this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2025
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Soldering

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looking for advice (lemmy.ca)
submitted 5 days ago by skankhunt42@lemmy.ca to c/soldering@lemmy.ca
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So, I'm pretty new at soldering and I'm looking for some advice on how to not ruin a via while removing solder...

I was trying to remove the solder from a original Xbox 1.0 motherboard and I burnt the shit out of a via and caused issues with several others.

https://lemmy.ca/pictrs/image/d2d4a90b-aab2-4521-9cbb-25e3cd305ae7.jpeg

I was able to fix it and everything is working but I want to do better.

https://lemmy.ca/pictrs/image/b2d04556-025e-404d-940d-886247cdb97c.jpeg

I used a pointed tip, flux, and added some of my own solder to the via. I then cleaned, added new flux, and used solder wick to remove the solder. Some points, would NOT melt at all. I kept increasing the temp to 430°c and it finally melted and took everything with it.

Now, I know I fucked up and used too much heat. I probably should have used my rework station and a solder sucker but I JUST got the rework station and didn't want to popcorn the OG Xbox board... The solder wouldn't stay melted long enough from my iron for the sucker to work so I used wick.

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[–] Romkslrqusz@lemm.ee 5 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (3 children)

First, preheating the work area is important to prevent thermal energy from being soaked away. Board preheaters are helpful for thick boards (GPUs, PS5, etc). You can use a hot air station if you have one, or even a heat gun if you’re very careful and keep your distance.

Electronics are assembled with lead-free solder, which has a higher melting point. Add in some leaded solder and you’ll have a much easier time.

Get yourself a chisel tip or knife point. The wider surface area you can put in contact with the piece will transfer heat more effectively.

[–] skankhunt42@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 days ago (2 children)

A chisel tip is good for small vias?

What about lowmelt? I've seen videos and it just gets all over everything.

I've ordered a couple practice board, I'm going to try to replicate my mistake (burn the pad off) then preheat the board and try a few different things to see what works best. I'll order some leaded solder too, thank you!

[–] Romkslrqusz@lemm.ee 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

A tip with wide surface area is good for quick transfer of heat to the piece. It avoids the situation where you’re sitting there with the iron in prolonged contact while the temperature of surrounding areas / adhesives steadily increases while the solder doesn’t wet.

Low melt can be helpful, I recommend against using it for anything where a mechanical mount is needed (HDMI, DC Jacks, USB Receptacles, etc) or for high temperature applications (e.g automotive) Once the bismuth is bound to a pad it’s almost impossible to get off without sanding/grinding, it permanently reduces the melting point in that area and increases the chance of losing that mechanical bond.

In case it wasn’t clear, the advice I outlined is to prevent burning the pad off in the first place. Once you’ve damaged pads / traces / vias you’re in restoration / workaround territory.

[–] skankhunt42@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 days ago

I understand, thank you.

The reason I burned the via was because I couldn't get the old solder out and didn't know how to do it safely. Sounds like the solution is to pre-heat the board, use leaded solder, and try a larger/different tip.

What I shouldn't do is use low melt or just keep increasing the temperature.