[Crazyman21]

I have a 2011 chevy cruze that the dash lights went out on one side, I took it off and found that there aren't any bulbs to change, it looks like a circuit board, do you have to change the whole board? or am I not seeing the bulbs to change.

 

[ChevyGuy]

I'd expect it to be LEDs soldered to the board. No bulbs. Odds are you'll either have to replace or find someone who can repair.

 

[Blasirl]

They are LEDs.

 

[ChevyGuy]

They are LEDs.

Not something I'd recommend unless you have some experience soldering. As it is, I wonder about that guy's work. Not all solder is the same. If that's plumbing solder, the acid flux will eat the connections.

 

[Blasirl]

Not something I'd recommend unless you have some experience soldering. As it is, I wonder about that guy's work. Not all solder is the same. If that's plumbing solder, the acid flux will eat the connections.

I have no idea what he uses, but Rosin Core is the way to go.

 

[Snipesy]

Well since were talking about soldering.

The TS100 is the soldering iron to have. It’s fairly cheap. And it’s much better than your Ace Hardware junk.

 

[Blasirl]

Well since were talking about soldering.

The TS100 is the soldering iron to have. It’s fairly cheap. And it’s much better than your Ace Hardware junk.

This one

or

This one

or ??

 

[Ma v e n]

Well since were talking about soldering.

The TS100 is the soldering iron to have. It’s fairly cheap. And it’s much better than your Ace Hardware junk.

This one

or

This one

or ??

Unless for some reason you absolutely need to be able to solder without having access to AC power Id skip that and go with one of these two...
For less money: https://www.amazon.com/X-Tronic-302...ocphy=9003904&hvtargid=pla-494489910238&psc=1

Arguably the finest reasonably priced station: https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D...=hakko+888&dpPl=1&dpID=41p4q888-9L&ref=plSrch

Solder:
https://www.amazon.com/Kester-24-63...er+44+.020&dpPl=1&dpID=41NCuJzzVmL&ref=plSrch

This is three, 10ft packs for $7.99 with free non prime shipping. It's a good deal if you can wait a week. A standard 10ft tube is over $10 prime.

 

[plano-doug]

Unless for some reason you absolutely need to be able to solder without having access to AC power Id skip that and go with one of these two...
For less money: https://www.amazon.com/X-Tronic-302...ocphy=9003904&hvtargid=pla-494489910238&psc=1

Arguably the finest reasonably priced station: https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D...=hakko+888&dpPl=1&dpID=41p4q888-9L&ref=plSrch

Those both look like good solder stations. I've seen the Hakko brand on lots of benches. And the X-tronic does indeed look like a very good value.

I have an old Weller solder station on my garage bench, but it seems like they haven't kept up in the market place.

Thanks for sharing those.

Doug

.

 

[Snipesy]

There’s lots of people who sell TS100s. Can’t really go wrong some of them just come with different stuff. Bangood is probably the best place.

But I love the thing. So much. It’s my baby and I really like the shorter tips and slim design.

The only downsides is it doesn’t come with a station(you can get one) or sponge or anything like that. It also sucks if you need to heat a lot of material, it just doesn’t have the capacity, but that’s kinda rare and a sign you’re doing it wrong.

having said that the hakko is the best station at its price range.

 

[plano-doug]

It also sucks if you need to heat a lot of material, it just doesn’t have the capacity, but that’s kinda rare and a sign you’re doing it wrong.

Agreed. If you need more heat, get out a soldering gun, something with 100+ watts instead of 25. Heck, I've even used a torch to solder some really big wires

Seriously, the small irons are perfect for circuit board work, but when I'm joining 12 or 10 gauge wires, I get out my old gun.

Doug

.

 

[plano-doug]

But I love the [TS100]. So much. It’s my baby and I really like the shorter tips and slim design.

The battery powered irons have their place. They can be very handy when you're a long way from an AC outlet. Seems like I tried one years ago - I think I was surprised at how well it worked

Doug

.

 

[Ma v e n]

The Xtronics is a 75w iron, and the Hakko is 65w they are both rated to 900degF, And they will easily handle soldering jobs up to 10gauge without problem.(I don't solder anything bigger than 10 so can't speak to it) I've been using an 888 for work, and hobby purposes for years.

The solder I use and recommended melts at 360F(so do most quality leaded electronics rosin core solders) and a tip temp of 625F or so works great with it.

Running a hotter tip, or an 1100F+ degree soldering gun just instantly vaporizes the flux and even some of the solder, and puts way to much heat into joint. That much heat will damage the insulation if doing wiring(especially cheap aftermarket PVC/vinyl coated wires) and can damage the conductor, burn out resistors, LEDs and other components.

Having a properly sized solder (.015 - .030" max) when doing fine work especially and all work in general is a key part of a quality joint,and something most people get wrong. Additionally realizing it can take a few seconds to get heat into your joint to melt the solder is important, a little bit of dwell time might be the right tactic, not a >9000 iron temp. That said, with my tip temps, on a circuit board or typical 16-24awg auto wiring I work on, tip on work time is about 5 seconds or less. Even on 12awg to 12awg wire splices it's not any longer.