T30 Memory connector repair

[solidpro]

HI All

I have a couple of non-booting T30s. One of them is almost certainly due to bad connections on the memory expansion slots. For example, with one working stick in the "near-edge" slot, the system generates the 1-3-3-1 beep code. In the other slot nothing. I have looked back at 4 pages of this forum for T3x and whilst a few threads discuss the problem, none seem to discuss the resolution.

I can see the pins (appears to be one load of soldered pins on the 'stick' side of the memory connector and another set on the other side). It's a very small working space but I could probably run some flux along each row and then slowly drag an iron along the pins and reflow them all (with perhaps a tiny amount of new solder). Is this likely to be a remedy? The other method would be to capston tape all around and then run a 400 degree heat gun over the existing solder....

Has anyone attempted a fix and how did it go?

I don't want to simply attempt to replace the board because I suspect they'll all go this way. If I can impliment a permanent fix then all the better.

Thanks

[SMA]

Memory sockets coming loose isn't something that only occurs for T30 systems.
It can also occur on T2x and A2x systems.

With a good magnifying class, you should be able to see the loose connections.
I believe that it will be faster to do a visual inspection instead of testing the various memory combinations.

One symptom of a loose memory socket is a hang at the IBM logo after power on.

I remember successfully having repaired a loose memory socket in a T22 some 10 years ago.
I just re-soldered the loose legs, one by one.

[JPOESQ]

Resurrecting and old thread.

I picked up a T30 in beautiful condition that had a dead memory socket. It seems that this was common problem with some of the earlier T30s. The solution was to mask off areas adjacent to the pins with Kapton tape, liberally apply flux, and run a soldering pencil back and forth along the pins a couple of times. The socket now works fine and I have 1.5GB of working memory in my T30. I also upgraded the HDD to solid state memory.

[RealBlackStuff]

In case anybody missed it: viewtopic.php?f=28&t=73443&hilit=repair+t30+ram+slot

[JPOESQ]

I thought that I had seen that post before but it didn’t come up when I searched. The key to this approach is a good flux. I use MG Chemicals 8341-10ML 8341 and a 15W Hakko FX650-02/P with a T34-B Tip on all of my micro-soldering projects.