NLG Archives Archives Wayback MachineĬontact Us NLG Shop 928 754-4147 Email Us 1788 Highway 95 30 BHC City AZ 86442 A capacitor that large is probably a filter cap on one of the voltage lines, like the +5v or +12v power line but really it could be anything without looking at a schematic drawing. The broken lead effectively removes the capacitor from whatever circuit it is supposed to be in. That broken lead on the large blue capacitor definitely needs repaired. The copper trace will carry the signal or whatever is on it without the masking present. But there probably isn't even a need to do that. If you look at it closely and the copper trace is ok and there is no contamination on the board in that area then you can apply a little clear fingernail polish to seal it if you want to.
Or something could bump the board during handling or maintenance and rub the masking off. Sometimes the masking flakes or bubbles up and falls off the board. In fact, some low-cost circuit boards are made without masking. As long as the copper trace is intact, not broken or cut, then it will be ok without the masking. Where I worked the green coating over the copper board traces is called masking.
