soldering a smd 30 pin connector question

[joey]

hi im going to attempt a repair on a imac the internal 30 pin display connector is broken




i have a new connector ready to be soldered on but i have had experience with soldering a new connector on a imac in the past the trouble i had was some of the board solder pads on the board as they were tiny & would not take the solder even with flux and 1 of the small pad on pcd came off ( prob due to too much heat on the soldering iron)

my question is instead of useing a soldering iron this would it be best to use a hot air station with flux paist instead? also i dont want to risk lifting the pcb pads again so what heat setting would you say is safest to use.

any tips or help would be gratfull

[Uranium-235]

Re: soldering a smd 30 pin connector question

saw this a long time ago, should help you in your case (started at 0.5mm pitch, but you can view the whole video if you want, lots of tips...not solder tips, though there are a few of those)

get those pins off and be sure to CLEAN the surface as much as you can (with wick) before doing this (at ~300-350)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9FC9fAlfQE&t=19m18s

oh yeah, make sure your iron is about 300-350 (mentioned later in the video)

it also shows you how to use solder paste at 26 mins

[popeye]

Re: soldering a smd 30 pin connector question

hotair and paste is the way to go but watch the videos in above post first.

popeye

[joey]

Re: soldering a smd 30 pin connector question

thanks guys very helpfull video he makes it looks so easy.

i still cant get the 30 legs of the connector to solder to the 30 pcb pads.

ok just wanted to explain my steps.

removed old connector and broken pins.
removed old solder by useing a solder wick
clean area with Isopropyl alcohol

i lined connector up so all perfect
solder 2 ground pads either side so connector dont move while useing hot air station.

i used my hot air station and some good quality flux. heated my hot air station to 350 and flux melted and then checked pins but pins on connector not soldered to the pcb pads.


2nd time i tryed it again this time i used solder paist but same resault refuse to solder to the pcb.

i seems that the new connector pins just will just not solder to the small silver pads on the pcb.


3rd try i removed the connector completely wicked and cleaned all pcb pads again and put a bit of solder on my iron tip and went over all the pcb pads so they have a small amount of solder on each.

thats as far as i have got as it was late and wanted some sleep.

if anyone or have any other advice feel free to reply.

[Uranium-235]

Re: soldering a smd 30 pin connector question

I think your third one is right. If they completly cover the pins and don't get on the pads, getting them on the pads will be what to do.

clean the solder off it off, put solder paste over the pads and heat the pads up with your hot air without the connector attached. line the connector up put some light weight on the connectors holding the plastic, then go over it with your hot air again, let the solder re-solidify and it should be done