Hey all, have I damaged this xbox 360 controller circuit board beyond repair?
The Pictures
- The Red circle is the side I managed to fix.
- The Blue circle is the parts I could not get to bind properly.
The issues and my process
So I had a pair of xbox 360 controller controllers with corroded battery terminal springs. I managed to successfully replace the first controller’s springs, but the second I was having trouble with. The solder would not bind to the pad and it would form a lump that would break off under any pressure.
I consulted the internet and someone mentioned I just needed to crank up the heat. That didn’t work and the binding seemed to get worse, further it looks like it is now burnt all the terminal pad.
The internet then told me to scrap away the surface as it might be residual flux and it should be fine underneath. It still fails to securely bind.
I suspect the corrosion ate so far into the device that the pad itself was too weak to bind. I also suspect I am an idiot.
Is there any saving this?
My Plan should I discover I borked it
360 controllers have additional terminals on the back which I might be able to connect to something instead of the battery pads.
You lost your pad. This usually happens if you have old PCBs which were exposed to some air humidity over time. The pad heats up and the moisture evaporates between the layers, separating the pad and the PCB base material. More heat increases the likelihood of that happening.
That part is unsolderable now. You need to connect at a different place and reconnect any interrupted traces or glue the pad back to the board, if you can.
Game controllers in general are very hard to repair since they contain large copper layers to withstand forces from the controls. It’s very common to loose pads or lift THT holes.
That said, most often nothing is ever beyond repair. It’s usually just a matter of skills and tools which are available.
Hmm so you could work around this issue by placing the PCB in a drying oven a couple of hours before. Something around 50deg C.
That is correct, this is the standard procedure to dry PCBAs.
Thanks, I’ll try and find the trace and solder a wire and maybe some supports.