Headphone Repair?

[ivantw]

Hello forum,

glad I found you. Not sure if I am in the right place or if anyone can help, but it doesn't hurt to ask right?

I'm fixing a short in my headphones and the ones I am using have a different wiring then I am used to so I wanted to see if anyone here would know the wiring or know how I can testthe connections before soldering.

There's a thicker all gold one - I know that's the ground.

THere are 2 solid thin green wires- that usually is left signal

There is a red and gold wrapped wire that is the same thinness as the green- Usually Red is the right signal

There is also a thin green and gold thin wrapped wire- that may be the mic or press play function that I have with my headphones, but I'm not sure.

Just for info, the headphones are ironman headphones I run with and they have a function midway up the wire that allows me to pause, play, volume and stop the headphones, so I am not sure which wire corresponds to those functions.

I tried soldering the red to right, all the green to the left and the ground, I got a stereo signal, but the vocals were dropped and it sounded as if I had some cross-talk since everything was "spacey" sounding, but I'm not sure if it's the wiring or not.

At any rate, even if you don't know the setup, is there a way that I can test the connections before soldering? Maybe with tape or something?

Thanks for any help.

-Ivan

 

[Blue Duck]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DIGITAL-LCD-VOLTMETER-MULTIMETER-CIRCUIT-TESTER-AMMETER-AC-DC-METER-OHM-/190774031117?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item2c6b04b30d

might help?

Have tried to repair some headphones in the past they're never as good    

 

[batty]

How much did they cost? is it worth spending hours trying to repair them.  Welcome to the forum though.

 

[ivantw]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, that may help in the future...

How much did they cost? is it worth spending hours trying to repair them.  Welcome to the forum though.

LOL. Eh...They're only $30 bucks...but I figured I'd brush up on my soldering skills too, and the 1/8 inch jacks are only $4. Plus, I ordered the Headphones on Amazon and instead of waitng to receive them in the mail, I figured if I could do a $4 fix, today, it'd be worth it.

I may end up just ordering some more if I can't find a fix though.

 

[batty]

How much is a buck compared to a quid these days?

 

[Zeespark]

£20 give or take Batty

Andy Guinness

 

[Richard-the-Ninth]

Hi, the "problem" is that although this is a forum for electricians, you have (for want of a better word) a gadget. Electricians are the people who run cables to get electricity around a premises (and other similar tasks) and they have the knowledge to do it, but they do not work on "gadgets" so no matter what forum you ask on, if the forum is for electricians they can't give you the definitive answer that you are looking for. That is why you were given the suggestion buy a multi meter and figure it out.

Also I can understand that you want to try to repair your headphones, but in the time you have spent searching you could have got a new pair. Something small is often not worth repairing, and bigger gadgets / appliances need dedicated "engineers" not electricians.

 

[Zeespark]

£1 = $1.65 ish

Andy Guinness

 

[batty]

In that case I would definitely bin them I just don't have the patients to repair stuff like that.

 

[ivantw]

I Really appreciate everyone's comments and swift reply. Thanks to Richard for explaining the engineer/ electrician difference as well. It may not be worth the hassle as you all stated. Headphone shorts happen all the time (the only reason I ever have to buy new headphones) so I figured I give it a go to solve that problem for good.

Thanks again!

 

[batty]

What time is it in Atlanta?

 

[ivantw]

6:40pm

 

[batty]

Nearly midnight here.