solder won't melt

[whojohnjones]

I have Memphis amp that was almost stolen an the 12v power supply terminal was pulled from board. now I want to put remote terminal on the 12v slot on board and solder wire to remote..but the solder won't melt with new 30watt iron..any ideas

[Perry Babin]

You may need a 50+ watt iron that's better quality that you'll get from Radio Shack (or similar).

If the copper is on the terminal side of the circuit board for the positive terminal and it ripped the vias out of the board, you may not be able to get a good connection to the board.

[Mooly]

Is the solder lead free ? rather than the old 60/40 solder as that requires higher temperature to work with.

If the connection you are working with is physically "large" then you need an iron with a large tip to hold more heat, perhaps also as mentioned above a larger wattage.

[Glowbug]

What kind of solder are you using? If it's the thicker lead-free stuff, you may have a harder time getting that to melt vs. thinner leaded solder. Melted some traces before I learned that one

[jol50]

I hate that lead free stuff, it also chunks up. I don't do a lot of the larger stuff, but what I use is an old weller solder gun. It gets hot and takes those larger solders right off no problem. I get it warmed up good and try to work fast. I think my iron is a 35w, the gun is much more, but still a big terminal will suck the heat right up from that too if you take your time.

[tinitus]

is it about the solder itself, or the "old" solder joint that wont melt ?
what kind of solder ?
what kind of tip ?

sometimes it helps with lots of hot solder on the tip, and keep putting solder into the joint
melted solder heats a lot
but with the risk of a cold solder joint
or damage to components from long time heating
30watt aint much, and goes cold fast
remember to let it heat up good before using
and the tip should be clean
but it may go cold the very second you touch anything much bigger than its tip