iStick 100W 510 connector leads repair *done*

[firemonster]

Hello, this is my first time posting. I am here because my iStick 100W. The 510 connector was attached to my first gen subtank, I tried to unscrew it and it wasn't disconnecting smoothly. After that the device wasn't giving a resistance with any device, and it wouldn't fire, and only showed the no atty message. So, I opened 'er up and the 510 connector seemed to be glued into the socket that surrounds it. Also, unsurprisingly, the solder joint to the negative lead had broken off. I am sure I can fix it, I will edit this post with pictures and more info as I go.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I contacted the company where I purchased it, but then I read their return policy. Apparently I only had 14 days to break it. Oh well.

Here we go.
There are 3 ridiculously tiny torx (t5) screws on the top of the device. I used a cheap kit I purchased for iPhone repair tasks to remove those. Once the top was off it was pretty obvious what happened. In retrospect I probably wouldn't have had to do the repair if I hadn't done a full 360 rotation of it when it became loose and rotated with the tank.

So, I de-soldered the positive lead so that I could get to the negative more easily.

While I was prepping the area I tried to get some solder to absorb between the 510 part and the case top. I have no idea if this is effective or if it got in the crack at all.

after getting the negative lead to stick somehwhere I decided it was a little too close to the center pin for my liking. So I hotglued the whole upper surface, again attempting to keep the 510 connector from moving ever again.

After the glue cooled I soldered the red wire back to the center post.

and the moment of truth.



Hell yeah.

Actually dropped it off of the desk as I was attaching the top plate.
Picked it up and it still worked.

My subtank is reading .52 ohm for the .5 ohm rebuildable, which is what it was before this whole incident started.

Thanks for Reading.

Vape on.

 

[z man]

Hello Firemonster,YES! pictures please!....Lots of them....You are embarking on a journey into the unknown so go boldly!....Just kiddin' but I have a 100 watter also,but the tinkerer in Me has hid My screwdriver set....Z

 

[firemonster]

Thanks for the support, I went for it after you posted.

Hello Firemonster,YES! pictures please!....Lots of them....You are embarking on a journey into the unknown so go boldly!....Just kiddin' but I have a 100 watter also,but the tinkerer in Me has hid My screwdriver set....Z

 

[Saddletramp1200]

I would have taken a Fat Daddy 510 connector out of the tackle box, punched the stock one out, solder the leads back, but that's just me. You did a damn fine job. I build Mods for grins. It's a hobby.

 

[firemonster]

I googled a little to see if I could find the 510 connector that is currently in it. I did not have any luck finding it. I will keep the fat daddy in mind for future fixes. It seems like it would add a mm or so gap to the top of the device?

Thank you, I am very happy with the results. I think this fix is going to last for a pretty long time.

I would have taken a Fat Daddy 510 connector out of the tackle box, punched the stock one out, solder the leads back, but that's just me. You did a damn fine job. I build Mods for grins. It's a hobby.

 

[Saddletramp1200]

I googled a little to see if I could find the 510 connector that is currently in it. I did not have any luck finding it. I will keep the fat daddy in mind for future fixes. It seems like it would add a mm or so gap to the top of the device?

Thank you, I am very happy with the results. I think this fix is going to last for a pretty long time.

We get insane with Mods. Limited by what you want. Saw one at a vape show with a Gold Fish swimming in the bottom of the stand. I would put MP3 players in them. But I'm too lazy. Blue tooth tunes on demand Hello developers, money to be made. Your going to love it here.

 

[z man]

Great Pics Brother!....I was thinking about the fat dad thing...If Mine takes a ....Well I do have a FDV4 that came on a cheap clear mosfet box....I didn't like it (the box was too thin)so I stripped it down and stashed the goodies in the Vape drawer.....Fats has a 510 repair kit that You drill out the striped threads to 8mm and retap to 10 x 1.5 I think it comes in a three pack,they use the core and spring/pin from the other fat dads 510s....But that would not have fixed Yer problem....I think You did a great repair and if "Hot Glue" is good enuff fer the O.E.M.,then squirt that shit everywhere!...THEY DO!....Z

 

[DevAuto]

@firemonster that looks really well done, good job and thanks for all the pics!

 

[Vaping Raven]

You fixed that up real good man. Glad it was a success.

 

[firemonster]

It is still going strong, I thought I might have moved the connector again but it didn't break the solder connection. my subtank is still showing ~.5 ohm. When the connection broke last time the ohms were jumping all over the place before it said no atomizer.

One idea I had was to drill a hole from the underside between the 510 connector and the housing and then thread a screw into it. It would be similar to the way the nemesis mech mod keeps the button from rotating.

 

[DevAuto]

Thanks for the update. I'm glad it's still going strong, I hope it holds together for the long run.

 

[mkhilario]

I think if you TIG welded the 510 connection to the top plate it would be better. Please post the pics when you do!

 

[z man]

I think if you TIG welded the 510 connection to the top plate it would be better. Please post the pics when you do!

you can't T.I.G. weld cast to stainless,I know this because I'm a Weldor by trade....Z

 

[mkhilario]

you can't T.I.G. weld cast to stainless,I know this because I'm a Weldor by trade....Z

Thanks for the info. I will go with a couple of blobs if high temp epoxy in that case. No need to head to my local 4x4 custom shop!
Btw, dropped my mod today onto tile floor and it landed square on the rda and dinged the chuff cap. Still zero wiggle on the 510. I opened it up just to see for myself. Jokes aside, I will do the epoxy reinforcement anyway because I am bored with building coils right now..

 

[z man]

You could try some J B WELD,its an epoxy that I use on things that can't be welded,like "Pot Metal"(cast zink/aluminum) or if it can't take the heat from welding....The 510 is stainless and is just pushed into the top cap,I don't think it is threaded on the O.D. and threaded into the top,but I havent had a problem with Mine...Yet....Z

 

[mkhilario]

Already done with Kbox Mini. The flimsy plastic stem holding the crappy non-adjustable 510 makes the iStick 510 look like a Rolex.

Edit: Did the iStick 100 also. Pic below.

 

[firemonster]

Last night I was screwing on a subtank and the connector moves about 45 degrees. And it is reading 0 ohms. So I guess I have to make a descision. Do I replace the 510 connector? or just epoxy/jbweld it? I would like a connector that is flush to the surface like the current one, If I am going to replace it. Would I have to tap the hole that Is in there now?
Thanks

 

[mkhilario]

Doing the epoxy job is the simpler and safer option. I would try that first and see how it goes.
The goal is to keep the stock 510 from spinning so I only applied the epoxy on one side, opposite of where the terminals are connected. I have not had any issues.

 

[Saddletramp1200]

You could try some J B WELD,its an epoxy that I use on things that can't be welded,like "Pot Metal"(cast zink/aluminum) or if it can't take the heat from welding....The 510 is stainless and is just pushed into the top cap,I don't think it is threaded on the O.D. and threaded into the top,but I havent had a problem with Mine...Yet....Z

If you use JB make Damn sure it's where you want it. Once it dries it's there for ever.

 

[z man]

What ST said,it better be where Ya want it!....It can be removed,but its not gonna be pretty....Z

 

[Saddletramp1200]

I have used Aircraft epoxy, & other shit not known by general mechanics. Never seen anything stronger than J.B. Weld. It's world class, & damn cheap considering how well it works.

 

[jackguns]

Hi, I am new here. Hello everyone. I just bought the istick 100W and is in stainless or aluminum case. I can't find where to solder the neg wire. There is no ring or anything to solder it too. In fact I tried to solder it to the top casing and it would not stick. I am naturally afraid to get too close to the center post and it's going to be hot. Maybe will try again with different solder or maybe a tiny screw Looks like I was ripped. LOL Man, I hate that. Very poor design

 

[turdwaffle]

Thanks for this. Just had the exact same problem the other night, borrowed a soldering station from a friend and gonna try and fix this puppy. Might also
see if I can fix my iStick 20w, 30w and 40w too because they're all broken as well ugh isticks.....

 

[jackguns]

Can you let me know how you do? I never could get the solder to stick to anything. The store I got it from contacted a professional and he would not touch it for liability reasons. They showed me a picture of a man who was in this state's burn center because his wire came loose or something and the batteries blew up and lost a lot of meat on one leg and sustained severe burns as well. He had it in his pants pocket.

Thank you!!!

 

[Sometimesyoudie]

I know this is an old thread but how the heck did you get that negative lead to stick to the brass ring? The same thing happened to me and I spent 2 hours getting solder to stick and ever time I got it I would try to reassemble and it would pop off again. Did you end up just gluing/jb welding it in place?

 

[firemonster]

I know this is an old thread but how the heck did you get that negative lead to stick to the brass ring? The same thing happened to me and I spent 2 hours getting solder to stick and ever time I got it I would try to reassemble and it would pop off again. Did you end up just gluing/jb welding it in place?

I know, its a bitch. I ended up having to resolder it again because the ring had rotated. I popped the press fit 510 out and filled the tiny gap between the 510 and surrounding metal with some epoxy. That doesn't answer your question but I found that it was a necessary step to prevent the solder joint from disconnecting again.
I think part of the reason for my success soldering is that I had a point on the underside of the 510 that had snapped off, leaving exposed metal which was particularly receptive to solder. A small file or some other such device might expose some solderable metal. It wold really be nice to source the 510 connector that the used from the factory and resolder it to something that is solderable, but I haven't bothered as it has been working well since the last time I resoldered it. basically keep adding solder until you find a place that it sticks without peeling away. then rotate the connector to a position where the wire isn't too tense. Looking back the time that I spent fixing it was probably not worth the time. If you want to, submit some pics of the underside of the 510 I can see if there is an obvious place to try to join it. If you don't give up you can make it work, eventually.

 

[Sometimesyoudie]

I know, its a bitch. I ended up having to resolder it again because the ring had rotated. I popped the press fit 510 out and filled the tiny gap between the 510 and surrounding metal with some epoxy. That doesn't answer your question but I found that it was a necessary step to prevent the solder joint from disconnecting again.
I think part of the reason for my success soldering is that I had a point on the underside of the 510 that had snapped off, leaving exposed metal which was particularly receptive to solder. A small file or some other such device might expose some solderable metal. It wold really be nice to source the 510 connector that the used from the factory and resolder it to something that is solderable, but I haven't bothered as it has been working well since the last time I resoldered it. basically keep adding solder until you find a place that it sticks without peeling away. then rotate the connector to a position where the wire isn't too tense. Looking back the time that I spent fixing it was probably not worth the time. If you want to, submit some pics of the underside of the 510 I can see if there is an obvious place to try to join it. If you don't give up you can make it work, eventually.

I know you can't really tell from that pic but I can take some better ones tonight. I got that thing working and then as soon as I installed the top the negative snapped off. Do you think I should try to flux it or something?

 

[TechnoGeek]

I know you can't really tell from that pic but I can take some better ones tonight. I got that thing working and then as soon as I installed the top the negative snapped off. Do you think I should try to flux it or something?

Flux is definite, otherwise the metal can/will oxidize when heated, it's also a good idea to scratch/rough the area up to be soldered, AND you really need to heat the metal up well that you are soldering too. If it doesn't get hot enough, it won't stick/stay.

You might have better luck just replacing the 510.....It would be a bit of a PITA as I'm pretty sure you would have to dremel some of the metal tube/protrusion from where the 510 enters....and drill the hole a bit wider 10mm I believe.....

I did see a post where someone else had this problem, and they seemed to be successful soldering to the edge of 510 connector which is brass...

Here is the link, and there are pictures.....

http://imgur.com/RIsSJIe

http://imgur.com/jK7b0ed

http://imgur.com/VKjg1Dq

http://imgur.com/zkjdeMr


https://www.reddit.com/r/electronic...ody_knows_where_to_connect_the_negative_wire/

It looks like the two methods are almost exactly the same..It looks like the other person heated the metal of the 510 up, flowed some solder into, and then after that soldered the wire to it.....I would assume lots of flux on the solder point, flux and pre-tin the wire....

 

[MagicJosh]

Mine did the same thing. The 510 was just pushed down too much and wouldn't read any tanks. So I unscrewed the top and broke off one of the leads. I wish I knew how to solder . WOuld you be able to recommend a good cheap soldering iron for me and some soldering mental stuff.

 

[firemonster]

I know you can't really tell from that pic but I can take some better ones tonight. I got that thing working and then as soon as I installed the top the negative snapped off. Do you think I should try to flux it or something?

So tinning the wire and the tip of the iron is a good thing. https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-tip-tinner-and-cleaner-0-5-oz?variant=5717831429
That stuff is great, just plunge the tip of the iron into it once it is hot, and wipe off excess if needed.


I did not use flux but it can be useful if something has char or other debris on it.

Mine did the same thing. The 510 was just pushed down too much and wouldn't read any tanks. So I unscrewed the top and broke off one of the leads. I wish I knew how to solder . WOuld you be able to recommend a good cheap soldering iron for me and some soldering mental stuff.

I would not recommend this as your first soldering project, but there is a cheap 40watt at radioshack that will do the trick. You have to get used to making the tip contact the place that you want to solder, you will end up melting the rubber around the 510 center pin. Practicing before hand might be helpful. but I don't think it is a good idea trying this without some previous soldering experience.

Flux is definite, otherwise the metal can/will oxidize when heated, it's also a good idea to scratch/rough the area up to be soldered, AND you really need to heat the metal up well that you are soldering too. If it doesn't get hot enough, it won't stick/stay.

You might have better luck just replacing the 510.....It would be a bit of a PITA as I'm pretty sure you would have to dremel some of the metal tube/protrusion from where the 510 enters....and drill the hole a bit wider 10mm I believe.....

I did see a post where someone else had this problem, and they seemed to be successful soldering to the edge of 510 connector which is brass...

Here is the link, and there are pictures.....

http://imgur.com/RIsSJIe

My connector had less metal left to solder to than in that image, but it is basically what he showed, there should be something left around there, I started trying to drill a hole in the gap between the 510 and the casing but I gave up cause i didn't have a good drill at the time, but that might be a possible way to get a wire firmly soldered to it?

 

[MagicJosh]

Anyone wanna buy my broken istick 100 watt. It just needs to be soldered one lead. picture 20 bucks sound good?

 

[TechnoGeek]

Soldering isn't too hard, just takes a bit of practice like anything else.

For tutorials:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?annot...&feature=iv&src_vid=xrVCkEoY_8M&v=oqV2xU1fee8


This one looks good, and has most of what you would need :

It's about $15.99. If it were me, I'd use silver bearing solder though, and not what's in the kit..... It's not required though....

$7.94....

So, about $24 if you have prime.....


Here is a couple of pictures of the wire that was barely soldered(and fell off) on the 510 pin of a mod I bought used....








And here it is repaired....

I ended up replacing the internals, 510 pin, spring, insulator, and washer using parts from a varitube 510. I did that as the 510 is press fitted, and that part was fine. So, just swapping the internals was easy. BTW, I had to as there was much left to solder to on the 510 pin. The person I bought it from told me they bought it new from Gearbest, and had to return it for repair/warranty, and this is what they got back....Believe it or not, it worked for me for the first couple of weeks, and then started acting weird...ohms would jump around, temperarture control was showing odd temperatures, like 9999f....So, that's when I took it aparts and found that they has TRIED to solder TWO pieces of bare wire together...One was on the board, the other piece was on the 510, then they soldered the two together in the middle.....I'm not expert at soldering, BUT that was the WORST solder job I've ever seen... When I opened it up, the wire on the 510 was frayed, and connected BUT barely... I touched the wire with a screwdriver to move it a bit and see how well it was connected, and it came off.....Luckily I can solder, and used to build electronic projects when I was a kid, even built a few kit computers(Heathkit - showing my age), amplifiers, digital sound samplers for computers, etc...

 

[TechnoGeek]

So tinning the wire and the tip of the iron is a good thing. https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-tip-tinner-and-cleaner-0-5-oz?variant=5717831429
That stuff is great, just plunge the tip of the iron into it once it is hot, and wipe off excess if needed.


I did not use flux but it can be useful if something has char or other debris on it.


I would not recommend this as your first soldering project, but there is a cheap 40watt at radioshack that will do the trick. You have to get used to making the tip contact the place that you want to solder, you will end up melting the rubber around the 510 center pin. Practicing before hand might be helpful. but I don't think it is a good idea trying this without some previous soldering experience.



My connector had less metal left to solder to than in that image, but it is basically what he showed, there should be something left around there, I started trying to drill a hole in the gap between the 510 and the casing but I gave up cause i didn't have a good drill at the time, but that might be a possible way to get a wire firmly soldered to it?

Yes, I've been using that stuff for years, I like it and it works well....I also like the small butane soldering irons they sell... Has a little blow torch accessory that is perfect for NEW 510 pin connection soldering.....



Most solder contains flux, but more is better in this case as far as soldering to the 510, also a good cleaning with alcohol.... Yeah, as a first project it could be tough...too much heat and you melt the insulator, too little and the wire won't stay....also, have to be careful about solder flowing from the edge of the 510, and into the center, shorting it......

Shame you aren't local, I'd fix it for you, wouldn't take too long.

 

[MagicJosh]

Soldering isn't too hard, just takes a bit of practice like anything else.

For tutorials:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?annot...&feature=iv&src_vid=xrVCkEoY_8M&v=oqV2xU1fee8


This one looks good, and has most of what you would need :

It's about $15.99. If it were me, I'd use silver bearing solder though, and not what's in the kit..... It's not required though....

$7.94....

So, about $24 if you have prime.....


Here is a couple of pictures of the wire that was barely soldered(and fell off) on the 510 pin of a mod I bought used....


View attachment 56471


View attachment 56472


And here it is repaired....

I ended up replacing the internals, 510 pin, spring, insulator, and washer using parts from a varitube 510. I did that as the 510 is press fitted, and that part was fine. So, just swapping the internals was easy. BTW, I had to as there was much left to solder to on the 510 pin. The person I bought it from told me they bought it new from Gearbest, and had to return it for repair/warranty, and this is what they got back....Believe it or not, it worked for me for the first couple of weeks, and then started acting weird...ohms would jump around, temperarture control was showing odd temperatures, like 9999f....So, that's when I took it aparts and found that they has TRIED to solder TWO pieces of bare wire together...One was on the board, the other piece was on the 510, then they soldered the two together in the middle.....I'm not expert at soldering, BUT that was the WORST solder job I've ever seen... When I opened it up, the wire on the 510 was frayed, and connected BUT barely... I touched the wire with a screwdriver to move it a bit and see how well it was connected, and it came off.....Luckily I can solder, and used to build electronic projects when I was a kid, even built a few kit computers(Heathkit - showing my age), amplifiers, digital sound samplers for computers, etc...



View attachment 56473

Your the man thank you!