So, I was working with my Uno and I accidentally dropped it.
I had it connected to a breadboard full of bits with these: Jumper Wires Premium 6" M/M Pack of 10 - PRT-08431 - SparkFun Electronics
Well, on the way down, a few of the pins on the end of those cables snapped off inside the Uno's header. I was able to pry most of them out with my pliers since they were sticking out. But A few are all the way in, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for getting them out before I resort to desoldering the headers and replacing them.
enginerd263:
So, I was working with my Uno and I accidentally dropped it.
I had it connected to a breadboard full of bits with these: Jumper Wires Premium 6" M/M Pack of 10 - PRT-08431 - SparkFun Electronics
Well, on the way down, a few of the pins on the end of those cables snapped off inside the Uno's header. I was able to pry most of them out with my pliers since they were sticking out. But A few are all the way in, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for getting them out before I resort to desoldering the headers and replacing them.
Thanks in advance,
Matt
Desoldering headers can be pretty difficult and messy operation, but can be done with using things like solder braid, suction tools, etc. I would make that a last resort kind of thing. I would suggest getting as thin a needle that you can find and possibly holding it with locking pliers or hemostats, try and 'tease' the broken pin up and out of the header socket. I've been able to do that once or twice in the past.
If you can get a thin screwdriver under the ends of the plastic part of the header and gently lever it up it will come off easily and leave all the pins still soldered in the board. The broken off pin can then be removed easily. Replace the plastic and everything is as good as new.
wiz:
If you can get a thin screwdriver under the ends of the plastic part of the header and gently lever it up it will come off easily and leave all the pins still soldered in the board. The broken off pin can then be removed easily. Replace the plastic and everything is as good as new.
This is probably the best option to try; if things don't work out, you can just desolder the pins one-by-one, then replace the headers.
If you can't find a thin enough screwdriver, I can think of a couple of other options to help remove the header plastic:
Use a feeler gauge to get up and under the plastic next to the PCB; you'll probably ruin the gauge in the process (so don't use your dad's!), but you basically need a thin shim of metal to pry under the edge. Maybe a thin piece of steel or brass from a hobby shop could work as well.
There exist pliers with wide but thin "jaws" for welding (called flat-jaw welding pliers - fancy that):
...maybe something like that could help to remove them?
Wiz above got it right. I used a jewelers flat blade screw driver, but any small screwdriver with blade edge sharpened on a grinder would work. Work in under one edge of the header with broken pins (I had broken pins in 5V and adjacent ground), then twist the blade and work the plastic housing of the header up a bit. It will slide right off the soldered receptical pins exposing the broken pins. The housing slide right back on again. Takes 30 seconds to do the job with an appropriate screw driver.
Kemprof, I appreciate your detailed instructions/description on how to remove the header in order to free the broken wire. I followed your instructions and was able to remove the header so that I could then easily dislodge the broken wire that was stuck in the header.
I've attached a couple of pictures showing the header removed from the board and the precision screwdriver used to dislodge the header.
Just like you stated, I started at one end of the header and worked my way down. Insert the screwdriver and twist. The header will lift straight up. Eventually, you can pull it straight up and off of the board.
Thanks.
h1500rr:
sewing needle worked great for me, thanks
Around 7 years late on this one, but a great topic to revive, as it is really useful.
What did you mean by 'sewing needle worked great'?
Those pin from those patch cables for arduino headers got bent over while the arduino was packed in a box with pin still in..... something else came over the top of it. So I made the ridiculous rookie mistake of straightening the pin while still in the socket. Not a good move at all. The pin broke and pretty much no way to grab hold of the broken pin with any tool that I have --- not even sharp nose tweezers. Fortunately came across this thread and tried the idea of just prying the black plastic header fixture away from the board with a very very thin flat head screw-driver (eg. jeweler's screwdriver). That did the job. The broken pin can then easily be removed, and then just a matter of sliding the plastic header back onto all the pins. 1 or 2 minute job. Nice thread. Thumbs up.
Sewing needle worked for me too...wish I'd known the header is removable.
I think once a jumper lead has been bent it will soon enough break so it ought to be binned.
As for desoldering an entire header -- don't do it. I did it on a Nano. The thermal and mechanical stress and overenthusiastic solder sucking ruined the board. The solder sucker actually ripped off the metal tracing around the pin holes.
If you do need to remove the header do it pin by pin. This means breaking the plastic -- so the header cannot be reused.
