HELP - NW-HD3 HEADPHONE JACK

[christianpma]

hi, i have an HD3 that i got from a friend who upgraded (and didnt have the documentation, so no warranty i guess ). it has worked perfect until two days ago. I started it up at the gym and the sound only came through in one ear.

i jiggled the headhpone plug inside the jack to see if that helped, and found out that if i press it hard to one side (towards the front of the player) then i get stereo sound.

from this, i deduced that the problem is a bad connection in the headphone jack (i checked other headsets).

I opened the player to investigate, but i cant find out how to adjust or fix the problem!!

Have downloaded the service manual but theres nothing about how to fix this specific problem.. also checked a few forums for answers, but to no avail.

I dont know much about electronics, so any help at all would be of use!!!

THANKS,

christian (new member!)

[Guest Stuge]

christianpma,

Welcome to AtracLife!

It seems that your players jack has been damaged .Please seek help from Sony service Centre as soon as possible ..

[christianpma]

yeah, like i said. i dont have the warranty and even if the friend i got the player from could find it, it's probably not valid now that i opened the player.

i know that everything esle works perfectly, and its just a bad connection in the headhpone jack..

i just need someone to help me with exactly what i should be looking for how to fix the problem!

is there any sort of contact spray i could use? a jack adaptor? anything?

[Guest Stuge]

I`m really sorry that i can`t assist you further & please don`t fiddle with your player unnessasary as it might damage some other components as well .

Also Sony will never know whether you have open your player or not(until you tell them ) b`coz they are not going to do the fingerprint testing ..

[christianpma]

ok, going to give it one more shot and wait a couple more days to see if i can garnish some advice from anyone, then send it in! thanks.

[Guest Stuge]

ok, going to give it one more shot and wait a couple more days to see if i can garnish some advice from anyone, then send it in! thanks.

Keep us updated

[MDX-400]

Yeah seems like the headphones jack either has a cold/intermittent solder joint to the board or there is a problem with the jack itself (corrosion or broken contacts inside). This isn't a common problem per se, but it has been something that has been known to happen on MD units which use similar phones/remote jacks...

The likely solution is either to re-solder the jack where it connects to the board or replace the headpones jack altogether...

The part number for the jack is 181859111 and comes up as $6.49 from Sony DAPC. Of course de-soldering the old one and replacing it is a little harder than it sounds. The insides of the HD3 are absolutely tiny (no wonder considering the thing is so small itself); so unless you have the proper micro soldering tools and knowhow to replace the jack, you're likely going to have to have it done by a repair centre It will likely be costly to replace the $7 part though, because of labour charges

[kamil]

It will likely be costly to replace the $7 part though, because of labour charges

What kind of figure are we looking at? I have had the same problem happen to previous minidisc recorders, and have THE SAME problem going on in my iAudio mp3 player....

[christianpma]

ok.. thanks a lot for the help. i guess all ive got to go on is replacing the part myself, or maybe sending the sucker in for some expensive treatment.

sure theres no sort of contact spray/device that i cuold use to avert having to learn how to solder and probably burn a hole in the player in the process??

jeez you guys know a lot.

[MDX-400]

What kind of figure are we looking at? I have had the same problem happen to previous minidisc recorders, and have THE SAME problem going on in my iAudio mp3 player....

I'd say around $50 in labour plus the part cost. Could be less, could be more. Depends on the repair facility and what they charge really (speaking of independent authorised repair shops that is). For an HD3 Sony USA's factory facilities offer a flat-rate repair program (which covers everything really) but it is $100 US meaning you're better off buying another unit, IMO. Sony factory facilities can repair it outside of the flat-rate as well, but again probably going to cost at least $50 I'd say.

ok.. thanks a lot for the help. i guess all ive got to go on is replacing the part myself, or maybe sending the sucker in for some expensive treatment.

sure theres no sort of contact spray/device that i cuold use to avert having to learn how to solder and probably burn a hole in the player in the process??

jeez you guys know a lot.

Oh no, I didn't say anything about not using contact cleaner.... By all means I would try that first. You can either spray some contact cleaner in the jack and some on the headphones plug [metal] and see if that cleans it. Easier still would be to just use some isopropyl [rubbing] alcohol on a q-tip and cleaning out the jack like that. Note that you'll probably have to remove some of the cotton from the q-tip so it fits in the jack easier. Also be careful that you don't get it stuck in the jack! This can happen and make things worse for you so just be careful. If your particular q-tip is too large you could also finely roll a peiece of paper towel and put that in alcohol and do the same.

The truth is though, that usually a dirty jack isn't the problem (though it is possible)--usually it is a solder/connection problem

If you're speaking of learning to solder then you're definitely not going to be able to do the headphones jack easily, LOL. You're right--you'll likely end up doing more damage than good!

I'd get an estimate from a shop (you should be able to just tell them you need the jack replaced and have them tell you how much that would cost, just so you don't have to pay for an estimate to begin with and to give you an idea). If that is more than you think it is worth in terms of buying a replacement, then I'd buy the replacement instead. In my own personal opinion, if the repair was going to be over $60 US or so, I'd just buy another HD3 (which go for around $150 US on eBay, used)...