A Closer Look At The Damage

At a glance, this section of the card did not look like there was anything out of place. But if you look closely at the capacitor circled in red, you can see that it is actually torn off the pad and is not in proper contact.

Here, the card is missing an inductor and a 16V, 330uF capacitor is precariously seated and actually wobbling loose. Might as well fix that at the same time.

The Workbench Setup

Now let's take a look at my simple setup. First up is my trusty soldering iron - the 35W Hakko DASH, sitting in a heatsink which I used for "scrapings".

Next is my multimeter which I use to test the circuit. Remember the various modes you'll have to use. Note that because it is an active circuit, you cannot actively test the component you fixed, because the other components will affect it. What you should look for are pulses of life.

To do that, measure across the capacitor's legs.

1. If the continuity test gives you a constant beep the second you put it on, you probably have a short circuit.

2. If the continuity test gives you a single beep and then stops, then it should be working, because the capacitor is charged up.

3. If the capacitance test gives you a figure and then goes to zero, you should have done the solder work the right way. Just remember to discharge the capacitor first by measuring the voltage or using a high value resistor.

If the capacitance shows OL, even after you've discharged and connected the terminals properly, you've probably done something wrong or created a solder bridge.