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Old 05-07-05, 12:28 PM   #11
razirbel
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Join Date: May 2005
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Posts: 1
Soldering

Thanks to this thread for help diagnosing the problem, and displaying how to fix the relay without blowing a wad on an overpriced new one. I'd like to add that the reason the old solder joints most likely failed is due to the thickness of the connector prongs that the printed circuit board needed to connect to. You need alot of heat in order to get those pins hot enough to accept solder wicking. We have a nice HAKO adjustable soldering iron here, i cranked it all the way up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit in order to get the prongs hot enough to accept solder. Just don't leave the iron on too long, or you could melt some plastic or cause a trace to come off the pcb (you'd have to really have it on a long time to damage something though). So, just make sure you hold the solder tip against the pins and the circuit board, and don't just melt the solder on the printed circuit board, or chances are, you'll have the same problem again. (It's fairly easy to notice when the solder doesn't adhere to the pins, in a previous photo on this thread, you could see where the solder kind of mounds up, and there's a slight crater with the prong in the middle. A good solder joint will not have the crater, because the pin will be hot enough for the solder to stick to it, should be nice and smooth).
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