What do i need to fix this capaciotor ?

[TahoeFred]

I was trying to use a PCIe slot and it no work.

I took some photos and took a closer look. I noticed a capacitor was halfway broken off on of its pads. I must have hit it in the past moving a card in and out.

I have been looking for someone locally to fix it but figured I would investigate what i might need to do it myself so i can do it on my time etc. Going to have to unmount my case from under my desk, drain the loop etc. I watch a few micro soldering you tube channels and they would have this fixed in 1 minute.

So based on the photos, what would i need ? would i use hot air or is it too close to the plastic PCIe slot ? I am thinking i could set up my phone or use a magnifying glass to see it.

A little flux, heat it up with a fine tip iron and push it into place ? maybe use some hot tweezers ?

thanks for any input

 

[dragontamer5788]

That's a difficult spot. The PCIe-slot is probably some kind of plastic, so hot-air would melt that plastic (probably).

I still think hot-air gun is your best bet though.

 

[Athlonite]

any soldering iron with a fine tip would do that job easily enough if you have a steady hand and a good magnifying glass it should take you less than 5 mins

 

[Tahagomizer]

Honestly, don't go melting plastics with hot air, you'll get yourself in a lot more trouble and a lot quicker than you think. Fine-tipped iron, tweezers and great eyesight - or preferably a microscope - will work here. Take the cap out, measure it just in case, put it back. Soldering small SMDs with a soldering iron is not that hard, but requires a steady hand and a lot of patience.

 

[AsRock]

any soldering iron with a fine tip would do that job easily enough if you have a steady hand and a good magnifying glass it should take you less than 5 mins

^^ This.

 

[TahoeFred]

Honestly, don't go melting plastics with hot air, you'll get yourself in a lot more trouble and a lot quicker than you think. Fine-tipped iron, tweezers and great eyesight - or preferably a microscope - will work here. Take the cap out, measure it just in case, put it back. Soldering small SMDs with a soldering iron is not that hard, but requires a steady hand and a lot of patience.

do i need flux ?

 

[Ripcord]

do i need flux

i would say yes it will make the job much easier but if you don't have any you might get away without it

 

[dragontamer5788]

i would say yes it will make the job much easier but if you don't have any you might get away without it

Note that typical solder has plenty of flux inside of it.

Extra flux is helpful, especially if the board is older. Just cleaning up the board a bit more than usual. But otherwise, you might be able to make due with just the flux in the solder.

 

[TahoeFred]

i bought a magnify light, flux and a solder kit

 

[Ripcord]

i bought a magnify light, flux and a solder kit

wouldn't it have been cheaper to take it to a repair shop or buy a new motherboard

 

[TahoeFred]

wouldn't it have been cheaper to take it to a repair shop or buy a new motherboard

no

 

[Shrek]

Flux and a fine tip soldering iron should do it; hold it in place with a toothpick so the soldering iron does not lift it.

I did something similar fixing a Wi-Fi unit
Securifi Almond 3 Repair (SMD capacitor) | Electronics Repair And Technology News (jestineyong.com)

 

[TahoeFred]

Flux and a fine tip soldering iron should do it; hold it in place with a toothpick so the soldering iron does not lift it.

I did something similar fixing a Wi-Fi unit
Securifi Almond 3 Repair (SMD capacitor) | Electronics Repair And Technology News (jestineyong.com)

Right on. the toothpick sounds like a great idea. I pulled apart a small hard drive and am going to practice on it since it has the same cap component i am dealing with.

 

[dragontamer5788]

Also, are you sure it's a capacitor?

Since it's close to the PCIe stuff, I'm wondering what the chances it'd be a ferrite bead, for instance.

 

[Shrek]

It doesn't matter; he is not replacing it, just putting it back in place.

 

[TumbleGeorge]

Also, are you sure it's a capacitor?

cascade amplifier i think

 

[delshay]

That's a difficult spot. The PCIe-slot is probably some kind of plastic, so hot-air would melt that plastic (probably).

I still think hot-air gun is your best bet though.

No it's not. Hot air will damage the connector. The best tool for this job is a chisel tip soldering iron.

If user wants to use any form of hot air then they need to wrap the connector in foil. NOTE: Foil is what I always use as I hate kapton tape. ..Kapton tape is no guarantee of protection, foil will protect it as the heat will travel along the length of the foil.

OP can also choose to remove it & leave as-is if they are not an expert with soldering equipment.

 

[TahoeFred]

i got the schematic so i know what it is if it needs replacing. Hopefully I do not need a new one, it is $.012 but if i buy 12,500 of them i can get free shipping ! https://www.newark.com/yageo/cc0402krx5r5bb224/cap-0-22uf-6-3v-mlcc-0402-rohs/dp/40AJ6346

 

[lemonadesoda]

Everything so far is looking very promising. Good luck!

 

[pf100]

i got the schematic so i know what it is if it needs replacing. Hopefully I do not need a new one, it is $.012 but if i buy 12,500 of them i can get free shipping !

How did you get a schematic for a motherboard because I'd like to be able to find one if needed.

 

[TahoeFred]

How did you get a schematic for a motherboard because I'd like to be able to find one if needed.

https://www.gadget-manual.com/ then used http://boardviewer.net/ to view the file.

 

[caroline!]

A <20W soldering iron with a flat "chisel" tip that's for surface mounted components, don't use a round tip or the component could stick to it and burn.

Flux and a fine tip soldering iron should do it; hold it in place with a toothpick so the soldering iron does not lift it.

I did something similar fixing a Wi-Fi unit
Securifi Almond 3 Repair (SMD capacitor) | Electronics Repair And Technology News (jestineyong.com)

And I thought I was the only one using a toothpick. A real pro tool.