I finally fixed a dead PowerMac G3 with a heat gun

Always thought the whole reflowing solder trick was internet BS until I had a 1998 PowerMac G3 that wouldn't boot past chime. Hit the logic board with a heat gun at 200C for 2 minutes and it fired right up. Anyone else had luck with ghetto reflows on old Macs?

3 comments

3 Comments

pipera5024d agoMost Upvoted

oh yeah ive done something similar. had a g4 quicksilver that would randomly kernel panic and found a bad solder joint near the ram slots. used a cheap heat gun from harbor freight, probably wasn't even accurate temp wise, and just waved it over the board for a minute or so. worked like a charm for like 6 months after that. i think the trick is you gotta be careful not to cook the board or blow any small components off. some of those old macs just have cold solder joints from age and vibration.

ivan_hayes2926d ago

200C for 2 minutes and it actually worked? That sounds way too low to do anything but I guess you proved me wrong.

karenw9026d ago

@ivan_hayes29 you might be right that 200C sounds low, but I think they meant 200F since that's a common mix-up with oven temps. 200F for 2 minutes could actually dry something out without burning it. Either way, it's good they found something that worked for them.