Repairing Skullcandy Lowrider Wiring

You're viewing a previously published version of this guide. View latest version

Sep 13, 2012 - 06:00:46

Jan 31, 2018 - 07:14:51 Feb 19, 2016 - 01:40:31 Sep 09, 2013 - 11:46:45 Sep 13, 2012 - 06:00:46 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:56:22 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:15:24 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:14:01 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:11:01 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:10:57 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:10:32 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:10:30 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:09:58 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:09:56 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:09:28 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:09:26 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:08:50 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:08:47 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:07:53 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:07:50 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:07:20 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:07:17 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:06:38 Sep 13, 2012 - 05:06:36 Sep 13, 2012 - 04:58:53

Newer

Introduction

Luckily, this turned out to be a straight forward repair. The Lowrider headphones only needed a new audio connector. I just wanted to make sure that I can show how to simply test the function, and what to look for. the trickiest part here is, the removal of the ear cushion. It appears as if every manufacturer changes the way they are fastened. Hopefully, this will prevent somebody from breaking their headphones while trying to repair them.

What you need

Step 1 Wiring

Repairing Skullcandy Lowrider Wiring, Wiring: step 1, image 1 of 3

Repairing Skullcandy Lowrider Wiring, Wiring: step 1, image 2 of 3

Repairing Skullcandy Lowrider Wiring, Wiring: step 1, image 3 of 3

Here is the complete headphone. Plugging it into my old iPod, there was no sound on either side.
The cushion is simply stuck into a space between the speaker (driver) and the case.
Remove the cushion by gently tugging it out of that groove.

Step 2

Repairing Skullcandy Lowrider Wiring: step 2, image 3 of 3

Ear cushion removed and intact (replacements are available online)
Here are the three Phillips screws that need to be removed.
The screws are all of the same size, no reason o keep them separated.

Step 3

Repairing Skullcandy Lowrider Wiring: step 3, image 3 of 3

With the three screws removed, the driver will simply fold up to reveal the wiring. In this case the color coded wire is Blue for left and Gold for ground.
Here is the way I connected some alligator test leads. Use a male-male 3.5 mm stereo cable. Attach one lead to sleeve, the upper part of the connector, and one lead to either tip (front) or Ring (middle) of the connector.
Attach some test points to the end of the alligator cables and touch the solder connections of the speaker (driver). In this case, there was clear sound. This determined that there was no signal coming from the connector to the drivers.

Step 4

Repairing Skullcandy Lowrider Wiring: step 4, image 3 of 3

Cut about 3 inch of the end of the cable.
To make sure that it was indeed the connector, and not a cracked wire further up, remove the insulation of one set of wires. The Lowrider uses one set for each side. to remove the insulation, you can use a boxcutter, a sharp knife, or a lighter etc.
Attach the test lead from any MP3 player, as previously shown. If the reason for the non-functioning headphones was the connector, there should now be sound on the headphone speaker (driver). In this case, there was. Therefore, it was indeed the audio connector that was broken.

Step 5

Repairing Skullcandy Lowrider Wiring: step 5, image 3 of 3

Here is a new 3.5 mm stereo audio connector. the cover simply screws on the actual connector.
Place the cover in proper direction over the wire
Here is how to determine which solder tab fits to what part of the connector. Use a multimeter, place it on the Ohm scale. Touching the tip and the shortest tab, showed continuity.

Step 6

Repairing Skullcandy Lowrider Wiring: step 6, image 3 of 3

Ring (middle) of the connector and the medium size tab showed continuity, therefore a match.
Last Sleeve (top) and the longest tab showed continuity. Now it is determined which parts are a match. this is important to properly connect the left and right speaker (driver)
If no multimeter is available, here is a quick sketch about the three corresponding connections.

Step 7

Repairing Skullcandy Lowrider Wiring: step 7, image 3 of 3

Most MP3 players, including the iPod, use the Tip for the left channel. Solder the Blue wire to the tip connector, the Red wire to the Ring connector, and both Gold wires to the Sleeve connector.
All wires soldered to their respective connectors, squeeze the cable tab at the sleeve connector tight around the cable. This helps to keep the solder connection when the headphones get disconnected by pulling on the wire.
Attach the cover to the audio jack connector.

Step 8

Reassembly was straight forward. the tricky part was getting the cushion back on the speaker (driver) but a pair of fingernails served the purpose. The headphones are now once more fully functioning and do sound pretty good. total cost for the repair was $0.75 and it took me 38 minutes...not a bad job.:)