Fixing iPod Earphones
So I ripped the plug off my iPod earphones. Since I didn't want to buy new ones - the earphones were just fine - I thought I'd attach a new plug (which I still had). It was harder than expected, because the cable wasn't built the way I thought it would. Here's what you have to know:
First, strip the white insulation off the cable. What you find looks like this:
First of all, there are four wires, while I only expected three. This is because the cable splits towards the earphones, and the ground of the left and right channel are wired separately.
| Red | Right Signal |
| Green | Left Signal |
| Red-Green | Left Ground |
| Blank (copper color) | Right Ground |
Second, the wires are not insulated with plastic but with some insulating paint (which is thus impossible to strip off). You'll see what I mean.
Fortunately, the insulating paint melts/burns/goes away when you solder the wires. So you'll have to solder the blank (copper color) and the red-green wires together, like this:
It's useful to put some solder on the other wires too, it'll be easier to attach them to the plug. Make sure you make them the correct length (depends on your plug).
In the end, solder them to the new plug (the left channel is the tip of the plug, the right channel is the middle part and the ground is the rear part):
Done. I now have iPod earphones with a golden plug:
