Delicate re-charge ports?

[basalter]

I am having some trouble with my 2.1 recharge port. After soldering and heat shrinking I went to test there was no power when kill plug inserted, and my multi meter said 'no power' with or without the plug! Well,  it (the meter) made no buzzing sound at least, as I was trying ..continuity, is that correct? I tried an older 2.1 port I had less skilfully soldered and set aside, the same result. (no power getting through) But an as yet to be wired (new) one I had read fine on the meter. Now..are these a little delicate, as in I need to take more care than other parts when soldering? Or is my multi meter being too sensitive (I tested continuity?) I also tried an LED and battery to see if power going thru at all, and same story with the three ports. (One fine, two soldered, no light)  Is there a more reliable way to first test these plugs without wiring up power to the board (Do not want to blow a CF) A little unpractised with multi meters. I have read all the material I can find about wiring these things, am I missing something? 

[erv]

did you bend or cut the leads of the recharge port ?
The "switching pin" (the one that cuts power when you insert the kill key or male plug) is generally quite sensitive, mechanically speaking.

[KIT FISTO]

The 2.1mm ports can get borked easily if you bork it.......

Got any pics of the situation?  Might be easier to troubleshoot if I could see what it looks like

[Mersenne]

As Erv has said the switching contact is sensitive, particularly when using plastic inserts or what have you for a kill key.
I've repaired/replaced a few of these for people and asked them to throw away their self made kill key.
Kill keys that are more square on the part that pushes in to break the -ve contact points tend to push down on that contact and slightly buckle it out, hence no contact pressure.
So this could be a problem too.
Soldering "shouldn't" have damaged it.
If you are using a self made kill key - you can chamfer the edge on that kill key, but I prefer to use another 2.1mm plug.
Pics would be good and if I've confused anyone I'll post pics of what I'm attempting to explain.
BTW Jaycar sell these if you need another or I'll through one in the post for you.

[basalter]

Thanks so much for advice people. Erv', I did not cut or bend the leads, but I will remember not to try that trying to fit in my saber, and Peter, we had touched on these jolly kill keys. I should have pursued your knowledge a little more. I am using a curved aluminium and plastic kill key from TCSS, style 3. I remember you suggesting some alternatives, but I do not want to say because honestly, I was not sure what exactly you were saying. ha ha. I think I will definitely test these 2.1 ports BEFORE I solder them up now. I really only tinned the tips (pins) and then soldered wire onto them. No solder dripping down the pin, no rough stuff or even inserting kill keys prior.

[erv]

I indeed chamfer my kill keys when I machine them so that it doesn't push or bend too hard the switching pin in the port.

[LUMINARA UNDULI]

Another common cause of borking is something inside the saber puts pressure on the legs, either through cram-fu or something shifting.  We have tried recharge ports from pretty much every manufacturer out there and they do fail more than most other saber parts.  There are precautions you can take, as others have mentioned, but they are definitely more delicate than some of the other components .

[Scorpion]

depending on the saber id rather have a discreet kill switch (like on madcows coran horn) as well as a charge port

[LUMINARA UNDULI]

That's your preference, but it doesn't solve the issue that the charge ports are fragile and it is (yet another) hole in the hilt.  With RICE, a lot of future hilts will already have another hold to begin with.  It gets to the point when there are too many holes/ports/switches on the hilt, IMHO.

[Scorpion]

it wont solve the issue but it would help if you were only using the recharge port to recharge the saber instead of inserting/pulling a kill key every time you use it
it would seriously reduce wear and tear

i actually like the idea of the ports etc being inside the hilt, say on a chassis and not a hole in the saber (keep it hidden) but i guess thats not always possible to do

could recharge through the rice port be a possability? someday?