# Headphone wire Repair [help]



## lZKoce (Dec 16, 2014)

Hi all,

yesterday my headphone wire broke up.
Model: Creative HS-450. As you can see there is this Volume control+ Mic On/Off "station". That's where the cable broke off. I cut the thing out from both sides. Now I want to join it together without that "module". I am no electrician. I have very little knowledge of electricity in general.




What I did was, burn the edge of the wires. And then pigtail splice the matching colors. What happens is the left sound channel (the bright green wire) and the right sound channel (the dark green wire), when pigtail-ed I get no sound, BUT when I press them with my thumbnails I hear crystal clear my headphones. So, there is hope. Do I need to solder the cables? Or may be I haven't burned enough of the cable sleeve? It's not pritty, I know.

  

How do you do an "in-line cable splice"? Like here: Is it necessary?



I know I have to buy heatshrink and I don't own a soldering thingy, but I am thinking of buying a "solder pen". I whink it will do the trick. Anyone have some practical advice? Thanks in advance.


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## Sasqui (Dec 16, 2014)

Yes, you need to solder the cables.  You probably got some oils on them from you fingers (or some oxidation) and they're not making contact till you pinch them.

There are tons of soldering "how to's" on Youtube.  for a wire like that you can either use a pencil style or solder gun.  Practice on a few braided wires of the same size first!


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## AsRock (Dec 16, 2014)

If it's newer type wire you will have to burn the isolation of the wire.


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## Cybrnook2002 (Dec 16, 2014)

So, a couple of things. First yes, if your going to repair these correctly you will need to solder.

What you will need to properly repair this is:

Solder
Solder Gun
Flux
soldering tip cleaner
heat shrink Small gauge for wires themselves, then large gauge for the outer cable
and a heat gun or hair dryer that gets pretty hot


Pull all that apart then cut yourself 5 smaller pieces of heat shrink (Enough to cover the soldered joint). Slide the pieces of heat shrink down each wire so when you solder the wires together, you just have to slide it in place. Lot's of times you forget this, solder the wires together then you say DOH, I forgot to put the heat-shrink on then end up taking it apart or just taping it.

When you solder the wires, clean them with some alcohol first, I can guarantee you have been handling them with your dirty greasy hands this whole time. So, clean then off, wash your hands, then twist them together per your illustration (Facing each other, not parallel like you have) You want to keep you cable in a solid run. Once you have them mocked up nicely, use a q-top or a tooth pick to smear a little flux onto the joint. Then using your solder and soldering gun, heat it up, then dab the solder on the opposite side of the joint to where you heat it. Solder follows the heat, you will get the best penetration this way. You typically want a nice shiny joint, not a dull flat joint. Dull = bad

Once all joints are soldered up, slide you little already cut pieces of heat shrink in place, and heat em up. Once your shrink down and set, Cut yourself a larger diameter piece of heat shrink to now cover the entire repair and guard your outer cable. Slide it down, and heat it up. Problem solved.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




you get the idea


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## lZKoce (Dec 16, 2014)

AsRock said:


> If it's newer type wire you will have to burn the isolation of the wire.



I did, but there is leftover in the form of soot, which I removed with fingers.



Cybrnook2002 said:


> Then using your solder and soldering gun, heat it up, then dab the solder on the opposite side of the joint to where you heat it. Solder follows the heat, you will get the best penetration this way.



I had a bit of trouble seeing what do you mean, but I think I get it. Thank you for the comprehensive advice and time to answer. I will buy the necessary stuff tomorrow hopefully. I will post back. 



Sasqui said:


> Yes, you need to solder the cables.  You probably got some oils on them from you fingers (or some oxidation) and they're not making contact till you pinch them.
> 
> There are tons of soldering "how to's" on Youtube.  for a wire like that you can either use a pencil style or solder gun.  Practice on a few braided wires of the same size first!



I will check them out, I was thinking of skipping the practice, but I think I'd better not.


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## Cybrnook2002 (Dec 16, 2014)

lZKoce said:


> I had a bit of trouble seeing what do you mean, but I think I get it. Thank you for the comprehensive advice and time to answer. I will buy the necessary stuff tomorrow hopefully. I will post back.


Look how this image displays what I was trying to say. Before you put the solder on the wire, you need to heat it up, so your soldering iron will need to be nice and hot (pre-heated). place the soldering iron on the right side of the joint and let it sit there to heat the wires up. After about 5 seconds or so, bring your solder in from the left hand side, and you will  see if flow through your joint towards the heat. This means you have a solid joint.






Make sure you flux the joint before applying heat and solder.


This is what typically a good joint looks like when you have done this correctly.


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## Cybrnook2002 (Dec 16, 2014)

Looking at your pictures above, please buy some wire strippers too. Burning off the shielding, you are damaging your wires. (They are losing their conductivity, hence why you have to squeeze them) You want to strip back to clean copper and work with that.

This is bad:


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## Sasqui (Dec 16, 2014)

Cybrnook2002 said:


> Looking at your pictures above, please buy some wire strippers too. Burning off the shielding, you are damaging your wires. (They are losing their conductivity, hence why you have to squeeze them) You want to strip back to clean copper and work with that.
> 
> This is bad: View attachment 60964



I didn't even see the leftover burnt off insulation, that would cause a poor connection!  Wires should be stripped bare, just long enough to connect them with solder (say 3/4")...  circle gently with a sharp knife and use a fingernail to pull off the stub of insulation, or use a good wirestripper.


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## lZKoce (Dec 17, 2014)

Here's the gear:

1xSoldering Iron
1x Flux
1x soldering tip cleaner
1x "third hand"
1x small gauge heatsrhink
1x larger gauge heatsrhink

I really wanted cable strippers, but they cost arm and leg. And this is minor repair. So, I will have to get creative about the cable stripping. I have X-acto knife.
Let's read Cybrnook2002 post once again+ one video tutorial about soldering.


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## Dent1 (Dec 17, 2014)

How old are the headphones? Even if they're not in warranty its not uncommon for the manufacturer to still give you a replacement as a good will gesture.


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## Cybrnook2002 (Dec 17, 2014)

I would exchange the third hand for wire strippers  third hands are good for many many very small repairs. But, if you already have them, then it's always nice to have an extra set of hands I guess 

If you are not going to use wire strippers, then like sasqui said, I would use your x-acto knife to first cut the whole wire back on both sides to remove all the bad parts.

Then I would:

Gently push your blade into the black shielding surrounding your inner 5 wires (about 1 inch back) and slowly roll the wire under the blade so you get a nice even score around the entire wire without cutting through it. Then, you can normally bend the tip left, right, front, back and it will in a sense break/tear off. Once it does, then you will be looking at your 5 inner wires, nice and clean. 4 will be shielded, and 1 will be just open exposed ground isolation wire. Do that same method for the 4 shielded wires, gently cut them all the way around, and then pull the insulation back (about a 1/2 inch cut this time). That should expose the wires nice and cleanly for you to work with.

This gives you an idea of what we mean when we say score the outer shielding by rolling the wire:


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## lZKoce (Dec 17, 2014)

Dent1 said:


> How old are the headphones? Even if they're not in warranty its not uncommon for the manufacturer to still give you a replacement as a good will gesture.



I ordered them from Amazon.Co.UK, last year I think. Shipping them back will cost me, probably as much as repairing them, and I get to keep the gear. I might be wrong though.


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## Dent1 (Dec 17, 2014)

lZKoce said:


> I ordered them from Amazon.Co.UK, last year I think. Shipping them back will cost me, probably as much as repairing them, and I get to keep the gear. I might be wrong though.



Amazon probably have the best, I repeat best customer support there is.  9/10 they wont ask you to return it back because its a low value item.  Your warranty is 2 years so they will definitely help you. Even if you contact Creative directly they will help you.

£3.90 for 2nd class small parcel, its broken already so you can flatten it so it fits 2nd class large letter for £2.27. Hermes have proper real-time tracking for £2.78.

Your headphones are currently selling for £17-20 so it makes sense to return it. And I honestly don't think they will ask you to return it anyways.

You fix it yourself you risk it becoming faulty again in the future.


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## Cybrnook2002 (Dec 17, 2014)

Dent1 said:


> Amazon probably have the best, I repeat best customer support there is.  9/10 they wont ask you to return it back because its a low value item.  Your warranty is 2 years so they will definitely help you. Even if you contact Creative directly they will help you.
> 
> £3.90 for 2nd class small parcel, its broken already so you can flatten it so it fits 2nd class large letter for @ £2.27
> 
> ...


I agree Amazon has amazing customer service. But where is the fun in RMA'ing a unit that you broke. The fun is in fixing. And if it's done right, it runs no greater risk of being damaged in the future more than another other part of the unit. Plus its good learning experience ;-) These skills can be applied throughout your life time.


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## Sasqui (Dec 17, 2014)

lZKoce said:


> Here's the gear:
> 
> 1xSoldering Iron
> 1x Flux
> ...



You're on your way, cool.  Also, you can buy flux core soldering wire, eliminating the irritating and sloppy part of applying flux.  Plus usually less toxic fumes.

As stripper is more of a convenience and usually better on large gage wire.  Most cheap ones wont even do as good a job as a sharp knife and a little practice.


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## Cybrnook2002 (Dec 17, 2014)

I personally prefer using flux opposed to flux cored solder. I find that my joints and board applications always turn out more pure and clean when first applying the flux then coming in after for the soldering. Then  once I am done, coming back with a q-tip and some %90 isopropyl alcohol to clean it all up. ALWAYS end up with a nice shiny joint. But then again, I try and operate as if I am in a clean room when I work, so I like taking my time in ever single little step (no short cuts)  Plus flux cored tends to be thicker and isnt as eaxsy to use when you are soldering on motherboards and such.

For strippers, I have always been a fan of the Kleins for day to day:





But for smaller jobs I use these:


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## lZKoce (Dec 17, 2014)

Cybrnook2002 said:


> This gives you an idea of what we mean when we say score the outer shielding by rolling the wire:



Dat video blew my mind. My wife bought me one of those Swiss army knives, I tried the "trick" and it worked!!! 

  



Dent1 said:


> Amazon probably have the best, I repeat best customer support there is.  9/10 they wont ask you to return it back because its a low value item.  Your warranty is 2 years so they will definitely help you. Even if you contact Creative directly they will help you.
> 
> £3.90 for 2nd class small parcel, its broken already so you can flatten it so it fits 2nd class large letter for £2.27. Hermes have proper real-time tracking for £2.78.
> 
> ...



Frankly speaking, you are 100% right hands down. When I bought these, I had them for a day, and I was thinking of returning them. Nothing wrong with the sound, more like a bit uncomfortable. I went into returning procedure, and guess what the guy said: "You know what, shipping cost from Denmark to UK will be so high, it's not worth it. Keep the headphones and we will return you the money. Except for VAT". I got them for free, you might say. I was like: "Is this for real?!" I don't doubt for a second what you said is true. Amazon are amazing. But, and here's what Cybrnook said: 



Cybrnook2002 said:


> I agree Amazon has amazing customer service. But where is the fun in RMA'ing a unit that you broke. The fun is in fixing. And if it's done right, it runs no greater risk of being damaged in the future more than another other part of the unit. Plus its good learning experience ;-) These skills can be applied throughout your life time.



He said, what I was about to say  I've never soldered and this is a nice opportunity to give it a shot. And I think that Volume control station is going to break again. Anyway, I will make a test try with two old pieces of wire and then, I will come back with results and may be start the headphones tonight as well.


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## Cybrnook2002 (Dec 17, 2014)

Good luck, just take your time and remember; you dont need to keep the heat on the wires for too long. A proper solder joint can be made in about 5 seconds or less. Heat the joint, dab your solder on, and done! Let it cool..... should be nice and shiny.


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## Cybrnook2002 (Dec 17, 2014)

His method is a little different than mine, but this is a good video. Soldering starts at around 5:15. Which brings up two good points I want to tell you. When your iron heats up, BEFORE you touch it to your joint, make sure to "tin" it. Take your solder and melt some on the tip of your iron, will help when you go to solder your joint and it will allow your solder to flow back to your iron smoother and keep your iron from oxidizing.

Also on his video, he doesn't "Flux" the joint, he is instead using flux cored solder. So I would apply some flux to the joint before heating it up, that's the only difference. (It will smoke   )










DON'T use a lighter like he does to shrink his tubing. Use a hair dryer or heat gun. (It's cleaner and no char marks)


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## Dent1 (Dec 17, 2014)

lZKoce,

So you bought from a third party seller, not from Amazon directly. If you bought from Amazon directly or a seller using a fulfilled by Aamazon the return address is in the United Kingdom.

Amazon's terms & condition are pretty harsh towards third party sellers and bias in the favour of the customer. Sellers get penalised and risk losing their trading account if the defect and general performance metric reaches a certain point. Even good sellers get booted off Amazon so sellers 9/10 will often go above and beyond to accommodate. You can escalate the A-Z case and you will win 99.9% of the time even if you are in the wrong. Even if it means Amazon takes the financial hit you will win. Amazon isn't a fair system its  customer is right. That is that. No argument. There is no credible appeals process for the seller unlike Ebay.

If you don't want to go the Amazon route. Contact Creative. They have return address in the UK. http://rma-online.creative.com/RMAStatus.aspx

Edit:

Interesting story. A friend bought an SSD on Amazon. He called up and disputed the accuracy of the description. Long story short. They refunded him on the full price of the SSD (about £200) and was told to keep it. No argument or long winded conversation. He felt guilty as he was only trying to inform them of a wording error he wasn't fishing for a refund


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## Sasqui (Dec 17, 2014)

Cybrnook2002 said:


> I personally prefer using flux opposed to flux cored solder. I find that my joints and board applications always turn out more pure and clean when first applying the flux then coming in after for the soldering. Then once I am done, coming back with a q-tip and some %90 isopropyl alcohol to clean it all up. ALWAYS end up with a nice shiny joint. But then again, I try and operate as if I am in a clean room when I work, so I like taking my time in ever single little step (no short cuts)  Plus flux cored tends to be thicker and isnt as eaxsy to use when you are soldering on motherboards and such.



Are you saying you're anal?   Agree, for surface mount and PCB work, definitely.  For soldering wires together, I'm thinking overkill but to each his own.

Cheers.


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## Cybrnook2002 (Dec 17, 2014)

Sasqui said:


> Are you saying you're anal?   Agree, for surface mount and PCB work, definitely.  For soldering wires together, I'm thinking overkill but to each his own.
> 
> Cheers.


To the nth degree!!!!


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## lZKoce (Dec 17, 2014)

First feedback:

This is my flux. I guess it's a cheap one, since it's hard. I am not sure how to spread it on the wires, but it did smoke 



And here is the 1st soler. It it took some time to see what: "solder follows the heat is", but I see now with practice. A little too little solder?


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## Cybrnook2002 (Dec 17, 2014)

The left picture is the better of the two. Either way you could feed a little more solder in there. But either of those connections would technically be fine. Try a little faster solder feed next time.

try a little more flux and little solder.


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## Cybrnook2002 (Dec 17, 2014)

lZKoce said:


> First feedback:
> 
> This is my flux. I guess it's a cheap one, since it's hard. I am not sure how to spread it on the wires, but it did smoke
> 
> ...


That flux is old. So old it dried out. Flux should be goopy like jelly.


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## Sasqui (Dec 18, 2014)

Cybrnook2002 said:


> The left picture is the better of the two. Either way you could feed a little more solder in there. But either of those connections would technically be fine. Try a little faster solder feed next time.
> 
> try a little more flux and little solder.



The left one does look great.  The right is a little light on the solder, but still looks like it'll hold well.



Cybrnook2002 said:


> That flux is old. So old it dried out. Flux should be goopy like jelly.



That does look old and dried out!  The stuff I've used has been more like paste.


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