First time solder attempt... broken laptop motherboard

[jackvdbuk]

Hi,

thought i would give my go at soldering...broken dc jack on a asus laptop - common fault.

much more difficult than i planned, solder would not move off the jack and wiggled it a little too much and now have broken the corner of the motherboard...

is this salvageable? im hoping that corner thats broken off is just a brace for the socket and so may be able to be glued or stuck back on?

its an Asus x53 e motherboard, i believe the only power connection is directly behind the port .





what do you guys think... any chance?

[peterb]

Difficult to tell, but if there were no other components on the broken bit, you might try using a generous helping of areal diet to glue it back in position, making sure that ant mounting surfaces are flat. If there are connections to the jack socket on that bit, you may be able to bypass them with a short piece of wire. You could glue the jack socket to the board, but that is a bit of a one way ticket if it fails again because it would be hard to remove. Soldering is a skill that takes some practice to master! Desoldering is harder because it is easy to overheat surrounding components. For soldering you need to go in hot and quick, with a tinned bit heating the joint to be soldered, and applying solder to the joint, not the bit. The introduction of lead free solders has made soldering harder than it used to be with lead/tin alloys.

How effective a repair would be depends on the nature of the break, and your skill of hand in fixing it.

TL:dr. Yes, it probably is repairable with some care and skill, depending on how it has broken.

Shorter - worth giving it a go rather than junking the board!

[jackvdbuk]

thanks for the advice peter, but with my rubbish soldering iron and my skill of soldering... im going to retire from a 3rd attempt after today

[g8ina]

Im happy to give it a go if you want to post it to me ?

[jackvdbuk]

That is a very nice offer and if you are sure pm me your address.. would be very appreciated

do you have to spend a large amount for a decent soldering iron? the one i do have doest seem to hold its heat at all very well...could again be user error though!

[GoNz0]

You need to use a hot air kit to remove sockets without trashing the board, that was your 1st mistake. I did this for a living a few years back and do it for friends and family at the moment, If you want it fixing with a bit more than "give it a go" (no disrespect David) let me know and I will do mates rates as you are a Hexite. It will probably be a final fix as I doubt it would be fixable a 2nd time as it may need resin to give it support.

[GoNz0]

And FYI you do not need to spend a fortune for DIY jobs http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-in1-SMD-...item43c8866f8e

[g8ina]

I'll let Gonzo take it, I dont have hot air reflow kit, just a good soldering iron.....

[jackvdbuk]

And FYI you do not need to spend a fortune for DIY jobs http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-in1-SMD-...item43c8866f8e

Ok well i spent 12 quid on a variable solder iron....

[GoNz0]

trouble is with more than 2 pins you try and remove what you can with braid and a desolder pump but it never will break the links leaving you chasing the pins round the board and you had the worst case happen, m8 of mine tried to do his boss a favor and had a crack, they both spent an hour tugging and pulling until the iron was on max, then sent it to me so I emailed him 30 mins after it arrived with a picture of it on and charging

hot air FTW!

replying to your PM now m8.