Crossposted from GM_TBI:

I made an attempt to desolder the 24-pin EPROM socket in my ECM last night, with bad results. I think my problem is a combination of technique and equipment. What's the best approach to getting the old socket out? I bought a desoldering braid/wick and a solder sucker bulb thing from radio shack and while I got a LOT of solder off, apparently there was enough still keeping the pins in place. The socket wouldn't budge. I even cut off all the pins on the socket, so the pins were flush with the PCB.

Since it was going so bad, I decided to cut my losses and carefully resoldered all the pins and put the ECM back together. The car runs, so I didn't harm anything with excess heat.

I am probably going to order a spare junkyard ECM before I attempt this again. Any tips on desoldering technique? I was using a butane iron which has a variable heat adjustment. There was plenty of heat. I've never desoldered a socket before and this probably wasn't the best time to learn. A friend recommended a syringe...

 

Easiest method:

Carefully pry the plastic carrier piece off of the pins. Use a thin screwdriver under the plastic and twist it. Use something between the screwdriver and the PCB to protect the traces. Thin cardboard works, even a piece of tin can will do.

You'll find that the open frame plastic piece comes off easily. This leaves the pins sticking up out of the PCB.

Heat each pin in turn and lift it out of the hole. Tweezers, hemostats, needlenose plyers, magnet, . . .

Now solder wick the holes open. Done.

RBob.

 

Do you think it would help to heat up the socket first? I started gently prying but was afraid I was going to hurt something. There is barely enough room to get the smallest flat screwdriver from a jewelers set in there. Maybe I'll try a little heat.

 

Some heat would help, even a hair drier. A jewelers screwdriver is a little small. Go for the corners of the socket first. Then move up to a larger prying device.

RBob.

 

Removing the plasic carrier is a good idea!

Here is something from da mopar guys......

http://www.dodgez.com/movies/Desoldering_101.wmv

 

Wow! A desoldering video set to Bob Marley. Now I have seen it all.

Also, I like how he says Radio Shack sucks, yet he's clearly using a Radio Shack desoldering iron

 

Should have seen Doc trying to dance to it........

 

As I'm sure all of you were waiting anxiously at the edge of your computer chairs, I will say that I got the socket removed last night, and the ZIF installed. We used a butter knife (Ha!) to remove the socket, then desoldered each pin from there. Cleaning the holes of solder was the hardest part. So now I am almost ready to RT tune (just gotta buy RT TC and whichever EPROM emulator I decide to go with - probably what TC recommends).

I also have a backup ECM, from a 92 roadmaster L03. My caprice started and idled on this calibration, too (though it was pretty rich). I wonder what I should do with it. How tough would it be to get lockers working with a '6965?

 

Check out Craig Moates's site. He has a detailed description of how to desolder a 24 pin socket and install a 'G2 adapter', complete with pictures. This was very helpful when I did my first. Glad to see you got it done.

-Mike