Help Laser stopped working shortly after repair.

[AnthonyZ28]

Today I repaired my laser by re attaching the spring that had fallen off. All i did was solder it back on. The first time I reassembled it it worked fine but i hadn't put the button in, so i took it back out put the button in and reassembled. This time it wouldnt work. I took it back out to find that a connection going to the diode had came off on the board, so I resoldered that. Put it back together and no luck and that is where I am now, no nothing. Any ideas what went wrong the second time? I do have pictures of before and after the break but there are no noticable detail, but if you want to see them I will gladly put them up. Thank you.

 

[lazeerer]

Iam guessing where the diode pin was connected to the board that broke off took some of the tracer with it.

Try taking a flashlight and placing it under the board to light it up and see if you can see a gap from the diode pin and the tracing running to the diode pin on the board.

Have you tried another battery.? <<< This could be it also.

 

[AnthonyZ28]

There's 3 pins going to from the board to the diode and all 3 seem to be in there. Yeah and I tried diferent batteries too :/

 

[Ash]

Did you not use ESD protection when soldering the diode pin back on the board?
Did you heat up the diode too much when soldering the lead?

-Both of these things can fry a diode.

 

[kruser495]

did you discharge you capacitor first?

 

[AnthonyZ28]

Did you not use ESD protection when soldering the diode pin back on the board?
Did you heat up the diode too much when soldering the lead?

-Both of these things can fry a diode.

That's probably what happened.. This was my first time soldering ever and think I did a pretty good job for a first time. Whats ESD protection? And the diode was hot to the touch after I got done.

 

[AnthonyZ28]

did you discharge you capacitor first?

How is that done?

 

[kruser495]

How is that done?

you short the leads of the cap with a screw driver or piece of metal, cause if you didnt thats what most likely did it unless you held the iron the diode for like a minute. we have all lost diodes to caps.

 

[Ash]

That's probably what happened.. This was my first time soldering ever and think I did a pretty good job for a first time. Whats ESD protection? And the diode was hot to the touch after I got done.

ESD (Electrostatic Discharge): -link-
Diodes are very sensitive to static electricity, and you can fry one easily by just walking across a carpet and touching a diode pin (without grounding yourself).
Also, if the diode got hot enough, that could have killed it as well.

 

[Flaminpyro]

The best way to know if your diode is fried is to attach it to another driver that you know is good.

to short the cap just short the pins on the driver board where the laser diode attaches.

I have a idea you my have killed the diode with heat if it was smoking hot after you soldered it, if that wasn't what got it then it was most likely stored up energy in the cap as the diode was disconnected when the driver was powered up so the cap voltage got well above what the diode could stand.

Peace All...