Replace USB-C port on Thinkpad

[Peabody]

I have a Thinkpad P53S, which is the same as the T590, and the primary USB-C charging port has become flaky.  Unfortunately, it appears the socket has two rows of 12 pins each, one row being under the middle of the socket.  My first conclusion was that this is essentially unrepairable by a normal human being because there's no way to get to that underneath row of pins.  But I've seen videos which appear to do this with a heat gun.  In this video (starting at 1:02), that seems to be the case, although it's not clear that he ever puts any solder on that row:



And here's the replacement socket:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154367367049

I don't have a heat gun, but it might make sense to buy one if this actually works.  I guess the method is just to heat the entire socket until all the pins get hot enough to melt solder.  It's still not clear where the solder gets applied.  Paste maybe?

I'm usually pretty good at repairs, but have no real experience with a hot air station.  Has anyone here tried something like this?  Is it reasonable to expect it will work?  Can someone explain the solder mystery?

Thanks for any guidance.

[mcz]

He applies flux followed by solder after about 1:20 into the video. The technique is that the soldering iron tip holds solder and it puts enough on every pad to make a reasonable connection later on. You don't solder these pins fresh, the solder will already be on the pad once you put the connector in place but the flux will make it work.

This seems much easier in the video than it will be in real life for somebody who never did this. But you could try it. Probably a good idea to preheat the board or general area of that connector a little bit as well.

[amyk]

That part, and indeed for any SMD work, will definitely be easier using hot air.

[wraper]

He applies flux followed by solder after about 1:20 into the video. The technique is that the soldering iron tip holds solder and it puts enough on every pad to make a reasonable connection later on. You don't solder these pins fresh, the solder will already be on the pad once you put the connector in place but the flux will make it work.

This seems much easier in the video than it will be in real life for somebody who never did this. But you could try it. Probably a good idea to preheat the board or general area of that connector a little bit as well.

If you do it this way, you should apply solder to the connector pins too before soldering with hot air, otherwise there may be too little of it.

[wraper]

I don't have a heat gun, but it might make sense to buy one if this actually works.  I guess the method is just to heat the entire socket until all the pins get hot enough to melt solder.  It's still not clear where the solder gets applied.  Paste maybe?

If you mean by soldering iron, it's impossible.

[coromonadalix]

and you see for the second time when reheated the black plastic was about to deform,  the connector temp was at limit ...

you have to get proper tools and experience to do so, even i, i have them   not sure i would succeed

[wraper]

and you see for the second time when reheated the black plastic was about to deform,  the connector temp was at limit ...

you have to get proper tools and experience to do so, even i, i have them   not sure i would succeed

It's not hard if you have a preheater. Without a preheater it may be tricky to find a balance between solder melting but connector not destroyed. Certainly don't use lead-free solder without a preheater. You may try to put heat insulating material under PCB to reduce heat escape, something like a rock wool.

[u666sa]

My first conclusion was that this is essentially unrepairable by a normal human being

You are correct. If this is your laptop, and if this is your first time, you are risking lifting the pads. My advice for you is to give to a reputable repair shop, spend some money. Otherwise, you lift pads, you can't fix that, you spend even more money on repair shop service, plus not every shop is going to take your stuff with lifted pads.

If you are experiences professional, you are still risking lifting the pads. Difference is that you have microscope and are able to repair that. But there is a caviat, if too many pads are lifted, as a professional valuing your time, you might just say no to this type of repair.

Anyways, tools:

Microscope (a must)
Solder iron, smallest T12 tip or better
Heat gun, good temperature control, fish pump type
Low melt solder
Solder
Wick
Flux
Tweezers
Spatula / metal opening tool

Connector is glued at the bottom

You apply flux and low melt solder to the holding legs at both sides
Then you use your hot air to melt solder and remove the connector, keeping in mind that it is glued, so you need to lift it with your spatula. Without lifting any pads
Then you clean with the wick
If pads were lifted you repair pads and tracks
Apply new solder
Reinstall new connector with hot air
Solder holding legs at both sides

Ideally hot air is applied from the bottom, but this is not always possible. Often you work from the top. You might have plastic around, so you work around that masking stuff. In rare situations you might have to take off some plastic parts prior to doing your job.

First timers lift pads, blow off and lose other components like caps and resistors, melt new connectors. You won't save any money if you do this one yourself. 

[Peabody]

I don't have a heat gun, but it might make sense to buy one if this actually works.  I guess the method is just to heat the entire socket until all the pins get hot enough to melt solder.  It's still not clear where the solder gets applied.  Paste maybe?

If you mean by soldering iron, it's impossible.

No, I would certainly get a hot air gun.  I really ought to have one anyway.

[Peabody]

and you see for the second time when reheated the black plastic was about to deform,  the connector temp was at limit ...

you have to get proper tools and experience to do so, even i, i have them   not sure i would succeed

It's not hard if you have a preheater. Without a preheater it may be tricky to find a balance between solder melting but connector not destroyed. Certainly don't use lead-free solder without a preheater. You may try to put heat insulating material under PCB to reduce heat escape, something like a rock wool.

Preheater?  Do you mean something like a hotplate?  And heat it from underneath?

[Peabody]

Connector is glued at the bottom

I haven't seen anything in the videos suggesting it's glued.  But I guess you're saying that's how they position something like this for reflow.

[u666sa]

They are most often glued. For strength. Glue is nasty, 390C does not make it melt, you gotta apply force to remove connector.

Not all of them are glued. But most are.

Some are soldered on the bottom of connector.

[wraper]

They are most often glued. For strength. Glue is nasty, 390C does not make it melt, you gotta apply force to remove connector.

Not all of them are glued. But most are.

Some are soldered on the bottom of connector.

I've never seen any glue under the connector. Even if some are glued, it should be very rare. If connector is not moving and you apply force, you'll have a great chance of tearing off the pads.

[wraper]

reheater?  Do you mean something like a hotplate?  And heat it from underneath?

Yes, from underneath, either hot air or hot plate type.

[Peabody]

reheater?  Do you mean something like a hotplate?  And heat it from underneath?

Yes, from underneath, either hot air or hot plate type.

I need to think about some kind of hot plate thing.  Not just for removing it, but for soldering in the new part.  It seems that would provide the most temperature-controlled method, and the least likely to cause damage to the part and the board.  The port is almost at the corner of the motherboard, so maybe some kind of nichrome heater that warms everything up gradually until the solder melts.

[Koray]

Here is another video for T480s USB-C port replacement:



I already bought the ports but I am dragging my feet to do it. I have a temperature/speed controlled hot air gun but I am still scared a bit. My workhorse T480 has a rare board with discreet graphics card so I am scared of breaking it. I am now using the second USB-C port for charging it but I don't know how long it will last.

[Peabody]

Yeah, I don't see why he doesn't get solder bridges on all the pins after adding all that low temp solder.  But apparently he didn't.

Well I'm in the same situation.  I have the second USB-C port I can use for charging, but would rather not depend on that.

[u666sa]

The question here is this. Do you have a microscope?

If yes, then you'd have all other expensive tools and you are capable of doing this job.

If the answer is no, then you are not qualified to do this job.

[Koray]

Glue under the port can be seen in this example:

[Peabody]

Glue under the port can be seen in this example:

Yes, but it seemed to come off with little problem.  That video also showed heating from the back.  But I'll have to see what's on that side of the board.

[Peabody]

The question here is this. Do you have a microscope?

If yes, then you'd have all other expensive tools and you are capable of doing this job.

If the answer is no, then you are not qualified to do this job.

Of course I'm not qualified.  I'm not qualified for most of the things I do in electronics.

[wraper]

Glue under the port can be seen in this example:

That's some stupid design I haven't stumbled upon. Adding copper polygon and soldering connector body to that is way more robust and does not need additional process of applying adhesive. BTW Lenovo (I didn't pay attention to that when reading initial post) likes to use low melting point solder and underfilling components which you need to be aware if dealing with those. Otherwise you may heat things too much and solder will melt and squeeze out from underfilled components if they happen to be nearby or if you preheat the board as normal. So I don't suggest using preheater unless you have an issue, it may screw up things when dealing with Lenovo boards. Those who do component level repairs hate them.

[Peabody]

Well it may turn out that I am both unqualified and a dumbass.  Before ordering the replacement port, I took another look into the port, with good light and a magnifier this time, to see if I could see anything bent or broken on the contacts.  It all looked ok.  But I decided to shave down a toothpick and dig around in there to see if there was anything there that shouldn't be.

That exercise was "productive".  So I did the same with the plugs on both of my power supplies, and that was productive too, but less so.  Anyway, powering through that port now seems to work ok. Even wiggled the plug a bit, with no problems.

The port is not as tight as the second USB-C port, so I may end up having to replace it after all.  But for now it seems to work well enough.

Should have done this before posting, but I've learned a lot about hot air rework.  Also, it seems to me that using USB-C for power isn't really a good idea for devices that are big enough to use a barrel jack.  But it looks like that's how it's going to be.

[u666sa]

The port is not as tight as the second USB-C port

You can carefully bend it into shape with a set of small pliers.

[Koray]

Lucky you! I tried cleaning the port, there was some shiny tiny piece of debris, but didn't change the behaviour. Then I checked the port with lupe and one side structural foot had cracked solder, I replensihed all four, tightened the port with pliers, but still not good. When I move the jack left and right power goes down. No bent pins or similar issues. The actual port is tiny and there are the tiniest SMD elements nearby so resoldering a new one seems even more scary. Will look around the city to see if there is a pro that can do the job.

K.