Help, pin stuck in female connector.

[longjohnsilver]

I have a small Raymarine dragonfly unit. Somehow when disconnecting the cable (it’s kept on a small open boat) I managed to break 5 of the 10 pins on the back of the unit. Unfortunately 1 pin is still in the female connector, and for the life of me, I can’t get the thing out. The broken pin is tiny, maybe 5mm long and about 0.5mm or less wide

I accept the fact I’ve got to get the dragonfly unit repaired, but I really don’t want to replace the female plug, that will be a real pita.

I’ve tried pushing sticky tape into the very small hole, I’ve tried shaking and knocking it out. It won’t budge. It also doesn’t appear to be magnetic. My final option is drilling it out, but I’m not keen on doing that.

Any suggestions on how to remove it will be gratefully received!

 

[Poignard]

These can be very effective but get good quality ones.

 

[Dutch01527]

Never done this but new iv cured glue on needle?

 

[ctva]

You could try a bristle from a wire brush to dislodge it?

 

[longjohnsilver]

View attachment 81123

These can be very effective but get good quality ones.

Should have said, there’s nothing sticking out to get a grip on..

 

[longjohnsilver]

Never done this but new iv cured glue on needle?

What’s iv cured glue? Something almost tacky is a possibility.

 

[longjohnsilver]

You could try a bristle from a wire brush to dislodge it?

I’ll give it a go.

 

[lw395]

Have to ask why it broke?
Could be the pin is corroded into the socket?

If it's corroded in, then it's not likely to pull out with a glue bond, but you could try superglue.
I once extracted a pin by soldering a wire to it, but I had all the kit including a microscope to work under.

Depending on the exact connector, you might destroy the plastics of the connector and after you've got the pin out, put the contacts into a new shell.
You might find a connector contact which will slip over the broken pin inside the female contact without harming the female contact too much. You might achieve the same with a piece of thin wall brass (or other metal?) tube. Hypodermic needle? They come in many sizes.

Personally, I'd probably change the connector for something standard and hopefully more robust, but clearly that's the end of the warranty!

 

[longjohnsilver]

Have to ask why it broke?
Could be the pin is corroded into the socket?

If it's corroded in, then it's not likely to pull out with a glue bond, but you could try superglue.
I once extracted a pin by soldering a wire to it, but I had all the kit including a microscope to work under.

Depending on the exact connector, you might destroy the plastics of the connector and after you've got the pin out, put the contacts into a new shell.
You might find a connector contact which will slip over the broken pin inside the female contact without harming the female contact too much. You might achieve the same with a piece of thin wall brass (or other metal?) tube. Hypodermic needle? They come in many sizes.

Personally, I'd probably change the connector for something standard and hopefully more robust, but clearly that's the end of the warranty!

No, definitely not corroded on, it was taken off the previous day and plugged in again the day it broke off. They’ve never got wet, it’s on a boat in Spain! There’s no warranty, it’s about 4 years old.

I had given solder a thought, but don’t have any kit here. If I don’t get it out, I will bring my small gas solderer/knife out from the UK and give it a go. and then I might just attack the unit itself. Raymarine tell me they don’t do a repair, just a replacement for about £350. All for the sake of 5 small pins!! It’s not worth it. I will find a way of repairing it myself.

 

[pvb]

No, definitely not corroded on, it was taken off the previous day and plugged in again the day it broke off. They’ve never got wet, it’s on a boat in Spain! There’s no warranty, it’s about 4 years old.

I had given solder a thought, but don’t have any kit here. If I don’t get it out, I will bring my small gas solderer/knife out from the UK and give it a go. and then I might just attack the unit itself. Raymarine tell me they don’t do a repair, just a replacement for about £350. All for the sake of 5 small pins!! It’s not worth it. I will find a way of repairing it myself.

Just a thought, if you don't need the water temperature readout, you probably only need 5 of the 10 pins to get power in to the unit and connect the depth transducer. So you might be able to do a bit of rewiring and still use the existing plug/socket.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Just a thought, if you don't need the water temperature readout, you probably only need 5 of the 10 pins to get power in to the unit and connect the depth transducer. So you might be able to do a bit of rewiring and still use the existing plug/socket.

Thanks, a good point.

I am also tempted to put other pins in the female connector and see if they make contact with the broken ends on the unit itself. If that works, I’d then leave it permanently connected. Maybe a long shot, but worth a try.

 

[Heckler]

No, definitely not corroded on, it was taken off the previous day and plugged in again the day it broke off. They’ve never got wet, it’s on a boat in Spain! There’s no warranty, it’s about 4 years old.

I had given solder a thought, but don’t have any kit here. If I don’t get it out, I will bring my small gas solderer/knife out from the UK and give it a go. and then I might just attack the unit itself. Raymarine tell me they don’t do a repair, just a replacement for about £350. All for the sake of 5 small pins!! It’s not worth it. I will find a way of repairing it myself.

Ive got some solder pins that I used to remake a B&G wind mast head connector. I drilled the old ones out of the pcb. Pm if you want some when I get back home

 

[lw395]

If repairing the unit to original is not critical, you could remove the connector from the unit and replace it with a multi-core flying lead. Or several leads or sockets, whatever is convenient. If you don't have the kit/skills/confidence to do that yourself, perhaps there is a tradesman who would?
I don't know the unit, some instruments are trivial to dismantle and re-assemble, others can be sods.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Ive got some solder pins that I used to remake a B&G wind mast head connector. I drilled the old ones out of the pcb. Pm if you want some when I get back home

Thanks, I’ve sent you a PM.

 

[longjohnsilver]

If repairing the unit to original is not critical, you could remove the connector from the unit and replace it with a multi-core flying lead. Or several leads or sockets, whatever is convenient. If you don't have the kit/skills/confidence to do that yourself, perhaps there is a tradesman who would?
I don't know the unit, some instruments are trivial to dismantle and re-assemble, others can be sods.

I can’t see any way of taking the unit apart, there’s nothing obvious. If I can, then the repair will be much easier. And putting it back together should then be pretty easy, and making it watertight should be relatively easy, and not essential as it’s never used when it’s wet.