Advice for Dell 19" E198FPf with bad caps

[JagWar]

Hey everyone!

Wanted to ask you for some advice- I took apart a Dell E198FPf and saw it had 2 obviously bloated caps and another debatable one which I'll probably end up replacing anyway. The prob is that I just noticed theres a large stamp on both sides- lead free.

Now I'm somewhat familiar with the environmental push for lead free PCBs and solder etc. but would there be any adverse effects if I used the standard 63/37 solder when replacing the blown caps? I suppose I could go out and buy some lead free but Im more concerned about my tip and what switching to lead free might do.

What side effects would happen if I used 63/37 instead? Or are there any obvious ones?

Cheers!

[ipman]

Re: Advice for Dell 19" E198FPf with bad caps

The 63/37 or 60/40 is way better than lead-free solder. It will produce better connections and last longer just because of the lead contained, which lowers melting temperature and is softer.
Go ahead and solder with 63/37, but before remove the lead free solder first.

[JagWar]

Re: Advice for Dell 19" E198FPf with bad caps

Thanks for the advice!

I went ahead and desoldered the bad caps using regular soldering wick which worked like a charm. then replaced the caps, applied some 63/37, and the monitor works beautifully!

btw to anyone interested- I went and bought some soldering wick for lead free solder but for whatever reason it didn't work as well as regular soldering wick.