there are multiple jumpers and traces between the two bulbs. i found a break in resistance on one of those traces, again the positive side. under close inspection i can see the break, which is a mirror image of the break for the turn indicator. both traces are the outermost on the upper side of the board and run right next to two screws that hold the cluster together.

so my question is, is this repairable. i have a strong electrical background, but i've never repaired a circuit board. installing jumpers and traces is not something i've done before. maybe a local electronics shop could do this?

i circled the affected parts in red:

[Jordan]

Yeah. Sand off the tan paint, and solder the joint. Fixed.

[jht3]

ok, so the conductive material is below that tan paint? this doesn't seem that complicated. after sanding down the bad section and creating a line of solder, should i cover up the area with anything? clear nail polish or something like that?

my initial thought was to solder wire to each end of the traces where they terminate at pins. an ugly fix

[Jordan]

the paint just covers the copper conductor lines. Leaving bare solder is fine, so long as it doesnt short to another line next to it.

[nando]

no doubt, that's a very simple repair. practice soldering on a broken VCR or something (just stay away from the power supply!) if you've never soldered before. remember to heat the part you are soldering, not the solder itself. the traces are pretty big too, I've hand soldered tons of SMD stuff which is fucking tiny. :P

[jht3]

well it's fixed. took an exacto knife to the trace and scraped till i saw copper. i rechecked the pins and bingo, no more infinite resistance. did the same on the other side. as i needed a new tip for my iron, i went to radioshack and they had a "conductive pen" on the wall, so i bought that and covered over the exposed copper. i now have continuity everywhere i should

i think it's time for a cold beer