Hey guys, what does hot air do? Does it make a flat puddle of solder on the circuit board instead of a mound like a Hershey's Kiss?

Should I get hot air or just a work station like this?

 

just a note for those who may not be familiar with soldering. Always use flux core solder on electronics. There is also acid core which should never be used on anything electronic. Try to find solder with the highest lead content too. Old mom & pop type electronics stores usually have it. Our last real electronics store, which had been here for 60+ years finally closed. Use plenty of denatured alcohol and a brush with stiff bristles to remove the flux residue. Make each solder joint as quickly as possible so you don't overheat anything. Let the solder cool on its own.

 

Nah, it's not lead vapor that makes that aroma. Rosin core solder won't emit lead vapors in any quantity to worry about. The fumes aren't something to sit around and huff, however. Lead solder is being phased out, so we have that going for us. Lots of problems with "tin whiskers" and such, and wave soldered boards are prone to cracks.

 

Holding up well. One of the preset buttons was a bit sticky but I fixed that with a rubber o-ring. Other than that it works pretty good. Haven't burnt out any elements yet but then again I don't use it heavily. I think I've had it maybe a year now. Beats the old soldering iron that it replaces.

Hot air is for working in places where you can't or don't want to reach with your soldering iron plus it's faster. See here around the 3:30 mark...

 

Magic!

Alrighty then, what would I use replacing those three little sky blue capacitors in my EEC-IV ECM which are likely identically or similarly placed as shown in the link in the first post of this thread?

Hot Air or Iron?

Solder Paste or wire?

BTW, this stuff is really cool. We have a problem with the overhead console temperature display breaking in the 7.3 Powerstrokes and you can pay $35 to have someone on ebay "reflow" the broken solder connections on the circuit board. Or you can do it yourself if you have the guts. (There is a thread on this on FTE somewhere.) With the right tool I would have the guts to try it myself. And I have a circuit board malfuntion in a rather expensive Whirlpool range which I have now sitting in my yard under a tarp which I would like to examine. So a good station would be good to have.

 

Those capacitors are thru-hole mounted so you could use an iron on them with rosin core wire... no need to get fancy there.

I like hot air for reflowing joints. $35 to reflow an overhead console PCB seems fair if that includes shipping.

Good luck with that whirlpool range... I like to crack things open and take a look inside as well. Hate throwing stuff away that can sometimes be fixed for almost nothing.

 

$31.95 and free shipping back to you but you pay the shipping to their shop in Florida:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/FORD-SUPERDUTY-F250-F350-OVERHEAD-CONSOLE-COMPUTER-REPAIR-SERVICE-we-repair-your-/260706895913?hash=item3cb3578829&vxp=mtr

 

You can add these to your research. 1994 F-150 5.0 EFI Speed Density type (MAP), Madza 5 spd, 4 W/D.
Original computer
ECC-IVEFI-SD42FJOYOF4TF-12A650-AVAG64ESF42R4910378-1114C25
Junkyard replacement
ECC-IVEFI-SD42FJOYOF4TF-12A650-AVAG64ESF42R4914003-2434K18
Original computer , Numbers on boardtop left
CM199101995-0443-03-4M329BBM-AC84D42512MO3BC-AC
Junkyard computer , Numbers on boardtop left
CM199101995-0366-03-4 M329BBM-AC84D42512MO3BC-AC


Numbers on boardtop rear =1234567890 ( both the same)
Original:Capacitors harness end1. Left front = 47uf 16v Blue
Junkyard: Capacitors harness end1. Left front = 47uf 16v Black
Original:Right mid board = 10uf 63vBlue
Junkyard: Right mid board = 10uf 63vBlack
Original:Right towards back = 47uf 16vBlue
Junkyard: Right towards back = 47uf 16vBlack
Original: All 3 have Dia. Of .257 x length of .440, P/N A9405,105c,Nichicon
Junkyard: All 3 have Dia. Of .205 x length of .440,P/N H9437,105c,Nichicon
Original:Engine runs, Fuel pumps run continuously, no codes, very rich, 2 caps leaking, board brown & delaminating at caps over ½ dia.
Junkyard: Engine no start, Fuel pumps run continuously, no codes, very rich, 3 caps leaking, board brown & delaminating at caps over 3/4 dia. , Yellow (disc ?) next to cap. Also brown & delam.
PS: Lesson learned – NEVER install a junkyard cpu without opening it up for inspection. This one was installed by a repair shop and you know they didn’t check it. I got 376 miles (15 months) out of that cpu.
I also found the CAND and EVR solenoids where stuck closed. Still need to check MAP, But don’t have a freq meter.

 

Update: OK, guys, Conanski and others suggested that I look for possible arcing between plug wires. So at night I ran the engine and didn't see any arcing. So I replaced my EGR sensor and it didn't fix it (I don't think it needed replacement). I replaced my frame rail fuel filter (it really needed it) and my in-tank fuel pump (it needed that too). Nothing helped.

So, I pulled my PCM and opened it up to look for leaking/bulging of the three (now 20-year old) capacitors which notoriously fail in my EEC-IV PCM and the capacitors looked good, so I didn't replace them (although I will eventually).

After early morning Easter resurrection services (man those Presbyterians can sing!) at my mother in laws (because I had nothing to do) I was looking closely at the spark plug wires and I could see and feel roughness on the wire rubber where one wire was crossing over another wire. So I separated that wire from crossing over the other by stretching it over the valve cover plastic oil fill cap.

And the miss instantly was reduced.

Since then I installed a 9mm Ford Racing Spark Plug Wire Set* (from Summit Racing for $43) and two sets of Ford Racing Wire Separators ($14 ea. for plastic! but they look and work good), and guess what?

I HAVE NO MORE MISS OR HESITATION OR STUMBLING WHATSO-FRIGGIN'- EVER !!!

Let me repeat that for emphasis:

I HAVE NO MORE MISS OR HESITATION OR STUMBLING WHATSO-FRIGGIN'- EVER !!!

Finally, if you do this make, sure that you get a copy of your SPARK PLUG WIRE ROUTING DIAGRAM and follow it!!! Because of the firing order, certain wires have to run cross-ways to others (not parallel) so follow the routing diagram to a "T" and make sure you use wire separators (generics are half the price at Pep Boys) to keep the routed wires in place.

Just two cents from a guy who assumed it was the PCM and was about to replace it.

And finally, there is no substitute for pulling your PCM if you want to know its number. And if you can, photocopy or photograph the bar code and numbers on the exterior of the PCM. Otherwise, you are just guessing.

And one more thing, I attribute this all to the Easter Morning services. So go to church.


* The 9mm Ford Racing Spark Plug Wire set is really nice. Not only are the wires bigger than stock, but each wire for a specified engine is already fabricated in the correct length for that numbered cylinder (no need for you to cut and fabricate) and check this out: EACH WIRE IS NUMBERED ALONG ITS LENGTH WITH THE NUMBER OF THE CYLINDER IT GOES TO !!! (Even I couldn't screw this up.)

 

Got some questions for you guys:

1.- Is it recommended to replace the capacitors with higher voltage ratings?
2.- Which would you recommend to replace the 47uf 16v and 10uf 63v respectively?
3.- What does the color on the cap means? temperature rating?
4.- Which are the best ones I could get?

I'm looking into giving my ECM new life and need as much info as possible.

 

1. Higher voltage rating won't be better, or worse. However, the voltage must be whatever the original was rated for at the minimum.
2. Find an equivalent capacitor. Try to get as close as you can to the original capacitance.
3. Color doesn't mean anything - however, you should find capacitors rated for 105*C at the minimum.
4. You need Low ESR capacitors. Panasonic, Rubycon and Nippon ChemiCon are all top brands.

 

Well, forget about 63v, I guess 150v will do (no other available). About the temperature, unknown, maybe 85 or 105, at least I found compatible caps. I'll try to get this done this weekend, even though it's my first time messing with the ECM. Really hope it's the end of my very long ordeal... I need to have my truck back on the road.

 

85*c isn't high enough for an automotive application. Digikey or Mouser will have all the caps you are looking for.

 

Remember, I don't reside in the US. Here it is "take whatever there is, you might not find even this tomorrow". But I think they'll be fine. I'll just keep an eye on them, re-checking the ECM in a few months.

 

Mouser will ship to Venezuela. http://ve.mouser.com/