Brave Firefighters dead :(

IDCHAPPY

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bizarre
 

strykr

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Deathrow said:
There are hundreds of little solder balls under the chip.
As the chip gets hot it causes the pcb around it to flex. Over time with contractions and expansion the solder starts to crack and fail.

Best repair is a re-ball with leaded solder. (£60-70 at a laptop repair shop)

I have seen similar with ps3 and xbox machines. It is possible to reflow the solder but its only a temp repair.

The chip should still be ok as long as you don't touch the underside with your hands.

So its not just a case of soldering it back on? Whats a re-ball with leaded solder ? (please excuse my tech ignorance
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Deathrow

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adebov said:
IDCHAPPY said:
So it's soldered on to the mobo but falls off due to heat and movement?
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Didn't some versions of the Xbox360 suffer a similar problem?

360 is a pain for it. They dont fall off but do wreck the solder as some EU twit said they are not allowed leaded solder in machines children will use. The tin solder fatigues real fast!

Deathrow2013-09-29 21:56:28
 

adebov

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I hate unleaded solder (too hard to tell the difference between a good joint and a dry joint - at least with leaded solder a good soldered joint is nice 'n' shiny) - apart from it not melting so easily, not flowing properly and generally being a bit sh*te!
Just bought a reel of old school leaded solder so lead poisoning here we come
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adebov2013-09-29 21:58:56
 

Alpha1

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Yeah totally gutted about this. It is a very cool (and pretty damn rare) game.

I think I am going to just part it out..

I know a few collectors that could probably take the entire game, so i'll offer it to them as spares for there one.

and I will probably keep the rom board.

Poop.
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strykr

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Shame you have to part it out oll. But if it keeps other cabs going then its not all bad I guess.

Ironic really that a lot of 20 year old boards are going strong but PC based ones are crapping out after a few years, bit like tft tvs, short term profiteering, part of our modern landfill culture I guess.
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grobda

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if its BER to get it reballed you could always try the heatgun reflow method a la xbox/ps3/laptop.

only as a last resort/shot to nothing ofc.

my heatgunned laptop is still going strong after 6 months. (warranty for reballed stuff is 3 months according to a self-professed professional reballer).

some think heatgunning is the devils work (like aforementioned self-professed professional reballer).

/dons flameproof jacket.
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mathj

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grobda said:
if its BER to get it reballed you could always try the heatgun reflow method a la xbox/ps3/laptop.

only as a last resort/shot to nothing ofc.

my heatgunned laptop is still going strong after 6 months. (warranty for reballed stuff is 3 months according to a self-professed professional reballer).

some think heatgunning is the devils work (like aforementioned self-professed professional reballer).

/dons flameproof jacket.
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i just fixed a laptop with a dodgy gpu using the same heatgun/paintstripper gun method, hope it holds out
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but i think if the chip has actually fallen off the board i think its past the heat gun fix

math
 

grobda

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mathj said:
but i think if the chip has actually fallen off the board i think its past the heat gun fix

yeah you're probably right, wouldn't stop me trying though
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theoretically what works for a couple of dry joints could work for a couple of hundred.

BGA chips and tin/copper solder have a lot to answer for, but isn't something like hikaru old enough to be a lead/tin mix? just might make it easier.

as im somewhat a novice and have more enthusiasm than knowledge (which I know gets on some peoples tits at times) so I read wikipedia, which counts as in-depth research as far as im concerned;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rework_(electronics)#Reflowing_and_reballing

so basically you can have the pro-job done (3 month warranty on a notoriously unreliable process even when done on a factory assembly line)

or you can do it DIY, which is basically the same thing but with in less controlled circumstances.

both involve heating the device to the melting point of the solder and both can shorten the life of the device.

having witnessed the care and dedication of certain 'professionals' in various trades i'm reasonably happy to take the careful amateur approach.
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refined as far as I can. I did use a method of preheating to lessen thermal shock by using a vac-former oven (sounds like a hatching device for new arcade enthusiasts
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) to raise the whole board to ~60c before I heatgunned the affected IC.

one of these; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_thermometer could make the amateur process a bit more controlled i guess.

anyway its an interesting thing to learn about, and I consider myself marginally more learned on the matter than Joe Public now. The phrase 'a little knowledge is a dangerous thing' comes to mind.
 

Deathrow

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People offering a three month warranty for re-balling as per ebay xbox repairs etc are just heat gunning them. Its a con.
I have seen a re-balling service for £18.99. Behave!

There is console repair copmany on ebay that I know for sure is just a spotty oink kid with a heat gun charging for full service re-ball work. Little fecker
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A decent re-ball with leaded solder at a reputable company should come with a 12 month warranty.

I too dabble with heat guns here and there, Provided the board is pre heated and supported evenly a heat gun isnt all bad. A bot dodgy maybe but I have saved a few PS3 consoles this way. I have even re-balled using a heat gun when my Infa-red went tits up. That was fun!

I would try to save it first. After all there really isn't anything to lose?
 

Dex-Jay

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Ball Grid Array.... oh I'm sure it was a great idea on the drawing board! However take the lead out of the solder and you have a recipe for disaster!

Xbox "Red Light of Death", PS3 Fat (1st Gen), Slim (2nd Gen) and those will all (most) suffer with YLOD at some point. Heat being the killer really. The lead allows for a certain amount of expansion/contraction, take it out and there's a problem.

All Xbox1's and PS4 are all going to have lead free solder in them too....

Some seriously messed up logic. "No lead, it's better for the environment!" a pea size amount of lead say in a whole console? Remove it and you're creating landfill the size of a console instead. The PS3's and 4's won't have the life of a PS1 or 2 either.

In case of the board I'd use a temperature controlled heat gun, but bolt/screw the board down to stop flexing because the boards will! A reball is the way to go (with lead) if you can get the template... look into the temperatures of factory soldering. That's why the reflow/reball stations have temperature templates.

This Youtube vid is one of the better one's regarding reballing (on a PS3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh8lkoEPLrc

Good luck if you decide to accept this mission, this post may or may not self destruct in 5 seconds...
!
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Dex-Jay2013-09-30 14:08:40
 
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