How to repair your headphones

                    How to repair your headphones

 

 

 

Hhis is a quick guide on how to fix broken/damaged headphones. With this set, the right side headphone was not working, so I thought I'd have a go at fixing it. It's a very easy, 5-minute, cut-n-shut job, for any ability. This works for in-ear 'phones (as seen here), the older type headphones and the can-type (DJ) headphones.

You will need:
Broken headphones
Soldering iron
Solder
Wire cutters/strippers (I used a small pocket knife)
You may need:
Superglue/cyanoacrylate glue
A soldering aid/helping hand (see my instructable for how to make this!)
Multimeter

Let's get started!

 

Step 1: Diagnostics.

 

 

The first step is to find out where the problem (a wire break) is. If it's obvious (like the speaker has come off the wire), then you're lucky. I couldn't see what was wrong with mine, but I knew that the left side headphone was working and the right side one was not. This meant the problem was somewhere between the main cable and the right side headphone.

I started by taking apart the body of the headphone (it should come apart with a little light force; if not, use a thin bladed screwdriver to lever it apart). This is where the problem was for me, as the wire had come loose from the solder contacts on the speaker (see picture). If your's is OK here, it's time to break out the multimeter. Check every 5-10 centimetres of the cable for resistance, if it's fully resistant then you've found the problem. Mark the point on the cable where the problem is.

Step 2: Mending the wire.

 

Step 3: Testing and putting it back together.

 

 

Plug the 'phones into your music player and blast out some tunes. If it isn't working at this point, go back to the diagnostics stage and try again. If it is working, do the victory dance, and proceed to the next bit.

Putting it back together: This is simple, too. Put the backing back on (this is where the superglue comes in handy). Mine also needed the little mesh grille in the front replacing; superglue does this too! That's about it really...

Thanks for reading, and good luck with yours!