Anyone done much electronics Soldering?

Matt-Page

Matt-Page

Matt-Page

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Joined
23 Nov 2004
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Not really sure where to put this.....

The volume control on my headunit in my car died :( I had another, exaclty the same which had died a couple of years ago. I decided to see if I could swap over the broken component.

So I stripped the current one down and found the broken bit. the only way of swapping over the broken bit was to remove it from the circuit board. The volume control piece looks like this: http://thumbs3.ebaystatic.com/m/mCdinBRRB-XGJZlh-b1I4Kw/140.jpg

So I bougt a soldering iorn, de-solder plunger, flux and some solder. I removed the volume control from both by heating the solder up and then using the plunger to suck the melted solder away. After I'd done this I made sure all residue solder was removed and the joint was clean.

I then went to solder the working volume controller onto the new one, before starting I put flux on the components, circuit board and cleaned the iorn with it. I then put a small piece of solder onto the tip or the iorn. I then used the conventional way of soldering the component onto the circuit board ensuring excess flux was removed. All of the joins had been done (I thought perfectly) and had a nice round join with no excess solder, etc.

I left it for a few minutes, re-assembled the head unit and tested. It worked perfectly! Feeling quite pleased with myself I put all the car interior bits back on and bolted the head unit in place. Tested again and all fine.

However, today! :mad: I went to go to work, put some music on and decided to turn it up a bit to find it now not working
FFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!

What have I, or could I have done wrong? Considering it was working but overnight died again. Anything I'm missing from my soldering technique? I haven't taken it apart and checked the joints yet, tbh I was ready to put my first through it. :D
 
Yeah if that one's dead too it sounds like something is killing them. You'll have to decide if it's worth persevering to fix to problem or to buy another unit I guess.
 
The volume controller worked fine in the other head unit before I swapped it over. It's a double din Sony WX-C570R, nothing special but I can't really afford to go buying a new one. Does my method for soldering sound ok, or have I missed something?
 
That picture looks like a rotary encoder to me, they're easy enough to solder and not very expensive.

Check for excess flux around your solder joints, and try and clean it off if you find any.
 
MikeHunt79 said:
That picture looks like a rotary encoder to me, they're easy enough to solder and not very expensive.

Check for excess flux around your solder joints, and try and clean it off if you find any.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mike, so with the flux is it a case of putting it on, then wiping away with a paper towel? I did leave it on there for a bit and run the iorn through it a couple of times to melt if before wiping away.

Yes is is a rotary switch. There are 2 big solder joints at the side and then 3 small ones below it.

So annoying, get that sense of achievement of fixing something yourself, al put back nicely then the next time you come to use it.... FFFUUUUUUUU!!!!

SO annoying! I'll investigate the joints tonight and look for obvious cracks, etc. I'll try de-soldering and then soldering if all else fails. If still wont work I might smash them both up with a crowbar and then set fire to them :D
 
I'm gonna re-attempt this after work, quick question, how long are you meant to leave solder joints before I can re-assumble the head unit? Last time I left it 15-20 mins, it that long enough?
 
Its not the flux that's the problem flux is non conductive, and most are no-clean fluxes. As for leaving it, a few seconds is enough! Enough for it to cool down and solidify. You may have left the iron on the components for toolong and damaged the part. The secret is applying solder and iron just long enough. What iron are you using?
 
We never leave components to cool, they shouldnt be getting that hot, split second is all it takes to make a joint, if you find you need seconds something isnt right.
I wouldnt have thought you would need extra flux as well, unless you bought plain solder.
 
Well I stripped it down last night, removed all solder, cleaned board with flux and then cotton buds.

I then re-soldered and cleaned away any excess flux at the end. Put it back together after an hour and it seemed to be fine last night. Not tried it again today as the b**** car decided to leak all of its water out of the rad, so now something else to fix :rolleyes:

It never ****** ends! :mad:
 
You don't normaly need extra flux when soldering through hole componets since the solder itself should be flux cored.

EDIT: As robj20 said.
 
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