Main Relay Solder joints ok ?
- Thread starter sptrader
- Start date
You are looking for hairline cracks in the solder joints. Cannot tell from that pic at all
. Get a good magnifying glass and check.
Regards,
LarryB
. Get a good magnifying glass and check.Regards,
LarryB
Any joints that have some "brownish look" on the joints should be resolder. You most likely can't see the hair line cracks untill it is heated up or by using a good Magnifying glass as Larry said.
Bram
Bram
The main relay is not particularly expensive (around USD60). If you're at all uncertain about it, I suggest buying a new one rather than screwing around with resoldering. (So does nsxprime's resident electrical expert.)
I've had NO problems at all with the relay, I was just trying to do some preventative maintenance. Even with a mag glass, they all look great to me(my background is electronics). Not what I expected to see, after all of the comments about bad solder joints on these boards.
Someone posted a photo of a bad board and the solder looked terrible.
Someone posted a photo of a bad board and the solder looked terrible.
sptrader, i had observed the same thing with my relay. When my car showed classic symptoms of relay going bad, I pulled out the relay, put it under a magnifying glass and found everything is in top condition.
I thought of soldering every joints but decided against it since I will never know which joint is the problem one in case of an emergency. As a result, I replaced the relay and everything is aaaaoookay...
I thought of soldering every joints but decided against it since I will never know which joint is the problem one in case of an emergency. As a result, I replaced the relay and everything is aaaaoookay...
I guess it's best to carry a spare, since it's so cheap and easy to change.
Mine was perfect but repalced it as a precautionary and put the old one up. My peice of mind is worth the 60 bucks. I think every new owner should make the small investment.
If someone has re soldered it already you would likely see brown flux residue around the joints , unless they were pedantic like me and cleaned with fluxclean after soldering . Mine looked ok too but I resoldered them anyway , judging by the amount of solder the joints sucked up , it was poor soldering from the factory .
At some point in life you just have to trust yourself / your abilities.
If you are at all good with a soldering iron... re-solder the whole board.
It won't take but 60 seconds (after your iron is hot)
Heck if you wanted to, suck out any existing solder, apply new (with ample amount of heat to get a good bond to the copper traces)
I'd much rather trust that, then take the chance that another one, new off the shelf was made any better then the existing one.
Disclaimer: I've not read the archives on what the actual problems were with the main relay, but if its a solder connection issue, fix it. If its in fact a component on the module, my suggestion might not hold.
Brad
If you are at all good with a soldering iron... re-solder the whole board.
It won't take but 60 seconds (after your iron is hot)
Heck if you wanted to, suck out any existing solder, apply new (with ample amount of heat to get a good bond to the copper traces)
I'd much rather trust that, then take the chance that another one, new off the shelf was made any better then the existing one.
Disclaimer: I've not read the archives on what the actual problems were with the main relay, but if its a solder connection issue, fix it. If its in fact a component on the module, my suggestion might not hold.
Brad
I took about 15 minutes and re-soldered EVERY joint, I removed the solder from a couple of marginal connections and made sure the solder flowed properly on all connections. I don't expect it to give me any problems. (It was working fine before,
But I still plan to carry a spare, maybe even a used one if I can find one)
But I still plan to carry a spare, maybe even a used one if I can find one)
just buy a new one, i just got one for 59 bucks, you'll be set for another 100k miles.
I had the suspected main relay problem and took my old relay down to have it inspected by the avoinics people at my dad's shop and they didnt see any problems with it however i replaced it anyway and have had no problems with starting since. It is a cheap part, i would replace it just for good measure.
