Hakko 926 -- Received it today

[JenniferG]

Well I was hoping a decent soldering iron. I bid on a Hakko 926 complete with 900 series iron and won it for $38 shipped.  Photo the seller snapped showed it turned on and he said it was in great working condition.

Thing is I plug it in and turn it to 750F.. led goes out on the left indicating it has achieved temp. However, it doesn't melt the solder at all (a solder strand from kester spool).  Turned it all the way up to 896F.. barely breaks the solder strand sitting there for a second.

Could this be a simple fix?

[tpowell1830]

What better chance to break out all of that new to you test gear and tear that puppy down and troubleshoot it.

The answer is "Yes, it could be an easy fix." but you won't know until you start digging. But, maybe someone else has a quick fix answer for you.

The joy is in the doing, just sayin'.

[JenniferG]

Yeah it is.  But just disappointed that the seller said it was in good working condition when it's not.

[tpowell1830]

Yeah it is.  But just disappointed that the seller said it was in good working condition when it's not.

There is a possibility that the fault occurred in shipment. Packages get a lot of abuse in shipment. I recently purchased a bench power supply and was reported as in good working condition by the seller on ebay and when it arrived, it did not work. After investigation, I found 2 of the knobs were broken and subsequently led me to the broken pot on one of the knobs.

What you describe sound like an issue with the sensor feedback circuit, i.e. the sensor is reporting a higher temp than actuality. This could be a bad connection either internally or externally at the sensor or connecting wires.

[JenniferG]

I'll start taking it apart and examining.  Thanks

[Caio Negri]

Well that sucks. Before you do anything be sure to take some photos (preferably a video) showing that it doesnt work as advertised.

I you decide to try and fix it, it wold definitely be a good beginners project. There are plenty of documentation out there on this station including some teardown videos . Just be careful if you need to measure stuff with the device powered on. 

[JenniferG]

Well that sucks. Before you do anything be sure to take some photos (preferably a video) showing that it doesnt work as advertised.

I you decide to try and fix it, it wold definitely be a good beginners project. There are plenty of documentation out there on this station including some teardown videos . Just be careful if you need to measure stuff with the device powered on. 

Are the 926 and 936 identical inside and through the iron?

[rsjsouza]

That is not great. If advertised as "used" you can either send it back or try to repair yourself.

One helpful document is:
http://www.wescomponents.com/datasheets/hakko/926%20Trouble%20Shooting%20Guide.pdf

[Caio Negri]

Are the 926 and 936 identical inside and through the iron?

Not sure if the board is identical, but since they're both analog their basic topology should be the same.

[RayRay]

I'll start taking it apart and examining.  Thanks

I think you're rushing it just a bit!
Given the fact it actually works (to a degree), I'd say there's a strong possibility that this isn't an internal problem, but a bad heating element on the iron. Use a multimeter to test the element's resistance levels (as explained on this doc):
http://www.wescomponents.com/datasheets/hakko/926%20Trouble%20Shooting%20Guide.pdf
You might wanna also remove the tip (and make sure the element itself is physically intact and not broken in any way!)
If the element checks out okay, I'd suggest you try a different tip before considering it as an internal problem.

[JenniferG]

I'll start taking it apart and examining.  Thanks

I think you're rushing it just a bit!
Given the fact it actually works (to a degree), I'd say there's a strong possibility that this isn't an internal problem, but a bad heating element on the iron. Use a multimeter to test the element's resistance levels (as explained on this doc):
http://www.wescomponents.com/datasheets/hakko/926%20Trouble%20Shooting%20Guide.pdf
You might wanna also remove the tip (and make sure the element itself is physically intact and not broken in any way!)
If the element checks out okay, I'd suggest you try a different tip before considering it as an internal problem.

 Thanks I didn't consider it necessarily a  problem with the box. I still have to take the iron apart to inspect.   I'll do what you suggest first.

 Thanks so much for the troubleshooting guide !

[JenniferG]

I'll start taking it apart and examining.  Thanks

I think you're rushing it just a bit!
Given the fact it actually works (to a degree), I'd say there's a strong possibility that this isn't an internal problem, but a bad heating element on the iron. Use a multimeter to test the element's resistance levels (as explained on this doc):
http://www.wescomponents.com/datasheets/hakko/926%20Trouble%20Shooting%20Guide.pdf
You might wanna also remove the tip (and make sure the element itself is physically intact and not broken in any way!)
If the element checks out okay, I'd suggest you try a different tip before considering it as an internal problem.

I took the iron apart and measured the heater and sensor resistors of the heating element; both were within range (3.1 ohms and 49 ohms respectively).

I don't know how these tips go together, but there is something odd I notice.  There is an extra sleeve that slides under the slighty bigger sleeve that the nipple is holding in place -- it seems to be doing nothing.  Was this sleeve part of the tip?  Perhaps the tip isn't getting heated?

EDIT: IF the tip is the problem, and I need to replace it:  Anyone know of a useful assortment I can purchase for this 900M iron?  Want some quality tips for it.  All the different types I might need.. I am too clueless right now to know what I need. I only ever got one tip before for my old cheapy iron.   EDIT #2: I see there are a lot of options with respect to 900M assortment set.. like a set of 11 for anywhere from $3 to $20. Lots of different brands.

[JenniferG]

Yeah I really do think the tip isn't making contact.. I think it's broken.. there is some loose sleeve moving around I am guessing was attached to to the tip inside somehow in the past.

I removed the tip and sleeve and turned on iron, setting it to 750F.  It got there immediately.  The heating element glowed bright orange until it go to 750F.  I think it look like 15 seconds?

Then I melted some solder strand with side of heating element at 750F, very easily. 

So yeah it must be the tip.

[tpowell1830]

Yeah I really do think the tip isn't making contact.. I think it's broken.. there is some loose sleeve moving around I am guessing was attached to to the tip inside somehow in the past.

I removed the tip and sleeve and turned on iron, setting it to 750F.  It got there immediately.  The heating element glowed bright orange until it go to 750F.  I think it look like 15 seconds?

Then I melted some solder strand with side of heating element at 750F, very easily. 

So yeah it must be the tip.

The life of a troubleshooter takes you down many roads. Today you were a mechanical troubleshooter. Nice job. That is a common problem with soldering irons where the tip doesn't make good contact with the element.

Is there any way that you could repair the one that you have, perhaps by cleaning up the tubes in order to get them together correctly so as to make good thermal contact with the tip? Can you take a few pics and show us what you found?

[DimitriP]

I took the iron apart and measured the heater and sensor resistors of the heating element; both were within range (3.1 ohms and 49 ohms respectively).

Did you measure the resistance between pin 3 and Tip  ?

[JenniferG]

I took the iron apart and measured the heater and sensor resistors of the heating element; both were within range (3.1 ohms and 49 ohms respectively).

Did you measure the resistance between pin 3 and Tip  ?

Measured each and every pins resistance to the corresponding colored wire -- five of them.  All 0 ohms resistance on meter.  O hms resistance between pin 3 and the sensor coil that goes around the heating element (green wire).  Infinite resistance between heating element and pin 3.  Assembled, infinite resistance between tip to pin 3.

[JenniferG]

Yeah I really do think the tip isn't making contact.. I think it's broken.. there is some loose sleeve moving around I am guessing was attached to to the tip inside somehow in the past.

I removed the tip and sleeve and turned on iron, setting it to 750F.  It got there immediately.  The heating element glowed bright orange until it go to 750F.  I think it look like 15 seconds?

Then I melted some solder strand with side of heating element at 750F, very easily. 

So yeah it must be the tip.

The life of a troubleshooter takes you down many roads. Today you were a mechanical troubleshooter. Nice job. That is a common problem with soldering irons where the tip doesn't make good contact with the element.

Is there any way that you could repair the one that you have, perhaps by cleaning up the tubes in order to get them together correctly so as to make good thermal contact with the tip? Can you take a few pics and show us what you found?

Thanks.  Here you go:



The sleeve all by itself (item #2 from the right), slides into the sleeve in item #1 (on the right).  Can't make sense of it.

[DimitriP]

Assembled, infinite resistance between tip to pin 3.

In the troubleshooting manual, measurement c (tip to pin 3 ) is supposed to be under 10

Suscpiciously, right above on the "equipment required" list Scotch-Brite is listed (although they don't spell out what to do with it*).
Dissasemble it and make sure you clean all  metal surfaces ( aka the inside of the tip too) so they are shiny and brite.
Aftere assembling it,  hopefully, Tip to pin 3 resistance will be less than 10  , 
and the tip might even be able to melt some solder


* Edit - Of course they did. It's paragraph B !

[RayRay]

Measured each and every pins resistance to the corresponding colored wire -- five of them.  All 0 ohms resistance on meter.

This doesn't make much sense.
If you're saying that you've measured the resistance from each pin of the iron cable's connector all the way to the corresponding wire on the circuit board's side, then this would mean that either your multimeter/test leads are faulty, or that it's miswired somehow.
Try different resistance ranges (if it's not an autoranging one), you could also do a continuity check instead. Also, do you get a reading if you have both probes touch each other?

infinite resistance between tip to pin 3

I presume that by infinite you mean keeps going up and doesn't stop?
Sounds like an issue with your multimeter to be honest.

EDIT: IF the tip is the problem, and I need to replace it:  Anyone know of a useful assortment I can purchase for this 900M iron?  Want some quality tips for it.  All the different types I might need.. I am too clueless right now to know what I need. I only ever got one tip before for my old cheapy iron.   EDIT #2: I see there are a lot of options with respect to 900M assortment set.. like a set of 11 for anywhere from $3 to $20. Lots of different brands.

My advice, since you're living in the US, you'd be best purchasing the tips directly from Hakko!
Aftermarket tips are a hit and miss in regards to longevity (and some of em can also be too loose as well)
Anyhow, Hakko have stopped production of most of the 900M tips, but the T18 ones are fully compatible with it.
https://www.hakkousa.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=T18
I'd suggest you get the T18-B, T18-C3, T18-D12 , T18-D16 and T18-D24 ones specifically.
You could also get a spare heating element from em (A1321) as well.

[MarkF]

I have a Hakko FX888D and bought most of my T18 tips from TEquipment (Don't forget your discount).
I have the following assortment of tips:  T18-B, T18-C3, T18-C4, T18-D08, T18-D12, T18-D24 and T18-K

[JenniferG]

Thanks, I'll look into getting the tips from Hakko.

[rstofer]

Thanks, I'll look into getting the tips from Hakko.

In your photo, item #2 (from the right) slides on and over the exposed ceramic part of the heater.  It butts up against the other sleeve to the right of the ceramic which is flared a bit.  It is just a spacer to make up the difference in diameter between the ID of the tip and the OD of the ceramic.

As a first approximation, the sleeve should not rattle loose inside the tip.  After all, it is in the heat conduction path.  If the tip is bogus, it may not fit up properly with the sleeve.

[JenniferG]

Got the set of replacement tips for the Hakko in the mail today.  Threw one on, turned on and set to 750F.

30 seconds later, solder melted like nothing, as I saw the LED turn on when the tip hit the solder instantly keeping it up to temp.

First use of a temp controlled solder iron.  Much better than my cheapy Velleman.

How did I get by soldering for 30 years without a proper temp controlled iron?

Love this Hakko.

[Brumby]

That sleeve you were wondering about is simply to fill the void between the element and the tip (as much as is possible) with a material that conducts heat better than an air gap - like metal.  Without it, the element has to heat the air and the air has to heat the tip.  Not very efficient.  It is much better that the element heats the sleeve and the sleeve heats the tip.  It increases the thermal capacity of the iron significantly.

How did I get by soldering for 30 years without a proper temp controlled iron?

Practice, care and an acceptance of failures as 'par for the course'.

With a proper temperature controlled iron, speed will increase, quality will increase and failures will decrease.

Just remember that if you ever get caught in a situation where you have to use the old stick iron.  You get spoiled a little with a temperature controlled one.

[BU508A]

Got the set of replacement tips for the Hakko in the mail today.  Threw one on, turned on and set to 750F.

30 seconds later, solder melted like nothing, as I saw the LED turn on when the tip hit the solder instantly keeping it up to temp.

First use of a temp controlled solder iron.  Much better than my cheapy Velleman.

How did I get by soldering for 30 years without a proper temp controlled iron?

Love this Hakko.

Buying good quality tools is always a superb idea. Imho. :-)
If you are going after the cheapy low quality stuff you might buying (and crying) twice, and, even worse, may destroy other things with this cheapish low quality stuff.