battery keeps dying....

[kieefjr]

......on my garage door opener

I mounted a little remote normally-open push button on a bracket near my right grip. I soldered two wires onto a battery powered Genie door opener. Very tedious soldering but I had it working just fine and routed the wiring down and hid the opener inside the fairing.

After a few days it didn't work, figured the battery was dead, replaced it and in a few days later it failed to work again.

The opener by itself would have open contacts and once you press the rubber piece with the contacts on it, of course the door opens. Having soldered these two wires onto these contacts I'm guessing it's drawing the power out of the battery even though the contacts aren't actually pressed by my button.

So I'm thinking maybe my solder job is not as precise as it needs to be and some current is bleeding off but not enough to cause the door to open???

I don't know, anybody got a clue?

[clocklaw]

It certainly sounds like either your solder job is making an unexpected connection or maybe when you heated the board to make the connection you inadvertently made another connection that is drawing down the battery. Does the door try to open / close when you are not pushing the button?

[kieefjr]

No, it worked just like pressing the button of the remote.

My solder job must be to blame, that's the most logical explanation.

[HotRodZilla]

I'm with Clocklaw on this. I'm wondering if the heat from the soldering connected something that's not supposed to be connected. Or maybe your Solder ran a little.

[kieefjr]

Finally got around to attempting a fix.

I've done re-solder job on it, put a new battery in it and its been sitting on the work bench for 5 days and works as it should.

I think I fixed it.

[Red]

Sounds like you fixed it.

When you apply too much solder, or even to remove the old factory solder before you start, you can use Solder Wick to absorb excess solder. Apply it to the soldering already done, holding the wick in place with the hot iron until the wicking gets hot and absorbs the melted old solder. Once the wicking fills up with old solder, move the wicking and iron to a clean spot, and repeat the process until the work site has no old solder remaining. This link shows what is needed. It comes in a variety of widths; the skinny stuff (~2mm or less) is for the finest (tiny) soldering work.
https://www.amazon.com/Weller-Solder-wi ... older+wick

You can improvise solder wicking with fine-stranded electrical wire, stripped and fluxed. An old appliance cord with many fine strands inside will give you years of de-solder wicking.

Never use acid flux on electrical work. Use rosin flux, and clean off any excess flux with alcohol, after soldering is complete. This paste flux is the best I know, it is not rosin or acid, and it washes away with plain water and toilet tissue.
http://www.laco.com/soldering-fluxes/re ... lux-paste/

Cheers,
Red

[rbentnail]

Sounds like you fixed it.

When you apply too much solder, or even to remove the old factory solder before you start, you can use Solder Wick to absorb excess solder. Apply it to the soldering already done, holding the wick in place with the hot iron until the wicking gets hot and absorbs the melted old solder. Once the wicking fills up with old solder, move the wicking and iron to a clean spot, and repeat the process until the work site has no old solder remaining. This link shows what is needed. It comes in a variety of widths; the skinny stuff (~2mm or less) is for the finest (tiny) soldering work.
https://www.amazon.com/Weller-Solder-wi ... older+wick

You can improvise solder wicking with fine-stranded electrical wire, stripped and fluxed. An old appliance cord with many fine strands inside will give you years of de-solder wicking.

Never use acid flux on electrical work. Use rosin flux, and clean off any excess flux with alcohol, after soldering is complete. This paste flux is the best I know, it is not rosin or acid, and it washes away with plain water and toilet tissue.
http://www.laco.com/soldering-fluxes/re ... lux-paste/

Cheers,
Red

^^THIS^^. Not applicable in this case but I've had better success removing old solder by fluxing Soder Wick prior to using remembering that a dab'll do ya.

[Red]

Most Solder Wick today comes with flux already applied. The link I showed is one of them. Always check the specs, though, before buying.

It is also helpful to have an old damp sponge handy when soldering. Wipe the soldering iron tip clean and shiny, every time on the damp sponge, just before you touch the iron to anything. Do not use the sponge for anything else except soldering, afterward, because it will trap lead. I keep the old sponge in a re-sealable waterproof container, marked POISON. Never touch the sponge with fingers, just with the iron.

Cheers,
Red