Easy Headphone Repair for Broken Wires

 by killersquirel11
IMG_4564.jpg
If your headphones don't work and you know its not near the jack, the fix is easy... no more than 10 minutes if you know what you're doing. Mine took a little longer since I was working on my friend's headphones at the time and they are fairly complicated. The headphones used in this instructable are cheap pieces of junk that don't work anyways but it is the same procedure that I used on my friend's.

This should work but there are no guarantees. Doing any repairs like this may void any warranty you may have. Soldering irons and other tools can be dangerous and should be used with safety in mind. I am not liable for any damage done.

Here's a fairly well-written 'ible on the wire splicing

 
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Step 1: What You'll Need

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-Wire Stripper (or similar device...knife, nail clippers etc.)
-Soldering iron and solder
-Shrink tubing (Finally found some in my house)
-Sandpaper (grit doesnt matter too much, probably something higher than ~140 should be good)
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kristianPS3Oake says: Feb 18, 2013. 8:13 AM
Hi, recently my Turtle Beach PLa headset has broken, I am not sure how to fix what would you suggest? Thanks, and please answer! 2 wires are fine and I can still hear but I can't speak into it.
Ammoking3 says: Aug 6, 2012. 4:08 PM
these are my Xtreme Xplosives 50 mm. driver over ear headphones and they cost me 45 dollars i really dont want to just throw them in the trash so any help how to wire these would be appreciated
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killersquirel11 (author) in reply to Ammoking3Aug 6, 2012. 8:18 PM
Can't tell from that picture, but that is right at the place where it splits to go to each ear, right?
If so, there's two possibilities:
1) The wire on the right has two insulated wires and a bunch of what appear to be uninsulated strands.
2) The wire on the right has a bunch of what appear to be uninsulated strands.

If it is 1), you can strip back the outer insulation a bit, and then proceed with above guide.

If it is 2), you are best off just getting new headphone wire and soldering directly to the driver, or just getting new headphones.
alexanderall says: Jun 24, 2012. 12:41 PM
Put your camera on a macro setting whilst doing close ups
killersquirel11 (author) in reply to alexanderallJun 24, 2012. 3:45 PM
I took those pics a LONG time ago with a camera that didn't even have a macro function (or at least I don't think it did.  That camera is long gone so I can't say for sure one way or another).  If I ever get around to doing this fix again, I'll probably re-upload some better pictures.
fam6ali says: May 17, 2012. 9:23 AM
THANK YOU MAN!!!!!!!!! You saved my headset. Funny thing was, I just burned the wires wiped it off and connected them together and VOILA!!!!. Thanks so much. I really needed them too. The school I go to uses them to interact with students. Didn't have the time nor the patience nor the cash to order/wait for a new one. So again, THANKS.



A Pleased and Satisfied Student.
myrophoros says: Apr 5, 2012. 5:01 PM
I signed up just to comment and say THANK YOU! You really saved my bacon with this, because at the moment I'm short on cash AND transportation, so being able to fix what I have means a lot. I actually did not have a soldering gun or even solder, but using your directions and taping it all up with electrical tape (with a bent paper clip thrown in for stability) worked like a charm. I actually didn't think it was going to, but I had nothing to lose so I gave it a shot anyway, and was absolutely amazed when I plugged it in and they worked like new! I don't really expect it to last forever, but hey, I'm not having to replace them *today*, and that's good enough!

I honestly think what made the difference were your instructions plus all the comments that made it clear you have to sand/burn away the coating on the inner wires. It seemed like such a big deal that I did both: I burned away the coating and then sanded the fine wires for good measure, twisted them together, and there it was: good, steady sound out of both sides. I taped all the twists in such a way as to keep them permanently separated from one another, and then bundled the whole thing in tight swathes of electrical tape. Ugly, but who cares? I'm absolutely thrilled!!

Thanks again!!!
kurt sin says: Dec 19, 2011. 10:40 PM
it helps!!
thanks so much!
delliott6 says: Dec 11, 2011. 10:42 PM
Thanks for the great tutorial. (BTW it is heat shrink tubing) :)
orobbie says: Nov 2, 2011. 1:10 PM
Thank you so much for posting these instructions. My Bose headphones were cutting out all the time and I ascertained that the wires going into the plug were broken and making intermittent contact. I tried cutting the plug off some junk earplugs and splicing them on but it didn't work (of course.) I put the headphones in a drawer and considered them junk with a vague hope that somewhere I would find an answer. Then, weeks later, I stumbled on this and learned that you need to burn off the enamel coating. I never would have guessed that. So today I went to Radio Shack and bought a $10.00 soldering iron and used a cigarette lighter to burn off the enamel and voila! my headphones are working as good as new. Thanks again.
rickstalker says: Oct 6, 2011. 8:18 PM
buy the repairing parts from lunashops. it will be easy, i got my cable from them,
David97 says: Sep 23, 2011. 2:17 AM
I have never heard of using sandpaper to get rid of insulation. I usaly use a lighter.
asubham says: Sep 4, 2011. 6:48 AM
the tip with matchboxes was perfect.thnx:)
georgart53 says: Jun 22, 2008. 2:52 PM
I stripped the wires and twisted them tried them but they don't work, still. These are my husbands headphones that he'd only had for a short time. I have a solder gun but I didn't want to solder them until I was sure they would work right.
killersquirel11 (author) in reply to georgart53Jun 25, 2008. 12:06 PM
Most of the time twisting won't work even when you sand the wires down. Even with sanding, there is still enamel left on the wire that will get in the way of the current when the wires are just twisted. The best way is just to solder the wires. To get the best connection, the cut ends should probably end up in the solder, since these won't have any enamel on them. A way that you might be able to see if the headphones to work is to try to touch the broken ends together. Good luck
josh15979 in reply to killersquirel11Jun 17, 2011. 10:00 AM
use a lighter and burn the enamel off of the wire sanding the wires really does suck lol
marilandita in reply to josh15979Aug 17, 2011. 8:09 PM
Great advise with the lighter, now it works! tnx man.
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bitsonhj in reply to josh15979Jun 29, 2011. 11:16 AM
thanks for enlighting the tutorial....
jstrandberg in reply to killersquirel11Jun 8, 2011. 11:07 AM
or otherwise if you don't want to use soldering machine try with lighter , there can come some smell but it isn't nothing , i don't recommend SAND PAPER , that will damage the cables..
georgart53 in reply to killersquirel11Jun 26, 2008. 9:29 PM
er.. what I said up there :P
jbutcher2 says: Aug 11, 2011. 3:40 PM
Ah it worked. Is there a way I can melt or "solder" the wires together using home appliances like matches e.t.c
killersquirel11 (author) in reply to jbutcher2Aug 11, 2011. 4:32 PM
jbutcher2 in reply to killersquirel11Aug 12, 2011. 7:26 AM
thanks
jbutcher2 says: Aug 10, 2011. 8:13 AM
The wire in my earphones broke right next to the jack plug making it impossible to get any wire out of that end of the cable so I couldn't reconnect them. I had a pair of crappy headphones that I have cut up as a replacement jack plug but no matter what I do I cant get any response. Is it because headphone wires are not compatible with earphone wires?
killersquirel11 (author) in reply to jbutcher2Aug 11, 2011. 9:14 AM
Have you tried melting away the enamel then soldering?
jdavis32 says: Jul 4, 2011. 2:18 PM
This works great, used the lighter to clear up the wires, applied some solder. The trick of removing the enamel off the internal wires was all I needed. Thanks for the great tip!

My high end Sony headphones back and sounding good as new!
alexisbeat says: Jun 2, 2011. 10:22 AM
Hello,
i have Bose headphones and just today i noticed that the part where the cable meets with the jack is showing.
Only the right ear cup works.
There two cable stuck together and only one of them is peeling a little and is showing the internal stuff.
Is there a way that i can fix this?
Can i buy another jack and attach it onto the cable?
please get back to me.
thank you.
varun.coolmax says: May 12, 2011. 5:38 PM
I have headphone with a single cable and it has 3 wires in them (red, green, golden). I had to strip the cable because the 3.5mm jack broke. I have striped another cable with a 3.5mm male jack so as to extend the length of my headphones cable.. it also has 3 wires (red, blue, golden). These are very thin wires and has white thread in them to make them strong(i guess). i have striped the white thread off and twisted the two same colored wires with each other, but the headphones don't work....what am i doing wrong...i've made sure that the wires are not touching each other..
killersquirel11 (author) in reply to varun.coolmaxMay 12, 2011. 6:22 PM
Sounds like you haven't removed the enamel off of the wires yet. To do that, either use solder or a lighter to melt it all off. I'd recommend solder, but the lighter might do the trick.
Muster000 says: Feb 1, 2011. 11:17 PM
I fixed my headset that had broken wires near the speaker end of the headset but now I have echo when I talk into the mic.
I also dug out my older headset that was broken at the jack end and got the same result.
What did I do wrong that I get echo now. Im the only one that can hear the echo in my ear. The person Im talking with doesnt hear the echo.
killersquirel11 (author) in reply to Muster000Feb 2, 2011. 1:13 AM
You might've shorted the speaker wire to the mic wire.
nchu in reply to killersquirel11Mar 30, 2011. 4:37 PM
Thanks for the instructions! Just wondering how you know where to cut the wire for soldering? or does it not matter. The damage site is within the insulation coating so I can't see it.
killersquirel11 (author) in reply to nchuMar 30, 2011. 10:43 PM
Generally you want to cut out the area that is damaged, then just follow the instructions above to reconnect the wires.
nchu in reply to killersquirel11Mar 30, 2011. 11:06 PM
Right. I just don't know how to tell where the area of damage lies since there are no external signs of wire fraying.
killersquirel11 (author) in reply to nchuMar 31, 2011. 10:34 AM
If you get some sound, go down the wire, bending it around, until you find the spot where the sound changes (goes away/comes full through both headphones). That'll be your trouble area.
A visual inspection of the wire can sometimes show an area where the insulation is a different color (black insulation may turn gray under continued stress conditions, not sure what white'll do, I'm too hard on electronics to ever consider getting any of the fragile iPrODucts).

Depending on how much you spent on the headphones, it might be worthwhile to sacrifice a pair of cheap headphones (like the type they give you on airplanes), and just connect the wire from the cheap headphones to your good headphones.
Muster000 in reply to killersquirel11Feb 2, 2011. 10:11 PM
Ill have to rip it apart but I remember not really touching that black mic wire. I knew it was for the mic as I saw where it ran. But I guess Ill have to the connections again. I couldve sworn that I had the red to red white to white and ground to ground. Mmmm! LOL! OI!
Thanks for the tip though. Ill post back the results.
zaniac77 says: Oct 25, 2010. 10:22 PM
Just bought a brand new pair, and the kitten chewed threw them. The solder really did the trick. Thanks for posting this! :)
Tranceboy2k in reply to zaniac77Jan 31, 2011. 3:07 PM
Yeah kitten's are very expensive aren't they lol, chewed through 2 phone chargers too omg.
Thank God for this solution, I was told about it by my boss today, and he said bring them in to him, so that is exactly what I'll do!
Not saying I don't trust this (I just don't trust me.)

I was thrilled when I found out about this, those wires are so damn thin You could pull them apart with 2 fingers!
mrzark says: Dec 26, 2010. 7:52 PM
Thanks! that was really helpful! One thing I would suggest, since it worked out great for me, is to actually melt off the enamel with a lighter and then clean off the leftover residue with a damp cloth. It saved my $100 headphones and was much quicker then the sandpaper suggestion.
eric m says: Nov 14, 2010. 3:14 PM
Use a lighter and remove the fine coating on the little wires or it wont work.
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