My soldering skills have been confined to splicing wires and replacing a diode. After reviewing Youtube tutorials, I've decided to attempt to replace a burnt out lcd on the climate control unit of my car. I purchased a cheap variable temp soldering station from Fry's and am now struggling to practice desoldering on a old mother board. The iron has a real fine pencil tip tinned with .032 rosin core solder. Initially, I was able to desolder a few joints but now am unable to. I'll clean and tin the tip and try again and again. One tutorial suggested adding fresh solder to a troublesome joint but I can't get it to melt. Supposedly, the station is a 70w unit with a 392f-897f range. I focused a infrared thermometer on the tip and for some reason it registered cold. I tested the iron against some wire and registered in the 140f range with the station turned up to the max..Tested a 25w pencil iron with roughly the same results. I don't know if I have a equipment or technique issue.
Thanks for any constructive suggestions.
Thanks for any constructive suggestions.