Xbox 360 controller LED swap, question (SCREWED IT UP, pads ripped off :S)

[Containm3nt]

https://www.acidmods.com/forum/index.php?topic=19039.0
here's a tut that i made a looong time ago...search plz...

Read the tutorials, they tend to ...

[Max_Kreeger]

I can't, there's not enough space. I done all the other 3 and now I can't do this one. ITS REALLY PISSING ME OFF

EDIT:

Its ok I MANAGED to fix it after like 3 hours. what happend is the trace also got ripped off up to the point where it starts to turn to the pads. So all I had was this:
___
___

But much closer (This is for the player 4 LED)
Anyway I made some new traces with 30 Gauge Kynar wire and then put some nail polish on top of it to stop it from shorting. HARDEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE! Glad its over...pics will be up soon

[bustinthejustin]

Happy you fixed it. How'd you manage to destroy a pad? Also, as for your problems doing an led swap:

Just be patient. I find that blobing solder onto both ends of the led and then alternating sides helps a lot. After a while it comes off. 15w is actually the preferred wattage for modding, although more experienced modders have gone with higher wattages. As for tip size, if you just buy the 15w iron off of Radioshack for about 10 bucks, it should work fine. As I said, just be patient. When you say your iron doesn't take on solder, perhaps it's just time for a new iron. How'd you manage to melt everything around the thing? Remember. Don't try to apply too much heat if it's not working. Maybe 5 secs max, let it cool off if you failed, and try again. Remember to clean your tip often, use rosin core solder, and flux.

Good luck with future led swaps

[Max_Kreeger]

I dunno, I got the LED off and then went to clean the pads and smooth them out so its not a blob and I slowly ran the iron over them and then it came off. I think I applied too much heat. Oh well, good lesson for the future.

Thanks again for the advice and info
Max

[802Chives]

oh boy now uv done it........haha isn't learning fun?  Ok so remember all the talk about the MATRIX v. CG controllers, the first thing you need to do is identify which one you are working on(srry if u already, too lazy to find out). Go to the controllers thread a look for the stickied topic with how to identify.  From there, there are some hi-res images on the internets that you can look and see where the traces go.  I will link you when you reply with ur controller type

basically you should be able to see with a magnifying glass where the traces run on the board, so the images arent nessecary.  when scraping the "soldermask" (green stuff) be really careful and make sure to scrape it until the copper shows through shiny.  your best bet is finding the corresponding "via" (round hole where trace ends and transfers to other side of the pcb). once you have the bare copper just solder some wire to jump out the broken trace.

Gameroms uses a fiberglass pen that is made for lightly removing stuff like, soldermask try finding one on ebay if you are not confident with ur scraping skills as that is the hardest part of this repair.

[Max_Kreeger]

Thanks for the detailed response. The controller PCB is one of the first ones..so the old MATRIX ones. Its ok I've already had a look at the pictures.

lol this has been a long thread hope it helps anyone else who runs into the same problems

Max