Could It Be That Easy Repair For This Battery Charger? Model: Hilty
I was getting a lot of battery chargers this past month; some of them were not easy to repair and some, well, take a look to see what I am talking about.
As I understood from the customer, the charger was completely dead and as you can see in the photo, the fault was confirmed. There is suppose to be charging bars at the top of the battery and for some reason, there were not.
Hilty is a very good but expensive brand. They are very liable (Supposedly) and parts also expensive but available. There are a few dealers in my area so they usually contact me for such repairs.
Powered on the device and I was not getting power at the main filter capacitor which indicates a problem before that stage in the charger.
When I flipped the board, I found a lot of cold soldering joints and decided to re solder them but when I got to the area marked with the arrow, the solder joint just broke and that is what is seen in the photo.
Could be that simple repair, just a broken joint that needed some tender loving care?
I added some flux, soldered that part and powered on the device and I was surprised that such expensive device can have such fault that causes the device not to function the way it should.
Yes, the charger was brought back to life and the lesson we learned here that not every device needs a complicated repair; it can be as simple as on drop of solder on a cold broken joint.
Mission Accomplished.
This article was prepared for you by Waleed Rishmawi, one of our ‘Master Authors’ and currently working in the Bethlehem area of Palestine repairing electrical and electronic equipment.
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Note: You can check his previous article on 2 Amp With 130 Degrees Thermal Fuse Replacement
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Parasuraman S
March 11, 2022 at 10:19 pm
Even a complicated and/or complex work becomes simple as it melts in front of a professional expert like you! Good job there, dear friend!
Tom Schupbach
March 11, 2022 at 11:44 pm
The problem with today's electronics is needing to conform with RoHS standards which prohibits manufactures from using leaded solder. No lead solder is horrible at "wetting" component leads and faulty joints result. The manufacturers only warranty devices for periods of time that will cover this deficiency with the result being devices that fail much sooner than they should. Most of these items end up in the land fill. More pollution than is lead solder had been used in the first place! Short-sighted government rules!
Waleed Rishmawi
March 12, 2022 at 5:40 pm
Tom: thanks for sharing your comments. have a blessed day
Waleed Rishmawi
March 12, 2022 at 5:37 pm
Parasuraman: thanks man. I appreciate the comment have a blessed day
Anwar Shiekh
March 11, 2022 at 10:23 pm
It is amazing how many problems are due to soldering; I recently rescued a USB 3 hub by just reflowing and recently invested in a tub of RadioShack flux as it seems a little more aggressive than what I use now and I am careful to clean the board after work with isopropyl alcohol.
Waleed Rishmawi
March 12, 2022 at 5:42 pm
Anwar: yes, a lot of bad solder is invading the market cuasing bad joints and alot of bad technican who do not care about quality work sad to say. have a blessed day
Albert van Bemmelen
March 11, 2022 at 11:04 pm
I guess that it safe to say that chargers in general are easier to fix then the matching battery packs are. Good job of course although the ones that were not easy to repair probably were more interesting.
Waleed Rishmawi
March 12, 2022 at 5:44 pm
Albert: some of the chargers are easier to repair than battery back repair but still it is a repair in progress. have a blessed day
Gary Drumm
March 12, 2022 at 3:37 am
Great job, with a good observation. I will remember this one the next time I encounter something similar.
Thanks for posting your finding and the fix.
Gary Drumm
Waleed Rishmawi
March 12, 2022 at 5:45 pm
Gary: thanks man. have a blessed day
Imoudu Onwumah
March 12, 2022 at 4:32 am
What's the effect if one doesn't clean board with IPA after the use of soldering flux? Need answer pls!
Waleed Rishmawi
March 12, 2022 at 5:48 pm
Imoudu: PCBs with flux residue may face problems such as parasitic leakage, dendrite growth, electrochemical migration, and shorting. Therefore, cleaning the no-clean flux residue is no longer an optional process; rather it's now indispensable for long-term PCB reliability, functionality, and performance.
have a blessed day
Tayo
March 12, 2022 at 11:28 pm
To add to Brother Waleed's excellent response, you don that to use IPA. You can use clean water and a soft brush to get the job done.
Waleed Rishmawi
March 14, 2022 at 4:01 pm
Tayo: yes true but IPA disolves things faster and give it a very clean look and gives you a clear vision to inspect if the joint is soldered the way it should or not. have a blessed day
Babu M S
March 13, 2022 at 2:08 pm
New things learned from this article.Thank you very much for sharing.
Waleed Rishmawi
March 14, 2022 at 4:02 pm
Babu: you are most welcome and thanks for the encouragement. have a blessed day
Yogesh Panchal
March 14, 2022 at 11:03 pm
Good Job! Waleed
David Fonsbo
March 17, 2022 at 5:12 pm
Luckily sometimes it is easy! Had a lot of these cold solderings in a lot of older equipment!