Here’s How to Fix Your Electronics Post-EMP

One of the most likely, and worryingly one of the most devastating, mega disasters that might befall the United States and the world is a powerful EMP.

Whether it’s caused by solar or other cosmic activity, a nuclear warhead detonation, or a specialty EMP-generating weapon system, the result will be the same: massive, wide-area devastation of power grids, energized devices, and electronics.

An EMP is invisible and basically instantaneous when it happens. Anything not specifically shielded or hardened will be vulnerable, even if it isn’t plugged in or powered up.

Most folks have the notion that these damaged devices are junk and must be thrown away. However, if you’ve got the skills, it is possible to repair EMP-damaged electronics.

This article will take you through what you need to know to approach the problem logically and hopefully get your stuff back in operation…

What You’ll Need

Before we dig into the nitty-gritty, there are some basic items that you’ve got to have on hand to stand any chance of fixing your electronics, whatever the type and vintage.

Since most EMP-vulnerable items won’t have components you can simply pop out and pop back in with your fingers, there are some prerequisite skills and tools associated with these repairs.

Get the following, and learn how to use them. (A detailed overview of all of that is beyond the scope of this article., though.)

• Soldering Iron (Don’t forget you’ll need a way to power it!)
• Solder
• Desoldering Pump
• Multimeter
• LCR Meter
• Conductive Pen
• Spares (Transistors, Diodes, Capacitors, Resistors, etc., and also specific parts for your gear)
• Precision Screwdrivers
• Magnifying Glass or Goggles

Once you’ve got all that and know your way around using it, you’ll stand a chance of repairing EMP-damaged electronics.

Know that a Spare, Shielded Unit is Usually the Best Insurance Policy

Unfortunately, so much of our modern technology, especially electronic gadgets like smartphones, laptops, PCs, and the countless tiny computers and processors built into other things, are incredibly vulnerable to EMPs.

Vulnerable enough that severe, extensive damage is highly likely in the case of the most powerful EMP events that we are worried about.

This isn’t to say they cannot be repaired, but if you very literally have to replace every single component in the electronics package to make them functional again, have you actually repaired it or just built a new one?

It’s good to have these skills and it’s good to plan on repairing what can be repaired, but if you need critical capability in a hurry after an EMP, the only real practical solution for most preppers is going to be a backup unit.

If you’re smart, you’ll have your devices protected in a Faraday cage waiting for just such an occasion.

That way, once the event is over, you can pop them out, power them up, and get back to work.

Apply the Universal Repair First!

Don’t assume that just because something stops working, especially something that is plugged in, when an EMP occurs that it is destroyed or rendered non-functional.

EMPs are funny things, and even today, with all the speculation and information out there on the internet, civilians still don’t have a really complete, clear picture of how much damage they can really do.

But we do know from actual EMP events and what information has leaked out of sensitive, high-level government testing that some things might just need to be rebooted.

You got that right: unplug it, wait a few minutes, then plug it back into a power source. For things that have an internal battery, power them down and disconnect the battery, wait, then reconnect and try to power up.

You might be pleasantly surprised to find that your gear is still operational! Don’t waste time going through proper diagnostics and repairs that don’t need to happen.

First, Assess EMP-Vulnerable Systems for Damage

Sadly, it seems our electronics didn’t survive the event unscathed, and unplugging it then plugging it back in didn’t work. Now what do you do?

Check the following systems in a logical order, based on ease of access. You are looking for discoloration, swelling, obvious burning, melting, or other signs of damage as appropriate.

Power Supply Units

Power supply units, often called PSUs in electronics shorthand parlance, are responsible for regulating and converting the electricity that flows into a device, whatever it is.

A powerful EMP will certainly cause a damaging or devastating power surge that can burn up diodes, transformers, capacitors, and other components that comprise the PSU.

With luck, this might be the only part that’s damaged depending on its design and construction, and they are usually easy to access on most devices.

Charging Circuit

For modern rechargeable electronics, battery-operated tools, and separate battery chargers, the charging circuit is what manages the actual charging process. No kidding, right?

Once again, the high voltage induction of an EMP will damage individual components in and along the charging circuit. Trace it, and carefully inspect every component for damage or malfunction.

Battery Management System

Any device, be it a phone, other gadget, tool, flashlight, or something else that has an onboard rechargeable battery will use a battery management system to maximize efficiency and handle charging and discharging operations.

Sadly, these systems are incredibly vulnerable to overvoltage and current spiking. Just the sort of problems that EMPs tend to cause in spades!

You’ll need to carefully inspect the battery management system, paying close attention to any integrated circuits.

This can be complicated for novices because it is paramount that any replacement parts be properly configured and rated for safe and reliable function.

Screens

It’s hard to imagine your phone, laptop, or radio doing too much good without the screen, isn’t it? But beyond making the device difficult or impossible to use, a busted screen might actually offline the device.

Driver circuitry or the very screen unit itself can be damaged or destroyed by an EMP. Replacement is possible, but these components require gentle and correct handling, and the attendant soldering and other installation processes can be challenging.

Radios

If you’re dealing with an actual, you know, radio or some gadget that uses a radio for Wi-Fi or other purposes, the amplifier, tuner, and any associated communication ICs might be damaged or fried by the EMP.

These are often fixable with some time and a logical approach with a multimeter.

Wiring

Lastly, don’t neglect wiring. Serious overcharging and high voltage induction will produce a ton of waste heat, enough to melt insulation or even start a fire outright.

Check on all wires and their connections, and be especially thorough: wires inside charging ports, like USBs, will easily weld themselves together should they experience a potent EMP.

Second, Replace Damaged Electronic Components

Once you’ve located and determined critical subsystems are damaged, you’ll need to set about removing and replacing the individual damaged components that make it function.

Depending on the complexity of your device, this can be a small and straightforward job or a laborious test of your patience and your steadiness…

Microprocessors, Microcontrollers, Integrated Circuits

The core components, or brains, if you will, of most digital gadgets and many other electronics these days. Any high current, voltage fluctuation, or other irregularities can disrupt or damage them easily, and a massive one from an EMP can absolutely destroy them.

You’ll need to replace these components with identical ones in many cases, complicating your repairs.

But assuming you can get to them, they can be desoldered easily enough, assuming your tool, eyes, and hands are up to the task: these components can be tiny and incredibly fragile!

Circuit Boards

Circuit boards are the central component of electronic systems, providing housing, mounting points, and interconnectivity for all of the other components and subsystems.

EMPs will damage circuit boards directly by burning out traces or fusing them, preventing function even if the individual components and systems are otherwise okay.

Inspect the circuit board and use a conductive pen or solder jumpers to repair small breaks. Extensively fried circuit boards will probably need to be replaced with identical or equivalent units.

Capacitors

Capacitors basically store and release electrical energy.

Although they are fairly resistant to EMPs much of the time, compared to other components we’ve talked about so far, the ruinous energy of the event can cause them to degrade, resulting in malfunction or a loss of capability, or even burst, causing total circuit failure.

Happily, capacitors are often among the easiest components to identify and replace: if you notice any bulging, drooping, or obvious holes, you’ve got a bad one…

In case of serious damage, the capacitor might have burst entirely! Remove and solder in a new one with the same rating.

Transistors and Diodes

Found in all kinds of electronics, transistors, and diodes can cause circuit failure if the EMP causes them to short-circuit or go open circuit.

Bad ones can be located and isolated using a multimeter and, like capacitors, are fairly easy to desolder and replace by soldering in a fresh, undamaged one of equivalent grade.

Inductors and Transformers

Common components in power supply units and circuits in radios, EMPs might just damage these if you are lucky, impairing but not totally destroying them. Nonetheless, the damage might get worse over time, so don’t neglect to check these.

These will need to be diagnosed with an LCR meter (inductance, capacitance, resistance). You know the drill by now: remove and replace.

Resistors

Resistors control the flow of current in a circuit and in many cases are significantly more robust compared to all of the other individual components we’ve just covered. But of course, they’re still vulnerable to very powerful EMPs, especially if they are a low-wattage type.

A multimeter can help you test a resistor against its known rating, and you should replace as a precaution any that show any indication of degradation after the event. Make sure your replacement part has the same wattage rating.

Consider That Wiped Memory Might Cripple Otherwise Functional Devices

Okay, whew! That took a lot of time, a lot of squinting, and a fair bit of cursing, but we replaced every single busted component and are ready to turn our electronics back on. Right? Right!

So… why isn’t it working? For anything that uses a computer, consider that the memory might have been wiped or corrupted by the EMP! This is just another insidious way that EMPs can deadline our electronics.

Depending on the situation, the individual component, and the device, your replacement parts may or may not have that needed software, drivers, and so forth already preloaded and ready to go. If they aren’t, you might still be dead in the water!

Keeping a secured and shielded flash drive with all such software backed up as part of your EMP preparations is a great idea to protect against just such a scenario.

Fixing Your Car After an EMP

Worryingly, your vehicle is also likely to be affected by an EMP, just like your electronics. Many cars, trucks, and other conveyances rely on electronics for major or minor systems, and the vehicle might malfunction or stop working entirely if these systems are damaged or knocked out.

If your vehicle isn’t running right or won’t start at all after an EMP, consider the following.

Older Cars are Far More Resilient than Newer Ones

No surprise here: vehicles of a certain vintage lack the sophisticated and vulnerable electronics that we are so worried about, and accordingly, they are far more resilient against an EMP’s effects.

Newer vehicles, inversely, are absolutely packed with them and are geometrically more prone to malfunction or damage.

Plan accordingly if you want to maximize EMP readiness.

Disconnect the Battery, Wait, Then Reinstall and Try to Start

Once again, the favorite tech support trick works here too: if your vehicle isn’t running right or just won’t start, disconnect the battery, wait about 5 or 10 minutes, reconnect it, and then try to start it again.

Based on leaked results from government testing at National Labs using very high-power EMP simulations, most cars, even very recent cars, will function after this one simple trick.

If that Fails, Check the Following

Drat. Shutting it off and trying again didn’t work. Here’s a quick rundown of the systems you should check on your vehicle.

Fuses

This is a “d’oh!” moment for sure: don’t go chasing down problems that might not exist before you check all of the fuses in your vehicle. You do have spares, don’t you?

Wiring

Once again, check the wiring everywhere that you can: a short caused by melted insulation might be easy to fix and get your car running again.

ECU

Engine control units are the heart of many modern cars and, as the name suggests, control engine function. You want to swap this out with a new part if at all possible.

TCU

Transmission control units likewise manage gear shifts in automatic transmissions. Sophisticated ones are also vulnerable.

Sensors

Modern cars are packed full of sensors that send information to various systems. A bad sensor might cause poor performance, malfunction, or keep the car from functioning at all. Check them and replace them if they test bad.

Elec. Fuel Injection

Electronic fuel injection systems are great when they work, but most varieties are quite vulnerable to an EMP. If they fail, fuel won’t make it to the engine at all.

Again, Reprogramming Might Be Needed

Just a reminder, if you do manage to replace damaged computers on newer cars, corrupted or erased software might prevent the car from running in some cases.