Author Topic: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem  (Read 3412 times)

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Offline DoctorNunu

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Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« on: Sat, 23 November 2019, 06:38:16 »
Hi guys, I have a Leeku PCB that has a bit of a problem. The RTCRL is always shorted, I have traced every possible location so see if it is shorted somewhere. But I can't find any physical shorting.
Forgive my lack of knowledge about PCBs, could it be a diode problem? I seriously can't figure out what the problem would be unless the diode is broken.

Very thankful for troubleshooting tips!

Offline DoctorNunu

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Re: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« Reply #1 on: Sat, 23 November 2019, 06:59:37 »
Replaced the diode, that was not the problem :/

Offline suicidal_orange

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Re: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« Reply #2 on: Sat, 23 November 2019, 08:07:53 »
The obvious answer would be that the switch is damaged - does it feel normal?  If you desolder the switch it will stop being shorted, assuming that is the cause.

If it's not got switches in it yet (actually, even if it has) try reflashing the firmware, Leeku PCBs do random things from time to time and reflashing usually fixes it.
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Offline DoctorNunu

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Re: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 23 November 2019, 08:12:41 »
The obvious answer would be that the switch is damaged - does it feel normal?  If you desolder the switch it will stop being shorted, assuming that is the cause.

If it's not got switches in it yet (actually, even if it has) try reflashing the firmware, Leeku PCBs do random things from time to time and reflashing usually fixes it.

The switch was my first guess aswell, I desoldered it first thing and it was completely fine (Using multimeter on the switch directly to check actuation) If I use a multimeter on the PCB, the two connectors are still shorted.

This is when not connected to a PC, so this does not seem like anything firmware could fix?
« Last Edit: Sat, 23 November 2019, 08:16:55 by DoctorNunu »

Offline suicidal_orange

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Re: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« Reply #4 on: Sat, 23 November 2019, 08:23:09 »
Ah ok, I'm stupid at the moment so at first didn't even consider you never mentioned switches.

If the pads are shorted there is a hardware short, most likely place if it's a new board would be the pins on the controller chip itself.  I find it easier to look a photo enlarged as they are very small.
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Offline DoctorNunu

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Re: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« Reply #5 on: Sat, 23 November 2019, 08:31:50 »
Ah ok, I'm stupid at the moment so at first didn't even consider you never mentioned switches.

If the pads are shorted there is a hardware short, most likely place if it's a new board would be the pins on the controller chip itself.  I find it easier to look a photo enlarged as they are very small.
I have checked the controller, no shorts there  :/ Welp, next step would be to desolder everything to check the top of the pcb..

Offline suicidal_orange

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Re: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« Reply #6 on: Sat, 23 November 2019, 08:47:32 »
Is that the only short?  Have you checked which pins on the controller are connected to the switch?  I can't think of any way to short the back of a PCB but as above, I'm not at my sharpest so wait for more input before desoldering everything.
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Offline DoctorNunu

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Re: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« Reply #7 on: Sat, 23 November 2019, 15:36:48 »
Is that the only short?  Have you checked which pins on the controller are connected to the switch?  I can't think of any way to short the back of a PCB but as above, I'm not at my sharpest so wait for more input before desoldering everything.


I basically just used the multimeter to check what pin is connected to the switch. I can upload some pictures/videos tomorrow to give you a better understanding!

Offline DoctorNunu

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Re: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« Reply #8 on: Sun, 24 November 2019, 04:19:57 »
Is that the only short?  Have you checked which pins on the controller are connected to the switch?  I can't think of any way to short the back of a PCB but as above, I'm not at my sharpest so wait for more input before desoldering everything.

Check this video out: https://imgur.com/a/TJAktK0


I had to cut it at some places to stay under that  1 minute mark, so it can look a bit weird in the transitions..

Offline suicidal_orange

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Re: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« Reply #9 on: Sun, 24 November 2019, 08:09:34 »
Thanks, good to see what you're looking at.  Damn white PCB though, hard to follow any traces so I'll have to assume the lower switch pin is conncted to the diode below it.

I think the next step I think is to take off the diode.  If the short is at the switch end the pads will still be shorted, if the problem is hiding elsewhere (under the controller chip?) they won't because there's a break where the diode should be.  Assuming this confirms the break is at the switch end the next question is do you just want it working or working and looking perfect from the back of the board?

I say this because the easiest fix would be to insulate the lower pin on the switch so it doesn't connect to the PCB and turn the diode so only the end not connected to the switch is soldered on.  Then you can solder a short wire from the end of the switch pin to the other end of the diode bypassing the shorted trace.  You have a plate so the switch won't be able to twist and will hold the switch when you're pulling keycaps off, from the front you'd never know the difference...  If you're planning to open the board up or transport it often you would want to add a drop of hot glue or similar to hold the diode in place but if it's just sitting on your desk it's not going anywhere.

The other option (if the short is confirmed to be at the switch end) would be to desolder everything and hope there's a visible short on the other side which you can fix.

If the short is at the controller end you probably need to speak to the GB runner or Leeku to get a replacement, not sure how you stand having taken the diode off though.  It's clearly not been abused so I would hope it's not a problem but "modifications" usually end any warranty.


Almost certainly unrelated but it looks like your screw in stabiliser for Enter is shorting two LED pins, a plastic or card washer would be a good idea if it is.
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Offline DoctorNunu

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Re: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« Reply #10 on: Mon, 25 November 2019, 06:39:22 »
Thanks, good to see what you're looking at.  Damn white PCB though, hard to follow any traces so I'll have to assume the lower switch pin is conncted to the diode below it.

I think the next step I think is to take off the diode.  If the short is at the switch end the pads will still be shorted, if the problem is hiding elsewhere (under the controller chip?) they won't because there's a break where the diode should be.  Assuming this confirms the break is at the switch end the next question is do you just want it working or working and looking perfect from the back of the board?

I say this because the easiest fix would be to insulate the lower pin on the switch so it doesn't connect to the PCB and turn the diode so only the end not connected to the switch is soldered on.  Then you can solder a short wire from the end of the switch pin to the other end of the diode bypassing the shorted trace.  You have a plate so the switch won't be able to twist and will hold the switch when you're pulling keycaps off, from the front you'd never know the difference...  If you're planning to open the board up or transport it often you would want to add a drop of hot glue or similar to hold the diode in place but if it's just sitting on your desk it's not going anywhere.

The other option (if the short is confirmed to be at the switch end) would be to desolder everything and hope there's a visible short on the other side which you can fix.

If the short is at the controller end you probably need to speak to the GB runner or Leeku to get a replacement, not sure how you stand having taken the diode off though.  It's clearly not been abused so I would hope it's not a problem but "modifications" usually end any warranty.


Almost certainly unrelated but it looks like your screw in stabiliser for Enter is shorting two LED pins, a plastic or card washer would be a good idea if it is.
Thanks for the input, I should probably have mentioned that when I switched the diode I tried using the multimeter on the pads when the diode was removed. And they were indeed still shorted.
I think I will use a through-hole diode with some heatshrink to the switch, I think that will be a bit better than using the smd diode.

Thanks a lot for taking your time with this! I will update once I have the time to make this fix :)

Offline suicidal_orange

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Re: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« Reply #11 on: Mon, 25 November 2019, 07:19:50 »
That's good, much easier to deal with than the other end.  If you have a through hole diode that would be better, just make sure it's bent before soldering to the board so you don't lift the pad (I think you know this but anyone may read this in the future :) )  Heatshrink would be perfect for insulating the switch pin too, if it's big enough.
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Offline DoctorNunu

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Re: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« Reply #12 on: Mon, 25 November 2019, 12:12:01 »
That's good, much easier to deal with than the other end.  If you have a through hole diode that would be better, just make sure it's bent before soldering to the board so you don't lift the pad (I think you know this but anyone may read this in the future :) )  Heatshrink would be perfect for insulating the switch pin too, if it's big enough.

This is the end result:


The board is now working great! I actually soldered the end of the diode pin to the switch pin and bent it straight down, just to make sure it didn't touch the pad. That way I didn't need to insulate the switch pin either.
Could definitely have been done a lot cleaner, but honestly I didn't really care.

Offline suicidal_orange

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Re: Leeku PCB shorted circuit problem
« Reply #13 on: Wed, 27 November 2019, 04:45:20 »
My kind of fix - purely functional :thumb:

Enjoy your new board!
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