Posted: 8/2/2010 8:31:36 PM EDT
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The Wifes laptop has this issue.... Ok, I read this... Anything else that will help me do a better job? Im fine on house wiring. This electronics makes me  |
| I did something similar with a netbook. The thing got so hot, it melted the solder right off the power jack, causing it not to charge. I simply gave it a coat of solder on the lead, and at the bottom of the board. Never thought about replacing the jack entirely. Then again, this one sits directly on the board versus being connected to a wired lead. For just wiring a couple leads to a new jack, if you have any experience with soldering it should be a quick and easy job. |
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It's surprisingly easy.
Don't drink coffee prior to attempting the repair (shaky hands and soldering irons are bad juju). Less is more. It's very difficult to remove solder without semi-specialized tools. Inexperienced solderers often end up with big blobs of solder sitting on top of the joint. The mistake is to not have good solder flow, and to add more solder to compensate. This doesn't work. Solder has to flow into and around the wire. If it isn't flowing you either need flux (uncommon, flux core solder is really good these days) or more heat. You might consider getting some plain braided wire, stripping it and getting it nice and tinned. Get a feel for how the solder flows into the wire, and how you can apply heat at one end of the wire and add solder elsewhere as the heat spreads. |
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Soldering the jacks on laptops can be a bit of a challenge. Lead-free solder, with pins into large ground/vcc planes can suck up a LOT of heat. Ideally, you want a high-wattage, but temperature-controlled iron.
Provided your iron is suitable, I've just heated them up, given them a hit with the solder-sucker, taken the jack out, put a new one in, and soldered it. The biggest problem comes from an iron without enough wattage. Then you sit there practically forever trying to get the part hot enough to melt the lead-free solder, and you end up delaminating the copper, then you're screwed. EDIT: I just read your article... it looks like your jack is just soldered to wires, not to a PCB. That should be even easier. Have fun getting the laptop apart and back together. 
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Quoted:
Soldering the jacks on laptops can be a bit of a challenge. Lead-free solder, with pins into large ground/vcc planes can suck up a LOT of heat. Ideally, you want a high-wattage, but temperature-controlled iron. Provided your iron is suitable, I've just heated them up, given them a hit with the solder-sucker, taken the jack out, put a new one in, and soldered it. The biggest problem comes from an iron without enough wattage. Then you sit there practically forever trying to get the part hot enough to melt the lead-free solder, and you end up delaminating the copper, then you're screwed. EDIT: I just read your article... it looks like your jack is just soldered to wires, not to a PCB. That should be even easier. Have fun getting the laptop apart and back together. Following torn up traces trying to find a good spot to put in a jumper is half the fun. I use hot gas when ever possible, but sometimes you just need to screw up some traces to get the job done right. |
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wtf with the lead free solder?
and conductive epoxy that cures faster than solder cools? really? where can i get that? and a solder gun? oh yeah, works great on even 2m repairs! 
get a cheap pencil iron if this is the only time you are going to do any solder work and 63/37 will be fine as long as the kiddo's keep their mouths of the power jack........ |
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Quoted:
wtf with the lead free solder? and conductive epoxy that cures faster than solder cools? really? where can i get that? and a solder gun? oh yeah, works great on even 2m repairs!
get a cheap pencil iron if this is the only time you are going to do any solder work and 63/37 will be fine as long as the kiddo's keep their mouths of the power jack........ It is the crap that they push lately. I dunno, I guess they are afraid you'll eat it or something  I still have some 50/50 but I keep that locked up in the safe
I think you can still find good solder at hobby/arts/crafts type stores. |
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Heat the big part and let the solder flow....
Don't melt the solder and drip it onto the part. Try soldering on a scrap circuit board or solder a few wires together to get the hang of it first. It's not that hard. I still use 60/40 rosin core tin lead electronics solder. |
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Quoted:
It's surprisingly easy. Don't drink coffee prior to attempting the repair (shaky hands and soldering irons are bad juju). Less is more. It's very difficult to remove solder without semi-specialized tools. Inexperienced solderers often end up with big blobs of solder sitting on top of the joint. The mistake is to not have good solder flow, and to add more solder to compensate. This doesn't work. Solder has to flow into and around the wire. If it isn't flowing you either need flux (uncommon, flux core solder is really good these days) or more heat. You might consider getting some plain braided wire, stripping it and getting it nice and tinned. Get a feel for how the solder flows into the wire, and how you can apply heat at one end of the wire and add solder elsewhere as the heat spreads. yep what he said. practice first would be somthing to consider, unless you have done this before, unlike me, who has made a simple fix the that would be easy for a pro, a rather worthless amplifier. |
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Quoted:
Heat the big part and let the solder flow.... The best "trick" is to: 1. Touch a tiny bit of wire solder to the tip of the soldering iron, 2. Hold the resulting solder-wetted tip against the part to be soldered, 3. Apply a little more wire solder to the now-hot part, and 4. Remove the wire solder and tip as soon as the melted solder flows into the part. The entire process doesn't take more than a second or two. This "trick" works because molten solder is a MUCH better heat conductor than air, and heats up the work must faster than a bare soldering iron tip alone. |
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Practice with some spade lugs and 16 gauge wire. Form the wire end in a half loop and hang it on the lug so both hands are free to hold the iron and the solder. You can wet the wire with solder before working with it on the lug. One key to soldering is a good clean soldering tip. Around 700° is good for general purpose and the tip should be about the size of a dull pencil. Have a small damp sponge handy. As the tip warms up check it with the solder. When solder readily melts it's hot enough. Keep the tip clean by wiping it on the sponge, but keep the tip wetted as well. When you're ready to solder a joint place the tip against both wire and lug if you can. Hold for about 3 sec then feed some solder right at the same spot. If all is well the solder will flow on the lug and the wire. Remove solder and tip, don't move the wire/lug or you could mess up the joint. It will cool off in a few seconds. A good joint will be shiny and won't have excess solder. PM for decent solder if you can't find any. |
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Quoted: Quoted: For just wiring a couple leads to a new jack, if you have any experience with soldering it should be a quick and easy job. 0 <0 None whatsoever. Thats why Im reading and asking. But it did give me a good excuse to go buy a variable power soldering gun.  Soldering is really easy. My dad taught me how to do it when I was about 8. As others have mentioned, get some scrap wire and practice soldering them together. Once you get the hang of it, you can try on the laptop. Go slow, and remember, more is not always better.
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