Think i may have lifted the Solder PAD

[Thunderpup]

Greetings, 

 

So i finally got around to doing the Tsop flash on my OG xbox and when attempting to solder together two of the write points; i think i lifted the solder Pads. 

 

I am looking for a second opinion from more learned individuals though.  

 

If i did lift the pads any advice on what to do to repair the issue?

 

 

[mariushm]

Can't repeat this often enough : USE LIQUID FLUX. LIQUID FLUX. LIQUID FLUX.   You can DROWN the area in liquid flux, you literally can't use too much liquid flux.

 

The solder wire you use has some flux inside it, but for such small soldering jobs additional flux helps.

 

I'm not sure if those pads are gone but they probably are. Follow the traces (wires) going from those pads.

On the left side, you can see the pad would go down to that VIA (that round thing) and then to the trace on the left side of the VIA.

On the right side, you can see the trace goes up to the pad of the resistor R702 above.

 

Get your resistor and if you want, use a very tiny bit of super glue (or some other electronics grade glue) to fix it in position above those missing pads.

Get some thin copper wire (for example, get some high quality network cable and cut a bit of it, then pulls out the 8 wires from the ethernet cable, and strip the insulation from those eight wires, and you'll have thin AWG24 copper wires.

Cut a bit of wire just enough to make the connection between the right solder of R702 and the right side of your resistor. DROWN THE WIRE AND terminals of both resistors in FLUX.  ADD solder... you'll have a connection between those two (the pad of resistor above and the terminal of your resistor)

 

On the left side, get some razor blade or exacto-knife or maybe a tiny screwdriver and CAREFULLY scrape the insulation (the green stuff) over the trace that goes down from that VIA (the round circle). Now cut a small length of copper wire just enough to be placed over a portion of the trace, over the round via and up to where the pad was on the resistor. You want to route wire over the via because you can't be sure how corroded that circle is and if there's proper connection between the trace and the circle and if there's copper through the board to connect the traces on other side to this side... so when you'll introduce solder, you want the liquid solder to flow through the via hole to the other side to strengthen the connection.

So put the wire over and bend it so it touches the three points ... add FLUX then add the solder.

 

Wires should kinda be like this:

 

 

Add extra solder so that it pours down into that via in the middle.

 

You should also reflow the R702 resistor. Add liquid flux to the terminals of the resistor, then bring the soldering iron over the terminals to reflow the solder.

 

 

 

[Thunderpup]

Thanks!

 

Sad thing is i actually do have flux but i didn't think i'd need it to glob solder the two points together.  boy do i have a lot to learn.

 

[Thunderpup]

On 7/6/2017 at 3:04 PM, mariushm said:

-snip-

 

 

 

question, 

 

The picture below shows what the board looked like before i goofed it up.  All i was trying to do was bridge the gap between those two connections.

 

Wouldn't it be easier for me to just solder a wire between the trace below the via directly to the opposite side of the R7D2 resistor?

 

 

 

[mariushm]

I don't understand what you're trying to say and the picture is not usable, it's too small.

[Thunderpup]

3 hours ago, mariushm said:

I don't understand what you're trying to say and the picture is not usable, it's too small.

This sums up what i was originally trying to do.

 

http://www.biline.ca/xbox_solder.htm

[ScottStevens]

Not too big of an issue as you still have access to the via and the other side of the resistor; you're simply closing the circuit to flag something on the board.

I've attached an image of the two points you need to solder. I'd suggest using one of the conductors from an ethernet cable (if you have a broken one somewhere you can salvage for its cables inside). Strip about 1/8" from the ends you plan to solder onto the pads. If you're new to soldering you want to put the wire down, use your soldering iron to hold the wire against the spot you're soldering, and feed a little bit of solder from the SIDE (not directly against the iron but rather against he pad and the wire). Otherwise standard 20 gauge wire will do.

Give it a moment to melt and remove the soldering iron; do not let go of the wire until the solder has solidified.

This should only take about 3 to 5 seconds per solder point. Just remember to never pull on the wire; doing so will risk removing more of the pad!

 

[Thunderpup]

1 hour ago, ScottStevens said:

-snip-

Thanks!

 

I was thinking that would be the best scenario, but i don't think i conveyed it adequately to mariushm.  I am new to soldering and did not think trying to install new pads would be successful. 

 

what diameter solder do you suggest i use?

[ScottStevens]

1 hour ago, Thunderpup said:

Thanks!

 

I was thinking that would be the best scenario, but i don't think i conveyed it adequately to mariushm.  I am new to soldering and did not think trying to install new pads would be successful. 

 

what diameter solder do you suggest i use?

Edit: To be clear the pads you damaged cannot be put back on or replaced. The only option is to solder to the trace or to a via connected to it.

 

Any diameter will work as you should only put enough on to create a joint between the wire and the pad. Once the solder is cool it should be concave in shape; if it looks like a ball it's too much and if it's just a small bit between the wire and pad it's too little. It should also be shiny once cool (if not you likely used too much or have a cold joint which is likely to break).

[Thunderpup]

On 7/8/2017 at 8:16 PM, ScottStevens said:

Edit: To be clear the pads you damaged cannot be put back on or replaced. The only option is to solder to the trace or to a via connected to it.

 

Any diameter will work as you should only put enough on to create a joint between the wire and the pad. Once the solder is cool it should be concave in shape; if it looks like a ball it's too much and if it's just a small bit between the wire and pad it's too little. It should also be shiny once cool (if not you likely used too much or have a cold joint which is likely to break).

i apologize for the late reply, but i was wondering if you could give me some more advice.

I'm having trouble doing what you said as the via is very tiny, like smaller than 30 awg wire tiny.
I've gotten the picture below is the best i've been able to do with 30 awg, but i don't want to work it any more than it is cause that's how i got in trouble in the first place (over working the solder)

 

 

[mariushm]

There's no need to use such a thick wire.

Here's a suggestion ... take some quality stranded ethernet cable or some good ethernet patch cord (cat6 or cat6a cable with connectors already installed from the factory) .. cut one connector and remove the outside insulation to reach the eight wires inside.

Each of those wires will be made from several thin strands of copper wire .. take one of those 8 wires, remove the insulation and you can take a couple or several strands of those thin copper wires and twist them so that you'll have a wire with your desired thickness.

 

Cheap Cat5 and cat5e ethernet cables will often be made from single thick solid core wire, and often that's not even copper, it's aluminum with a thin coat of copper - that won't work, you want the copper strands.

 

Next you get a razor blade or something very sharp and carefully scrape away the thin layer of coating (paint, varnish, whatever) over the copper trace going out from that via and then you put your new wire in such a way that a part of the wire is over the trace and a part of the wire is over the via.

Now the critical part is that you NEED liquid flux.. both the wire and the exposed trace and the via must be under some liquid flux. The flux inside the solder wire won't be enough.  You clean your solder iron tip and you put a blob  of solder on the tip of your iron and as you do this the flux inside the solder will evaporate, will be burnt by the solder tip, so that's why you need liquid flux on the board.

As you slowly bring the iron tip with the solder over the via and trace with the flux, the flux will heat up and start to do it's job, it becomes acid and attacks the oxides that have already formed over the copper and trace surface and the acid will remove the oxides making it possible for the solder on the tip to "stick" to the two metal surfaces, gluing the wire to the trace and the via.

So carefully drag the solder iron tip over the via and over the length of the wire which is over the exposed trace, and the solder should stick the wire to the trace.

You don't have to press the iron tip on the traces or pads, that's how you break traces. Pressure plus too much heat causes traces to break off.

[Thunderpup]

5 hours ago, mariushm said:

 

Now the critical part is that you NEED liquid flux.. 

 

Will flux paste not work? That's what i've been using.