batteries get hot, no LEDs come on

SpokePOV kit for bikes

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ethan073
 
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batteries get hot, no LEDs come on

Post by ethan073 »

this is the first time i've soldered. i'm assuming i screwed that part up somewhere along the way.
possibly cold solder joints?
if this problem could be caused from cold solder joints, how should i fix it? can i simply reheat the solder and the joint for a better connection? or do i have to desolder the entire board and start over again?

:/ please help.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: batteries get hot, no LEDs come on

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Sounds like probably a short somewhere, or possibly a component installed wrong. If you can post some good clear photos of the front & back of the board, we might be able to spot the problem.

Most cold-solder joints can be fixed by re-heating. But let's make sure everything is in the right place first. Some components can be damaged by too much heating.

ethan073
 
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Re: batteries get hot, no LEDs come on

Post by ethan073 »

Here you go.

FRONT:
Image
Image

BACK:
Image
Image

hope somebody can spot something!
don't laugh too hard at my bad soldering though haha :oops:

adafruit
 
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Re: batteries get hot, no LEDs come on

Post by adafruit »

You have a lot of cold solder joints, and your wire clippers do not cut close enough to the PCB. find a good pair of flush cutters, and also resolder every joint

ethan073
 
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Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:30 pm

Re: batteries get hot, no LEDs come on

Post by ethan073 »

thank you for the help
so it is ok to just reheat all of the joints? or do i need to take off all the old solder and start from scratch?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: batteries get hot, no LEDs come on

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

You should be able to reheat each joint until the solder flows. Make sure it flows well onto both the pad and the wires.

ethan073
 
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Re: batteries get hot, no LEDs come on

Post by ethan073 »

Perfect. One last quick question, is it ok for the solder to be connected between two separate joints? Or can the solder like short it out?

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: batteries get hot, no LEDs come on

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

You definitely don't want the solder to bridge between two joints :!:

ethan073
 
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Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:30 pm

Re: batteries get hot, no LEDs come on

Post by ethan073 »

i had a lot of joints connected together with solder. i went back and separated all the joints, popped the batteries in and got it to light up! now i'll know what to do as i put the USB kit together. thanks a lot!

adafruit
 
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Re: batteries get hot, no LEDs come on

Post by adafruit »

yay!

Agent24
 
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Re: batteries get hot, no LEDs come on

Post by Agent24 »

Unless the pads you are soldering on are connected together already by a PCB track then they should never be connected!

This will create a short circuit and can cause problems like you had, or damage to components.

Lucky for you nothing was broken, and that this is a relatively low power device. On something involving high currents a short circuit can easily start a fire.

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