Solder won't stick to circuit board... Is there anyway to fix it?

Question

I just started soldering and I've been attempting to stick solder on wires to the circuit board for an embarrassingly long time. The part of the board got burnt... Is it fixable or just plain RIP?

Answer 1

You mention it is burnt. The copper oxidizes easily and solder won't tin the oxide, and there may be a conformal coating. Scraping the crap away with steel wool or (better) Scotchbrite will get you going. If any of the traces are lifted or burned away trim them and scrape the areas near the ends clean, then solder wires across where the traces were. Use a toothpick or other simple tool to hold the wires against the copper when soldering them.

Answer 2

Hi so flux is needed swell as lots of heat.

Answer 3

Inexpensive tips can become annealed after use and will not conduct heat as well.

Answer 4

What kind of flux are you using? if you burned the circuit board you may still be able to run a jumper wire across the burnt area. Are you using rosin core solder or acid core solder?

Answer 5

You need to clean the terminal you're trying to solder to. Solder won't stick to a dirty or corroded surface. If your printed circuit board was burned, it's possible that the part of the circuit that you're trying to connect may be gone.

Answer 6

Are you preheating it before you try to get the solder to stick to it?

Answer 7

If the track is pulled off the board then you won't solder to it.



Don't use plumbers solder or flux, electrical solder contains flux. However, this flux will boil off if you keep reheating the joint.



I recommend using a desolder pump or wick to remove any solder already on the job then start again with fresh solder and a clean, tinned tip on your iron.



If the track is damaged, your only hope of repair is to solder a piece of wire to the pin of the component then trace the track to the next component on it and solder the other end of the wire to that connection.



However, you would be well advised to practice on an old PCB before you do any more damage.



If you have a technical college nearby, one of the students will probably fix it for a pint.

Answer 8

The part needs to be clean. You need to use resin flux and ribbon solder for electronics. You can buy solder wire with flux cores which most people use. Solder on it's own won't work and dirt or grease is a no no.

Answer 9

Clean any doubtful pcb with Jiff & a clean cloth, rinse off & dry carefully. Try not to touch the tracks with oily sweaty fingers.

Use a quality resin cored solder, depending on the work you're doing 1 to 2 mm dia. If you can get it get 60:40 tin lead - it is easier to use than the new non lead solder Btu be aware of the fumes.

Use a small 15 - 30 Watt iron preferably temperature controlled with a small chisel tip.Wipe the tip on a wet sponge each time you go to use it. The tip should look shiny with molten solder. If not clean it with fine sand papaer, turn it on & touch the solder t i t to cover the tip with molten solder (called tinning it)

Press the tip against the component lead & the pcb for about a second then touch the point of contact with the solder.

If you have already damaged the board but still know where the component connected to it is possible to bridge the gap with fine wire (component lead offcut)

Answer 10

Are you using flux?



Is the bit clean?



Have you sanded down the contacts?