Saber Build Problems

[Keivan]

Hi Guys I build a saber first time and I got some issues when I try to turn on the saber. it used to work before but for some reason now it doesnt turn on and the circuit board tent to get real hot
my solution is to un-solder everything and start from scratch but before I do that I wanted to see if any one have an idea or a better and less painful solution for my problem, to be specific when I connect the battery I hear a turn on sound but after that the switch dosnt light up nor turn on the saber and when I touch the circuit the area where the power wires are seem to get hot. which I think that is NOT good.
any help is appreciated
best
K
here is the diagram I used to wired everythingkeivan diagram_01.jpg

[Keivan]

here are some pics of the actual board with the wiring sorry for a super sloppy job, my first time and believe it or not it was working for few days until it stopped
IMG_1713.jpgIMG_1708.jpgIMG_1709.jpgIMG_1710.jpgIMG_1711.jpg

[Silver Serpent]

I'll reiterate what I mentioned in the chatbox for you, in case it scrolls away before you see it.

Looking at your diagram, I'm not sure you used the right resistor for your illuminated switch. It appears to be this one: http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/16...itch-P703.aspx On a 3.3v pad, you'd only want a 68 ohm resistor, not the 270 ohm that you have in your diagram. That LED is going to have a hard time illuminating with that particular resistor in place.

Warm is fine. Hot is not. If it's painful to the touch and makes you snatch your hand away, then you have a real issue. If you can hold it without discomfort, then it should be ok.

Before you start rewiring the entire saber...recharge the batteries. 9/10 times, the issue with odd saber behavior is related to a low charge on your li-ion cells, especially if it was working fine before.

Edit: Now that I've seen your soldering pictures, I'll change my advise. Please rewire that board. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOdnGUMi7lQ is the tutorial I used when learning to solder. You'll want to practice a bit.

[Keivan]

Ok I will change the resistor the battery is charged I know that I keep checking, the board is to warm but its not so hot that I burn my hand I can still hold it but its very uncomfortable. its wired that when I plug the battery the saber looks like wants to turn on with all the sounds it makes but then it dies and heats up

[Keivan]

I'll reiterate what I mentioned in the chatbox for you, in case it scrolls away before you see it.

Looking at your diagram, I'm not sure you used the right resistor for your illuminated switch. It appears to be this one: http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/16...itch-P703.aspx On a 3.3v pad, you'd only want a 68 ohm resistor, not the 270 ohm that you have in your diagram. That LED is going to have a hard time illuminating with that particular resistor in place.

Warm is fine. Hot is not. If it's painful to the touch and makes you snatch your hand away, then you have a real issue. If you can hold it without discomfort, then it should be ok.

Before you start rewiring the entire saber...recharge the batteries. 9/10 times, the issue with odd saber behavior is related to a low charge on your li-ion cells, especially if it was working fine before.

Edit: Now that I've seen your soldering pictures, I'll change my advise. Please rewire that board. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOdnGUMi7lQ is the tutorial I used when learning to solder. You'll want to practice a bit.

So You think I should re do the wiring from scratch?

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

So You think I should re do the wiring from scratch?

Absolutely!!!!!

[Keivan]

Absolutely!!!!!

bummer

[Silver Serpent]

Some soldering tips for you:

Get some desoldering braid. Use that to remove your large globs of solder when you're desoldering everything.

If you're using lead-free solder, stop. Get the leaded solder. I use a thin gauge 60/40 leaded solder. It melts easier, flows better, and is generally simpler to work with as a soldering newbie.

After you strip the ends of your wires, twist the strands together so they don't fray out. Then, pre-tin the wires. ALWAYS pre-tin the wires.

Keep the exposed wire length to the minimum possible. You have a lot of exposed wire, and that can lead to shorts and other issues. You can cut the exposed wire to an appropriate length after it's been tinned.

You have a number of cold solder joints. I suggest doing no more than one or two solder joints, then give your iron a minute or two to come back up to temperature.

Keep the tip of your soldering iron clean. The little wet sponge works. The brass sponge things work better. A dirty iron tip doesn't transfer heat well, and will give you very poor results.

You've soldered a number of the wires through the holes on the board. It's generally better to solder them to the surface. Most especially, the speaker wires. If you try to solder the speaker wires through the holes, you'll usually end up shorting on the SD card holder. Also, remember to remove the SD card before you start soldering.

You put heatshrink on most of your solder joints. That's good. Next time, you'll want to put heatshrink on ALL of them (except for the board connections, obviously). That splice on your blue wire makes me really nervous. Heatshrink on the recharge port tabs will help keep things safe as well.

I hope these tips help you out. I know it's not easy the first time out, but your skills will improve. Good luck!

[Flyby Knight]

You've soldered a number of the wires through the holes on the board. It's generally better to solder them to the surface. Most especially, the speaker wires. If you try to solder the speaker wires through the holes, you'll usually end up shorting on the SD card holder. Also, remember to remove the SD card before you start soldering.

That's interesting... I soldered mine through the hole as well. I'd seen a few videos and such that seemed to indicate that was the proper way. Any chance you could post a pic or something to illustrate what you mean?

[Sevinzol]

A good wire stripper will save you a lot of frustration
here is a link to a search of wire strippers at harbor freight
http://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...=wire+stripper

I'm linking it so you can see several different kinds of strippers.
All but one of these styles are crap, it doesn't matter where you get them (radio shack, home depot, lowes, etc)
I've personaly used the 5" and 6.5" (radio shack) and they were awfull
This STYLE will work good ==> harborfreight heavy-duty-self-adjusting-wire-stripper
I've used it on everything from Romex down to Cat5e. the right tool makes a world of difference