iPod 5GB, Suspected Firewire Connector Open Circuits / Cold Solder Joints

[Adonsa]

Hi,
I posted this as a reply in the iPod lounge website, if doing this is too redundant (or considered cross posting), please let me know.

Symptoms: iPod can be charged off the 117v power adapter if I very patiently move the ipod cable around in the connector until I can observe the charging status. iPod is not recognized by either the Mac finder or the iTunes application. It does occasionally recognize if I wiggle the firewire male connector around in the female connector.

Suspicions are strong that it is iPod Firewire connector cracks in cold solder joints that connect the connector to the circuit board.Or, or it is suspected that there are cracks in the solder joints themselves. To reinforce this suspicion, take a look at the iPod Surgery Web page

http://homepage.mac.com/toj/PhotoAlbum20.html

Not my web page, I found it by accident. Unfortunately the author didn't provide much narrative.

Probable cause: Design flaw, carelessness on the part of factory assembly line workers (which country is the iPod made in?), inadequate heat or contact time in the soldering process.

Course of Action: OK, I haven't done anything yet, just narrowed the cause. I can do the micro-surgery, but I don't want to, so I'll be looking for an iPod (out of warranty) repair place to send it to. I'll post a followup to this weblog after I do something.

Sure appreciate any of your comments or observations, and especially your advice on
repair place to send out-of-warranty iPod for Firewire connector repair job.

Oh yeah, it has a new battery so that is ruled out as the cause.

Thanks much for reading through all this, hope it helps somebody out.

Keywords: Solder Connector Firewire Recognize

[ElDiabloConCaca]

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