# Need help with soldering a dc power jack...



## Bercana (Aug 23, 2007)

Okay, I had to replace my dc power jack on my laptop a couple months ago but I rushed into it and apparently I did a loose soldering job and I need to re-do it. This time I did research and talked to a lot of people. I used the right materilas this time around to remove the solder (the copper wick and syringe with a release switch) Everything went great until I accidently pulled the plating off of the main board around the hole for the pin on the power jack. Now there is no metal pad on the board surrounding that pin. I'm assuming if I simply solder it it will not work anyways. But I did try it and the solder runs straight down the hole and doesn't attach the pin at all. Is there anyway to repair or replace the contact to the board? Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## leroys1000 (Aug 16, 2007)

There shuld be some of the trace left on the board where it came off.
You will need to carefully scrape the insulating coating off it
until the copper shows.
Then solder a short copper wire from where you scaped the trace
to the pin.
Make sure you are using rosin core solder as it clears the oxidation
from the solder point for a better bond.


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## Bercana (Aug 23, 2007)

The hole for the pin is a small narrow oval (the actual pin is flat) and it's hard to see it clearly. Is there an easy way to tell if I have scraped enough to get to the copper? I'm not sure what you mean by insulation also. Is that the green area on the board? If I can solder the copper wire from the copper in the board to the pin then can't I just solder the pin to in the hole with the copper in the board exposed?

I have also been using the resin core solder. I would send some pictures but I don't have the laptop taken apart right now. Thank you for your help.


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## leroys1000 (Aug 16, 2007)

Yes,the insulatin is the coating on the board.
It insulates the traces.
You need clean copper to solder to.
If the end of the broken trace is close enigh to the pin,
you can probably bridge the connection with solder,
but a peice of wire has less of a chance of breaking later.


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## Bercana (Aug 23, 2007)

Is there a good tool I could use to scrape away at the insulation? Do you think it would be better to solder the copper wire at the edge where the pin will be or directly on the board a little away from the actual pin?


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## leroys1000 (Aug 16, 2007)

Carefully scaping it with a small pocket knife should work.
The wire actually needs to be soldered at the pin and the board.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

You want to solder it on a solid part of the trace and then connect the wire to the pin. Don't try to solder it on the very edge, scrape the insulation off a flat surface big enough to get a good solder joint.

If you're lifting the traces, you're using an iron with too much heat.


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## Frank4d (Sep 10, 2006)

A photo would be helpful to see what you are faced with fixing.


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## Bercana (Aug 23, 2007)

I have another question. The dc power jack has a total of six pins to solder. Four of the six appear to connect to the same trace. The dark green area forms a "u" shape which seems to connect the four pins. Can I scrape away insulation in one spot to solder all four pins? Like if the copper wire starts thick and seperates into four wires.


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## Bercana (Aug 23, 2007)

I will try to get a good picture of the situation.


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## K7M (Feb 27, 2000)

this site has a pretty good guide on how to replace the jack. 
www.fixmyjack.com


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

The four that are the same are the shell that is basically used for support, they're not working electrical connections.


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## Bercana (Aug 23, 2007)

JohnWill said:


> The four that are the same are the shell that is basically used for support, they're not working electrical connections.


So can I simply solder the four pins as usual just for support as you say and then solder the remaining two pins with the copper wire?


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Well, the four pins that are common should all be secured to the board, they're primarily for structural support. I'm assuming this is the standard two conductor jack with a pin and sleeve connector, right?


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