How can I electrically isolate a PCB from a heat sink?

I have a set of LED driving lights for motorcycle that must be wired through a ground-leg pulse width modulation dimmer. The problem is the mounting bracket for the lights is grounded, so the lamp shorts to ground through the motorcycle chassis and the PWM dimmer cant dim the lamps. How do I handle this problem?
  • Use Kapton tape
  • Use Sil-pad and shoulder washer. If you use a sil-pad the screw will still electrically connect the componet tab with the heat sink, soashoulder washer should be used to isolate the screw and the tab.

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Oliver Smith

Oliver is an experienced electronics engineer skilled in PCB design, analog circuits, embedded systems, and prototyping. His deep knowledge spans schematic capture, firmware coding, simulation, layout, testing, and troubleshooting. Oliver excels at taking projects from concept to mass production using his electrical design talents and mechanical aptitude.
Picture of Oliver Smith

Oliver Smith

Oliver is an experienced electronics engineer skilled in PCB design, analog circuits, embedded systems, and prototyping. His deep knowledge spans schematic capture, firmware coding, simulation, layout, testing, and troubleshooting. Oliver excels at taking projects from concept to mass production using his electrical design talents and mechanical aptitude.

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What are the black spots in lead-free solder joints on PCB?

I am prototyping a PCB, using Chip Quik’s “SMDSWLF.031, a Sn96.5/ Ag3.0/ Cu0.5 solder with 2.2% no-clean flux. I find that the black spots appears frequently in larger pads on my board. I wonder if it is because I left the soldering iron more time heating the solder and that burnt the flux. What is that black residue? Is that a sign of a bad joint or maybe bad soldering technique?

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