Trouble with DC Jack Solder

[JuniperSprouts]

Hiya,

I am having difficulty removing a DC jack on an Inspiron 1545 motherboard. I have replaced them before (not this specific model). I just can not seem to get any of my guns hot enough to melt this solder. (I have tried putting melted solder on the points to flow them.)

Can you please point me to equipment that can tackle this super (silver?) solder?

Thanks & apologies for using non-technical terms.


P.S. Please move to the Laptops forum or whichever forum may be more appropriate if I chose the wrong one.

[Koda]

Re: Trouble with DC Jack Solder

Try adding a little flux on the solder points of the DC jack, also tin your iron. Try adding more solder during the removal of teh jack. btw what's the wattage of your iron? 40-60w iron is preferable.

[JuniperSprouts]

Re: Trouble with DC Jack Solder

I have tried adding flux & solder.

I have tried irons of 15W to my strongest 50W(ish). I even took my 125W or 150W gun to the show.

Please help.

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: Trouble with DC Jack Solder

Try this if you have a ( hot air gun .....> see photo below and if you look at the .BMP file you see what tip I used ) you want to keep the hot air gun moving round the part that you are trying to remove do not do this for more a minute at a time you will get the board to hot and you will want the fan speed on high

Also you want to keep the gun at least an inch or two from the board a heat gun is not the same thing if you only have this then have the fan speed on low because you will heat the component very fast and blow them right of the board I had this happen once

NOW you have to be care full not heat the board to hot to make the very very small chips fall of the board while you are using your strongest 50W irons

I have done this on more than two layer boards and it work very well for me in the past
I had to this on a Xbox 360 mother board I had to recap

I could not get some of the caps off this board even with my De-soldiering gun set at 900* F it would not melt the soldier enough with out using the hot air gun which what was need to the job

[Koda]

Re: Trouble with DC Jack Solder

maybe the solder is heavily corroded, you can also try scraping off the corroded surface with fine sandpaper or file and then bring your iron and some flux to it. Other then that IDK what I would do with it...

[Jack Crow]

Re: Trouble with DC Jack Solder

Guys
At the 'day job' we have to deal with ROHOS solder.
The only way to make the standard stuff deal well with the new stuff is to remove as much of the new as possible and re flow the joint with the old.

When they mix, the joint looks like crap.

Solder comes in various 'hardness', it would make sense that a high stress part like a power jack would have a hard / high temp solder on it.
That kind of stuff can also trash the copper to circuit board bond, so some care needs to be used.

Share a thought.
Jack Crow

[Peter9DO]

Re: Trouble with DC Jack Solder

I have ran into this problem in the past. I put it on my BGA welder's heat plate and preheated it, threw some flux on it and it came off with no problem. Make sure you are using flux! I use a knock off Amtech (I'd rather not talk about it) that still does it's job well. Also, if your still having problems add more solder and you can suck it out with your desoldering pump or wick it (wick it into shape, shape it up, there's no time, to wick it, wick it good). Jack is correct about ROHS solder it does melt at a higher temp. So it can be a pain, you have to be carefull that you don't damage the copper.

[LDSisHere]

Re: Trouble with DC Jack Solder

All this has already been mentioned but I do not think it can be emphasized enough. If you are not using something like solder wick or a sucker to remove the bulk of the solder, you are fighting a loosing battle. Adding good leaded solder also helps in the removal of the old stuff, sometimes you have to rinse and repeat several times on the same joint if it is large to get the lower levels of lead-free mixed with the leaded. This can be tedious, time consuming and frustrating but you just have to have patience so you do not create a bigger problem. Once you do remove the bulk of the solder, using pliers to straighten any bent leads makes getting it out much easier.

Making sure you have a good tinned tip on your iron also helps in heat transfer. If you do not have a good tip on your iron getting the results you want will be difficult.

You may already do all the above, if not, maybe some of these suggestions will help. Just know you are not the only one that runs into this problem, I do all the time which is why I am glad I have a soldering station so I can vary temperature to match the project. If you are planning on doing a lot of soldering, a good soldering station will make your life much easier, even though that does not help you right now.

[Peter9DO]

Re: Trouble with DC Jack Solder

You may already do all the above, if not, maybe some of these suggestions will help. Just know you are not the only one that runs into this problem, I do all the time which is why I am glad I have a soldering station so I can vary temperature to match the project. If you are planning on doing a lot of soldering, a good soldering station will make your life much easier, even though that does not help you right now.

Could not agree more! They sell a very nice digital soldering station at Radio Shack that I have used for years before I upgraded. I loved that thing! To be honest I still use it from time to time and to tap it off you can use the HAKKO tips for it and they are a dime a dozen on eBay, with a ton of different styles for different projects. Or you can go out and spend a lot more money on a Weller, which if your serious about this business then that would be the way to go off the bat. Here is the link to the Radio Shack soldering station, I didn't pay this much for it when I bought it, I think it was on sale for $69.99 or something like that. Good luck!

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=3132686

[999999999]

Re: Trouble with DC Jack Solder

Solder comes in various 'hardness', it would make sense that a high stress part like a power jack would have a hard / high temp solder on it.
Jack Crow

Harder solder is more brittle and prone to crack, or to tear off the copper on the board. It should be avoided on stress prone sockets/etc. if it weren't for ROHS.