What kind of soldering iron is it required to replace a DC jack

I have a broken Latitude D600 power jack, I tested a charger battery from a Inspiron 600m and the D600 powered ON, so I checked online and found out I can replace the DC barrel connector, but it would require disassembling almost the whole computer, my dad have a soldering iron but I'm unsure it it would work + I don't have soldering experience.

I will post later a pic of the soldering tool.

Is it any hard to do it?

 

Practice on something first, I just use a radio shack iron, I got a new tip not that long ago for finishing my arcade project.

Wont hurt to go to google and look up a few soldering tutorials, the difference between bad technique and good technique is 1000x more important than the actual iron.

From Custom Arcade Control Panel

One of my old dreamcast controllers

 

Almost any soldering iron will work. The most important thing is to clean the thing you're soldering with something like flux so the solder can actually stick to it. Technique is also very important.

 

Practicing is a good idea, but I strongly recommend you take it to a qualified repair shop. Your laptop may not be the best way to try out your new found soldering skills.

 

Sure it is! put some faith on the line

Most soldering is not catastrophic even if you mess up, just dont be trying to mod your OP amps on your sound card, that one was a bit over my head when the tip of my iron is larger than the whole chip and it has like 8 legs.

 

Well I have a dead PS2 motherboard, thanks for the info so far. I could take a look at online tutorials and practice until I get to grips on how to solder. I'm still with questions in how replacing the jack is done. The laptop is not mine is from a former class-mate from college, but I have not heard from him in case he considered the idea of repairing the broken DC jack.

 

Yeah, ya might want to let him make the call on that one. lol

 

Make sure you get an iron which is at least 40 watts. A 65 watt iron will make quick use for soldering a PCB. Usually 40 watts is not enough, but it will work. It just takes a long time to heat the solder up.

If your new to soldering, test it out on something junky as others mentioned, so that you gain skill and confidence with it.

Also make sure you have a magnifying glass and a meter on hand for when you are soldering. That way you can check contacts visually and electrically.

K-TRON

 

Im surprised you would recommend a 40+ watt one. Typically they say 25 for surface mount components but I guess you do need more power if you were to solder a power jack (assuming its through hole)

One of the concerns I would have is lifted traces especially at the point of breakage. That would make the repair much harder but I guess you can always just follow the trace and make a wire bridge.

 

OK Thanks for the suggestions, I'd start taking a look at the soldering specs just to be sure.

 

If you're doing the repair, let us know how it turns out.

Good luck and have fun.

 

I checked the solder iron specs, and are as follows:

140/100W
1.1/0.79A
127V ~ 60 Hz

I've read a 25W is recommended, so it seems this one is 100W * 0.79 = 79 W ??

 

No, that solder iron is either 140 watts or 100 watts. The .79 you're looking at is the ammount of "amps" it consumes at the 100 watt setting. When at the 140 watt setting it consumes 1.1 amps.

 

So it looks 100W is a lot of power to be welding a sensitive electronic device so I think it's useless to solder the jack eh?

 

um...the higher wattage, the better, usually.

The better sodlering irons should cutoff the heat once it reaches a specific temperature. They're temperature controled and is very good for solder/desoldering things.

 

I just had replaced the DC jack by some dude who knows soldering, replaced the jack, I reassembled the laptop, but bad news, IT DOES NOT POWER UP or shows any sign of life because no LED is ON.

I don't know, I'm aware the Dell D600 machines are prone to have this kind of issues, but the machine works with battery power (although I've not checked with the new DC jack), it makes me wonder why the heck that didn't did the trick.

Could anyone tell me what could I do to make sure the motherboard could work again with DC poweR?

 

why did you replace the jack?
couldn't you have just re-used the original jack?

 

When my brother's failed, it was actually broken, and not just unsoldered.

 

ok, I see.

I don't think this is a problem with the AC anymore.
Take apart the notebook and re-seat everything. check all of the connections.
While you're at it, disconnect the CMOS battery to reset the BIOS.

 

The hardest part is almost getting at the damn power jack to start with. You have to take almost the entire notebook apart usually cuz u need access to the bottom of the motherboard. Lots of work.

 

Yep, I know lots of work to get to the motherboard, what pisses me off is the fact that already with the DC replaced it still won't charge or power up, no LEDS or anything.
I've been deciding taking everytime apart again and check with a voltimeter if there's current reaching to the motherboard when the AC is connected, although I don't have one I have a friend that could do that.
But anyways I'm about to be totally discouraged by this project.

 

I think you have done this, but did you try to replace the charger?

 

The charger is fine, I have a 600m from a relative, tested the D600 with both chargers and didn't work. Both chargers work in the 600m. I'm starting to think there's something broken internally on the PCB board, not the DC jack but something that transfer the voltage to all the laptop components. With a charged battery it works just OK.

 

Ok have you tested the DC jack? (I mean, you probably didn't use a new one , so it might be the source of problem) also test if any of motherboard comonents is burned (It might be also one of the reasons for this problem)

 

Yes, I ordered a new DC jack from dcpowejacks.net, still the laptop would not power on AC adapter power. Is there a 'scientific' way to test the motherboard or to pinpoint where may the problem be?

 

If you can, follow the big traces from the connector. If you unplugged the old power jack and plugged in a new one, you should check the solder joints on the connector itself. If you wiggle it, try to make sure the pads have not lifted. Often you can follow the traces on the board to a surface mount fuse that you can test with a multimeter.

 

Assuming no one else has suggested it, but using as fine a soldering tip as possible will help. When dealing with the motherboard, you want as close to a surgeon's precision as possible. You might be trying to save money by doing it yourself, but if you slip you could end up costing yourself so much more.

[link back to website not allowed]

 

All you guys are forgetting one crucial element, To use a DC solder iron, no an AC. have any of you guys, ever made one a DC soldering iron, or converted an AC soldering Iron to a DC. I got an old HP Pavillion zv5000. With the DC receptical prong being loose. I had an old 12 DC soldering iron I used that I got back in Radio Shack years ago, the size of an obese pen, very compact, this thing had a very small head. This would make the perfect job for the repair. cause even though I took the back off, I only have a centemeter or 1/4 inch of space to make the repair. otherwise, I have to take 4 hours to completely de-assemble the hole laptop. I was thinking of even drilling from the top of the laptop, and then caping the hole, but I am not sure if there are board wires there.

Does anyone know how to make a dc iron so small, or know where I can buy one. or can I convert an AC to a DC

thanks
spock ears

 

completely taking the laptop apart is somehow futile. You can try modifying a new jack from the battery terminals, this is very tricky but possible, or drill a hole on the top of the laptop, to get to the soldering terminals (caution motherboard wires etc. By the way, have you checked to see if you got power in your adapter, get a 20 volt DC volt meter, and check the output voltage on your adapter

 

I returned the laptop to the original owner, the adapter was working fine because I tested it on a Inspiron 600m. I'm not sure what went wrong, I did not test with multimeter but the laptop remained in the same condition as when it had the old jack, it still powers on in DC power but no power with the adapter, maybe some kind of failure on the motherboard that prevented from getting the power distributed.
I have never had an issue with loose power jacks on Thinkpads, that's why I don't buy any other brand.