I have a problem with the neon lightsaber not lighting. I have followed the troubleshooting guide and believe the problem is one of two chips on the power board. Does anyone know how these chips come out? Are they soldered in or can they be pulled off and replaced easily?

I'm not sure which chip you are referring to but I believe all the chips on the power driver board are soldered. Did you check the transformer? That's usually what goes out in the light saber

Yes, I did check that and it works fine. Actually connected it to my car battery and it lit up just fine. The odd thing is that it seems to have 12v power to the transformer but I cannot get it to light there. I am thinking it is not getting the correct amperage to the transformer. Based on the repair guide, this should be one of two chips on the power board. They are super cheap to buy but if they are soldered, I can't do that myself and want to know what I am up against before yanking the whole board out.

I realize you posted this some time ago and probably have your question answered.
I just 'fixed' my SWE1 lightsaber just recently. It was a two part problem for me.
I had to change out the neon power supply in the lightsaber handle.
I also had to change out one of the IC chips.
Now, to answer your question. Chip U34 and U35, are not soldered into the board. they are plugged into 'sockets' and are easily removed and inserted using a chip puller.


Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply, I was able to fix my problem as well. I can't remember which chip i had to replace but it was one of the two you mentioned. Both were soldered to the board so I had the guy remove both and then solder on sockets so if it ever happens again, I can just pull the chip and snap a new one on. Amazing how cheap those chips are...I think both were less than $1.