Need help desoldering

[Shadow Wizard]

So, I have been trying for years, and no matter what, I just can't do it.
I am trying to desolder connection components from manufactured motherboards. In this case I am trying to remove an HDMI port from a PS4 (Yea, I know, overall a hard repair) off and on I have been trying for years, and I just can't do it. So I need some advice where to look, or what to do. The youtube videos I have found don't work. I have tried countless soldering irons, and even got myself a rework station. Its like I just can't melt the factory solder. I have set my iron to a massive 480 degrees. Added flux, and additional solder (The solder just sits on top, I can't melt the factory solder to mix it) I set my rework station to 400 degrees with a small nozzle. Today I heated up the HDMI port (mostly just the one side, but all over) for AT LEAST 4 min, and it wouldn't budge.
I know its hard to tell me what I am doing wrong without seeing what I am doing but please some pointers on what I could try and do here.

 

[Martaine2005]

It’s hard to say because normally adding fresh solder and flux easily does it.
Some use a low melting point ‘chip quick’ that also seems to work, I haven’t used it so can’t advise.
Lead free solder is notoriously difficult to work with but adding leaded solder always works for me.
I use 15W, 25W and a soldering hot air station with good results.
If you’re heating at 400 degrees for four minutes and nothing happens, I’d suspect it’s not really 400 degrees. Should take seconds not minutes.
Can you post pictures of your equipment?

Martin

 

[Bluejets]

In my experience with motherboards, it's the heat sink from traces and vias that disallow heat flow of the solder.
As an experiment to proove it, get an old knackered board and cut away a component by cutting it's leads.
Then see how you go removing one device pin at a time.
Some will remove easily while others simply will not budge until extreme heat applied.
Even then it will usually destroy the trace or the via.
Quite simply put, the boards were never designed to be repaired.

 

[davenn]

I am trying to desolder connection components from manufactured motherboards.

That's extremely difficult for even the skilled amongst us

In this case I am trying to remove an HDMI port from a PS4 (Yea, I know, overall a hard repair) off and on I have been trying for years, and I just can't do it.

Multi-pin devices are next to impossible to get off in one piece
Bluejets commented on cutting the bulk of the device away leaving just the pins and this sometimes works

The problem, as you have found, is that most modern commercial boards are multi-layer and this is where the hassles of component removal lies.
being able to heat up the solder all the way through every layer is very difficult to impossible without destroying circuit tracks....
the ones you can see and the ones you cannot see

Sorry to sound a but negative ...... but I have been doing electronics for 50 years and I have first hand experience for many
years in trying to remove components. Sometimes I succeed sometimes I dont


Dave

 

[Harald Kapp]

Some will remove easily while others simply will not budge until extreme heat applied

Agreed.

But the heat is only a proxy for the thermal energy required to heat the solder, the via and the copper. Unfortunately a small tip is required as the pins are small and spacing is dense. So using a big tip with a high thermal capacity is excluded. Setting the iron to a very high temperature helps to prevent cooling of the tip below the melting point of the solder, provided not too much energy is drawn away as seems o be the case here.
A small tip will require a high power iron that is capable of supplying lots of energy to the solder joint without cooling below the melting point of the solder.

Afaik professional repair stations can use an additional heater below the pcb to provide enough thermal energy (heat) so the soldering iron can just add enough energy to melt the solder. You could try to rig up a construction with a heat gun set to e.g. 150 °C (just a guess, I have no personal experience with this setup) to heat the pcb below the component without melting other components or solder joints. Then follow @Bluejets ' advice and remove pin by pin (of course you'll have to cut them before).
Clean the vias (through holes), insert a new connector, the solder the new connector in place, possibly using the same jig, too.

 

[Shadow Wizard]

It’s hard to say because normally adding fresh solder and flux easily does it.
Some use a low melting point ‘chip quick’ that also seems to work, I haven’t used it so can’t advise.
Lead free solder is notoriously difficult to work with but adding leaded solder always works for me.
I use 15W, 25W and a soldering hot air station with good results.
If you’re heating at 400 degrees for four minutes and nothing happens, I’d suspect it’s not really 400 degrees. Should take seconds not minutes.
Can you post pictures of your equipment?

Martin

No, I cant post a photo of my equipment. When I try and upload it, it tells me there is a problem, but not what the problem is, just "Unable to upload, there was a problem." I can however tell you it is a baku 601d, and a google search will show it. (I checked) Yes, it is cheap equipment, however I can't justify spending large amounts of money on good equipment when I have been trying on and off for years with different equipment and just can't get it to work.

Someone had mentioned its hard to desolder the component without damaging it. I should make clear I don't care if the component is damaged. It is already broken, the idea is to replace it with a new one. I need to get it off, clean everything out, and solder a new one.
I appreciate the idea of cutting test parts out of other boards to see if that works, however that will not help me desolder this part or fix this board, And this IS my test. I am fully aware that my chance of success for doing this first time is low. But I need to learn how to do this. If it fails, at least I learned something.
Right now I am not even trying to desolder the pins. I will cross that bridge when I get there. I just want to desolder the "case" part? The large section that holds it to the mainboard.
Thanks for all the advice and ideas so far. Look forward to any additional help you may be able to provide.

 

[Martaine2005]

The photos have to be 300kb or so. I know, it really should say what the problem is.
I have replaced quite a few without issues. However, some are quite difficult when they have metal shields and thick terminals to the ground plane.
I sometimes have to use ‘overkill’ which is a 100W iron, but rarely.

you didn’t hear this from me, but I have been guilty of putting a PCB in a hot oven for 5 minutes!. I have also destroyed a couple of PCBs in the oven too!.
It (sometimes) heats the board enough to do what is required. But you have to work fast.
I think Haralds idea of a heat gun underneath the area does pretty much the same.
Are you using 60/40 solder or lead free?. I only use leaded solder.

Martin

 

[kellys_eye]

Many such connectors have larger solder areas that offer mechanical support to the part (as opposed to the electrical connections) which, as mentioned, can be attached via other board layers) which go to suck heat away from the part when trying to remove them.

Frustrating. But the best method is to physically cut the connector away as much as possible, leaving only the pins on the actual pads. This might make it harder to fit the new part as the tabs that offer physical support won't be able to fit into the slots on the board as you'll struggle to get them out - in which case you sometimes need to solder the signal pins then use (say) epoxy to give the required physical security.

The only other method I can advise would be to heat a larger area of the board on BOTH SIDES (with a risk of dislodging other parts) before tackling the 'solid' mounts of the connector.

 

[Coen]

What I do in such cases is applying heat from below using a sandwich toaster (or any other heated plate available); just put the board on top of it and wait until the temperature on the top side of the board reaches about 150 degrees Celsius. (Be careful with plastic connectors; use small spacers to avoid direct contact with the heating plate otherwise.) Then I use hot air gun set to about 350 degrees with a moderate air flow and apply heat on the connector... It usually takes less than 1 minute to desolder...

 

[Bluejets]

I should make clear I don't care if the component is damaged. It is already broken, the idea is to replace it with a new one. I need to get it off, clean everything out, and solder a new one.
I appreciate the idea of cutting test parts out of other boards to see if that works, however that will not help me desolder this part or fix this board,

Why do you insist that it won't work....????