Tutorial written by : modchip-source.com (posted here with permission)

Note: Pictures on this tutorials are from a v1.0/v1.1 board design. It's similar for newer xbox version except that the position of "d0" has changed.

This tutorial is to show that anyone can prepare and solder a wire to the top “d0” point. Many people have problems soldering the top “d0” point correctly because they do not know a few things that are involved in making a good solder connection. In this tutorial I will show you how to make a perfect solder joint between the wire and the top “d0” point.

Basically all you need before starting to prepare and solder your “d0” point is:

1: Soldering Iron (15 Watts) like this one from Radio Shack

2: Standard 60/40 formula rosin core solder. .032"

3: The grey wire that came with your Xecuter 2 chip’s wire harness or a 30 gauge wire.

4: Very small flat head screw driver. Typically like the one you would use to tighten screws on glasses. You can basically use any small pointed tip object but I want to show you how to use something that’s common and you can find around the house.

Now that we have all the essentials, let’s get started. Open up your XBOX and find the area where the LPC and “d0” point are located. You will see the LPC points as you remove the XBOX DVD drive right below the IDE connector on the motherboard. Let’s use the X2 Lite install picture as a reference for finding the “d0” point.

Now that you have located the “d0” point it’s time to prepare it. The top “d0” is a tricky point to solder for most people because they do not know that this point is not like other points on a motherboard. Other points like the ones used to install Enigmah mods are already tinned with solder. The top “d0” point is covered around the edges with a clear coating typically used on all PCB boards. This clear coating will not allow solder to stick to it. People tend to force the tip of the soldering iron into the point to make contact with the wire. What ends up happening is that they destroy the point or they do not get a good solid contact with the solder and point. The secret is to scrape off the clear coating from the point to expose the copper.

First I want you to locate the point. Take your small flat head screw driver and gently scrape the outer area of the point. You will see white flakes coming off the point as you scrape it this is the clear coating. Once you finish scraping the point you will see the exposed copper shinning as shown below.

Here is the “d0” point before we scrape it.

“D0” point after it’s scrapped with the copper exposed.

Now that you have scrapped your “d0” point you are ready to solder the wire to it. This part is real simple. Basically take the tip of the wire and “tin” it with some solder. This is done by putting a small amount of solder on the tip of the hot soldering iron and touching the hot solder to the tip of the wire. After you tinned the wire clean the tip of your iron and add another little bit of solder to the tip of the iron again. Take the tip of the tinned wire and hold it onto the “d0” point. Now with the other hand take the soldering iron (with a little bit of solder on the tip) and touch the tip of the wire while you are still holding it in place on the “d0” point. Hold it there for a second or two till the solder on the tip of the iron and the solder tinned wire fuse to the “d0” point. Remove the tip of the iron first then let go of the wire.
If done correctly your soldered wire to the “d0” point should look like the picture blow.

Now tug on the wire very gently to ensure you have a solid solder contact with the point and wire.
The wire should feel very firm at the contact point.

Now finish installing the rest of your wires to the LPC and enjoy your mod!

Tutorial written by : modchip-source.com