DavidG

I just received a replacement P-chip from Neuspeed with corrected timing to (hopefully) eliminate my pinging issue. They agreed to send me the chip since I'm a competent solderer and wanted to avoid another round of down time while my ECU is shipped out.<p>Although I feel fairly confident, the ECU is an expensive component and I thought it wise to solicit any advice that anyone whose done this before might have to offer.<p>In particular: suggestions about proper soldering iron wattage and tip size, solder wick vs. other removal method, etc. My main concern is removal of the old chip (I don't want to cause any of the pads to separate from the PC board).<p>The chip appears to be a 44 pin surface mount DIP package with a fairly manageable pin pitch (1 to 1.25 mm, it seems).<p>Thanks in advance.

DaveN

If you don't mind tearing up the old chip you can get it off by heating and pulling up one pin at a time (do it slow, make sure the solder flows before you pull, a microscope helps), but to get the part off in any kind of state you can reuse a hot air tool is required (I've used everything from a small butane pencil to a 5K production reflow machine),

David White

Several companies (metcal, pace, etc.) make surface mount rework/removal soldering tips for specific applications.<p>Here is what i suggest doing:<br>-Find the corect tip for your applicaton (i'm not sure about the dimensions and all that, but i'm sure that the DIP you have is a common package type)<br>-remove the old part with a desoldering iron/machine and the tip of choice<br>-clean up the pads with some "solder wick"<br>-solder down the new part (you could use the specialized tip or use any old tip to solder one pin at a time)<p>you can email me if you want some more details and i'll try to help...<p>my area of expertise is putting down surface mount components, not removing them...but i work with plenty of engineers that specialize in SMT rework, so i can also get info from them....<p>good luck!!<p>David White<br>98 2.8qm (H&R coilovers)