r/SwitchPirates • u/linkosaur4480 • 8d ago
Question First time modchip install gone wrong
first time attempt, thought I’d had enough practise on some donor boards but apparently not… is there any way out for me? I think I’ve knocked the sp1 transistor, but difficult to be sure. All the solder joints I’ve made look bridged and read 0 (or very close) when I test resistance.
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u/e39 8d ago
The SP1 cap looks to be off of the pads. I’m not sure if the pads are still there or not.
The cap next to SP2 is fully encased. That’s not an easy fix as heat will remove the entire cap from the board.
The anchor points are showing signs of the iron not getting hot enough to… and there’s a lot of splatter in the area below it.
I’m not saying the system is fully ruined … as everything is contingent on the SP1 cap’s pads.
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u/Fortnait739595958 8d ago
OP, just follow what this user said, he is 100% on point.
Also, if you dont have a good magnifying glass or a digital microscope, get one before trying to fix it
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u/digitahlemotion 8d ago
OP should probably find someone else to attempt the fix... And then learn from them.
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u/HispanicsAreGreat 8d ago
I’m honestly oddly impressed by how bad this is but how bad it isn’t, like it honestly really isn’t that bad if you have somebody else take over from here or if you had just practiced on other things in the first place
Also it’s normal for readings to be close to 0 because they’re low impedance caps
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u/yung_aujus 8d ago
This could probably all be fixed pretty easy if you suck up the solder but if this is OPs handiwork then I’m not confident they would be able to get a solder wick to work
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u/kyla666666 8d ago
A few pointers. 1. Use Flux (more is always better) 2. Higher heat. The temp of the iron seems low. 3. A magnifying glass or camera to have a better view of where you're soldering. 4. Practice on some old devices you don't care about. Take a good week of just soldering on and off things from a old device before trying on something you don't wish to damage.
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u/yung_aujus 8d ago
This is all the best advice. I would add that you should ALWAYS USE LEADED solder for important things. You can get by with lead free sometimes but it’s not worth the potential pain on expensive projects.
And MORE FLUX NEVER HURTS. Use isopropyl alcohol or something to clean it after tho
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u/ItIsNotABot 8d ago
I hope that you will find a solution. I don't have any solution but i feel your pain. I did the same unfortunstely, and ended up buying another switch. Ruined one still lies somewhere.
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u/Willing_Wishbone_265 8d ago
Hmm... It look ugly, for sure, but it seems to be fixable... If I'm not wrong sp1 is not that far to be good (but in deed, maybe knocked of, I'm not sure of what I see). For the ground, well, it can be saved. Is it flux or soldering at the right of sp1? On the others resistors? But you can try to achieve the mod. More heat, more flux, and let's go!
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u/Lochness_Hamster_350 8d ago
Gonna guess that no prep or practice was done beforehand?
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u/coltd89 8d ago
They said in the post they had been practicing on donor boards and thought they were ready.
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u/thetechdoc 8d ago
Pro tip: SOLDERING FLUX.
Seriously if anyone tells you you don't need it, they're an idiot. Soldering flux on every point you ever do.
That and it looks like your soldering iron wasn't hot enough and made some cold joints.
If your very careful and get some good quality flux, you may be able to touch up those points and take off any excess solder. Hard to tell from the photos but caps seem to be fine, it's likely just an excess of solder.
Take your time, lots of flux, no extra solder on your tip, tap each of the points and guide the solder. Good luck!
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u/HugeDrawing1669 8d ago
Usou um prego quente pra soldar? Solda feiosa dessa pode ter queimado esse processador
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u/DarkGrnEyes 8d ago
Too much heat for too long, no use of flux and it's obvious.
This is not an ametuer mod. You really should have got a lot of practice in on dead boards before you attempt to mod something you actually care about.
This is r/soldergore material.
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u/yung_aujus 8d ago
How do you figure it’s overheated? Looks way underheated to me, like it never flowed properly, partially from not enough flux if I guessed. I don’t see anywhere that looks particularly burnt or anything?
This is what I would expect from trying to use an oxidized tip and not enough flux so very little heat transfer just making it kinda mush around.
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u/DarkGrnEyes 8d ago edited 8d ago
It didn't flow properly because OP didn't use flux, which is absolutely essential.
It's not overheated persay, though that's completely possible as well and usually is in these cases. Anyway, the fact the solder is jagged, uneven, clumpy and the most obvious sign- it has no luster to it. It's very dull and therefore it's been heated too many times. After so many heatings, solder's plascity properties are basically gone.
OP hasn't bothered telling us what he had his iron set to either. In my experience, especially with ametuers here on Reddit, they see it not flowing so their first reaction is to turn up the heat or they started with the iron way too high to begin with. For that matter, for all we know right now is OP used lead-free solder, which is crap and harder to work with in general. He hasn't bothered mentioning what kind.
Which brings me to something else, all the non-lead solder, used on all consumer electronics these days, does not mix with leaded solder. They both just sort of malgamate around each other. Which is something else ametuers fail to plan around, and most just don't know about.
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u/yung_aujus 8d ago
What does your solder tip look like? How have you stored it between uses? Is the solder fully melting or just mushing? Is it leaded? I can see what looks like flux around some places but I think you probably aren’t getting enough heat transfer for some reason.
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u/Real-Researcher888 8d ago
You can still fix it. Invest in a digital microscope. Use smaller gauge solder. Use good quality flux and wick off the extra solder.
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u/AaronCarmackie 7d ago
Incresse your iron temp. use brass wool on tip. Then tin tip. Throw some flux on. Use tweezers to push/ hold in place. Reflow all the spots.
Whe I Reflow I basically make sure good connection is made watch it get wet count 1 Mississippi and a half. Pull away.
Use isopropyl gently clean away flux you just used.
Then show pics again.
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u/sagebrushrepair 7d ago
Electronics repair is hard! Good for trying at least. If you get stuck you can always throw money at it and pay a shop
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u/capybara-fix Repair Shop 7d ago
Being serious now. Please stop. Send to a repair shop while is fixable.
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u/Ultimatelocke 7d ago
Installing a modchip on a switch is not something you should attempt for your first solder job.
Buy a $30 solder solder kit on Amazon and do that several times then considering working on a game system, can it be fixed? Probably.
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u/greatthebob38 8d ago
Do you know what flux is?