I’m trying to re-mount a vertical style USB C connector, but I can’t seem to make a strong physical connection. After soldering, the connector comes off fairly easily.
Upon closer inspection, there seems to be some silver-colored metal on the copper mount points that doesn’t appear to be solder (I tried melting it and nothing happened). I’m not sure if it’s safe to scrape off, but willing to try.
But before I do that, I’m wondering if there’s a better way that I’m not familiar with, such as some kind of adhesive? When I inspect the other three functional ports, it doesn’t really look like solder was originally used (also, the metal plugs aren’t long enough to reach the other side, so there’s no solder on the other end either, as you can see with the two sets of four copper holes in a square pattern).
This is for an LG 27MD5KA for anyone else with the same issue.
Best Answer
Soldering this type of connector on a PCB is delicate and patience-intensive work. I recommend the following: Use liquid Flux, there is also the option in paste, but I consider the liquid version to be more effective, apply a little flux on all the pads, take care that it does not spread throughout the entire board. Use a solder wick to clean each pad from the USB connector. After cleaning each pad carefully, take your soldering iron with the finest tip and proceed to place a little tin on each pad, I usually place the tip of the soldering iron at about 340ºC on each pad for one or two seconds and place the tin right on top so that it sticks quickly to the pad, doing this with each pad ensures that you can solder its connector. After doing all of the above, place the USB connector on the pads and the fixing holes, with a clamp you must hold the USB connector while using the heat gun of your soldering station, use between 340ºC to 360ºC for hot air while doing circles under the usb connector area, this should be done for the amount of time needed. If you can place your PCB on an electronic board support it would be the best possible option, it will probably not work on the first try, but on a third try it should work. I have soldered such connectors and they almost always take half an hour to an hour when. Patience is the key in this job.