Broken Y terminal on furnace circuit board

[Allen Wiggins]

I have a furnace circuit board that has a broken screw head on "Y" terminal. A repair technician informed me that it is $ 650 to change out.
Question, since the wire is not loose, can it be secured with a hot glue gun, rather than pay someone a large amount of money to replace?

 

[Minder]

There are a couple of recourses, it should be easy to remove the broken thread by using a small drill and a easy-out bit to remove it, as a last resort a nut could be used on the bottom if spaces allows if the thread has been damaged,
The terminal strip is also available but this would mean a complete removal of the old one using a solder sucker etc.
The main thing is there are many options before spending $650.00!!
M..

 

[shrtrnd]

You don't sound like you have electronic/electric repair experience.
A hot glue gun fix is not a good solution.
Minder's idea of just using a screw extractor to remove the headless screw is a good quick fix.
Any simple mechanical experience? Ace Hardware could tell you what you need to do that.
If the board is ok, I also wouldn't buy a new one just because one of the terminal strip screws broke.
If you want to try Minder's idea, Google UTube videos on how the extract a broken screw, it's not difficult.
You drill a hole in the screw where the head used to be, and use a screw extractor to remove the threaded stud.
Then just replace the screw.
If you want to ask more questions, people here will help you.
If it were me, I'd just replace the entire terminal strip, but Minder's idea is a good cheap and relatively easy quick-frix that is reliable and permanent.

 

[73's de Edd]

Sir Allen Wiggins . . . . .

A repair technician informed me that it is $ 650 to change out.

OH-MI-GAWD
That either is being a full blown " maternally copulating " rip off . . . . "artiste"
Or . . . . . he jist plane don't evin knoes durt.

First thing I would be doing would be to take TRUSTY DVM in hand and placing in AC mode and shutting the AC power breakers off that feed this unit.

Then test from that Jones barrier strip from COM 24VAC to the RED 24 VAC to confirm NO power.

Then transition the DVM to low OHMS mode and then short the two test leads together to watch the meter transition and just exactly how a short / direct connection reads on your units display.


Then you place one of those meter leads across the exposed portion of the problematic Y terminal and move immediately to the back to the vertical male spade connector that is sticking up . . . . . if that is reading as a direct connection you might be the luckiest person ever.
Now move over to the R terminal to the right and see if possibly they might have given the same treatment to that vertical spade connector.
If finding connectivity between that male spade terminal and the Y connection, a good alternative repair now, is to take the GREEN wire and install a female spade connector on it and plug into the male connector just to the rear . . . . . that you just tested.

CREEDENCE . . . .

This circuitry uses 5 small gauge wires that carry 24VAC at a minimal current.

Normal wire color coding is:

COM 24 (WHITE) is to be the shared grounding of the 24VAC supply connections
R is the hot 24VAC
. . . . . . .then the powering of
Y . . . activates your HEATING function
W . . . activates your AIR CONDITIONING function
G . . . activates the FAN action

I can't see what some yoo-hoo was doing / has done with the HEW-MUNG-US (overkill) ORANGE wire nut.
The NORMAL YELLOW wire that goes to the Y terminal might have been too short and he extended it with the added GREEN wire length.
You might check that all out . . . . I hope he didn't connectively involve the passing RED wire viewed in that cluster.

Looking at that Y terminal of the Jones barrier strip, I am seeing the flat connecting plate that connects to a tab that extends a bit to the back and makes a sharp right angle bend to pass straight down and pass thru the circuit board to then solder connect to the copper foil pad associated with it.

I have marked / YELLOW squared . . . .an unobstructed view of the same tab to the left and I marked / YELLOWED in the mentioned tab on the Y connection.

Down within the tabs center there is being a shoulder nut that has been crimped into place . . . .it installs somewhat akin to a pop rivet, using a pneumatic press on a production line.
I am surprised that it held and did not ultimately spin, as it takes some rotational torque to pop the head off from an 8/32 plated brass machine screw.
Its somewhat akin to the unit below but probably only had 10 threads internally and at the top entry point of the nut there is a thin metal sleeve that gets crimped down and it then folds flat outwardly, as you can see in the picture.
This similar rivet shown below, depends upon peripheral outward tension on longitudinal splines to hold the rivet in place.


My my next alternatte procedure would be to see if my curved set of surgical hemostats, with ribbed ends would just reach under the bottom of the barrier strip at sub Y position to the bottom
of that screws threads and then try to CCW it out in multiple 22 degree grabs.

BOARD MARKUP . . . . . .

Thassssssit . . . . .

73's de Edd
.....

 

[dave9]

Keep in mind that all you really need to do is grab a piece of wire that's a ~couple inches longer than the green one, take the wire nut off and replace the green one with the longer piece of wire, wrap that wire around to the back of the board and solder it to the screw header pin.

While it would be less desirable than getting the broken off screw extracted and sourcing a new screw, the only tool needed is a soldering iron. If the day comes where the board needs replaced for some other reason, the soldered on wire can merely be snipped off the board and will have plenty of slack to take more insulation off to screw to a new board.

[Edit:]In other words an HVAC tech or anyone else competent to work on a furnace would be able to service this later and not need a soldering iron to do so.[/Edit]