Organization of the repair process for automotive electronic circuit boards in a small specialized service center

Abstract

The repair of automotive electronic control units at the component level is a relatively new niche, where specialists' experience is accumulating much faster than the scientific and methodological foundation is being established. This article examines how this process is organized in a small specialized service center: from initial diagnostics and data backup to soldering operations and bench testing under real-world conditions. Shah et al. (2024) expect the number of embedded control units to rise from 200 to 700 million by 2030. High refurbishment costs make component-level repair increasingly important. The theoretical framework draws on IPC-7711D/7721D and ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021, as well as peer-reviewed publications from 2022–2025. To verify the theoretical propositions, materials from a structured interview with Y. Breusov, a practicing specialist, were utilized, based on a sample of 210 repaired circuit boards from 2023–2024, distributed by type as follows: 60% engine control units, 20% body control units, 10% airbag control units, 10% transmission control units. The analysis showed that the reliability of the result is determined by three conditions: backing up the unit's identification data prior to any soldering operations, testing under actual power load, and ensuring protection against static discharge in accordance with ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021.