i've ordered the moates chip burner and uberdata kit. i have a crappy old soldering iron and solder but not for the intricate work in the ecu. any special solder? i can get an iron for like 10 bucks at radio shack and was just wondering which wattage i should go for. what are some you guys use?

 

The smaller the better. I use a 15 watt and it works perfectly.. If you really want to get specific you can get a 3 prong grounded one that's meant specifically for electronics; I think Radio Shack has 'em for $15-20. I used the smallest diameter solder they were selling at Radio Shack also, it works like a charm.

 

yeah like the post says above... 15w shouold be good... and also i noticed my solder joints looked wayy better with smaller diameter for our application.

 

I splurged and spend $35 for a temp controlled soldering station. It made a HUGE difference. I use RS .032" diameter lead free silver bearing solder for chipping ECU's. A big *** magnifying glass makes the job much easier too. I just picked up one of those helping hands electronics helper deals with the magnifying glass and the alligator clips and rearranged it so the glass it all the way up; the clips aren't even connected now I just use it for the magnifying aspect.

Btw.. if you do decide to get the soldering station, grab some 28 pin sockets or a couple zif's to put you over $50 and get a free DMM. It's a decent one too, considering.

 

i ended up buying a 20watt/40watt switch one and it worked pretty good. i noticed the higher hear worked better than the lower. i was on and off the board faster so it might also be safer. thanks for the info though!