Right speaker broken

[asimov-solensan]

Hello guys,

I have got the following problem: my right speaker doesn't plays any sound.

It's a 1Ghz model I upgraded it at the end of 2012 everything worked fine until this.

I have got tools and I may be able to repair it, In fact I replaced the LCD cable and both nubs on my old first batch. I post this here just to know if someone had the same problem and knows where should I look first. Soldering points on the speaker? on the board?

I won't try anything for a while and meanwhile I would like to know if it's possible to set the sound output as mono, as if there where only a single speaker. Without the speaker I can't hear some things, it's specially noticeable in psx games.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Replacing the speaker is pretty easy provided that you have spare speakers.  At around 6:54 in the following video, EvilDragon desoldered the speakers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8GfjAsbmK8

 

[Askarus]

It doesn't have to be the speaker that's broken.

Put some fresh solder iron on every pin of the headphone jack and the volume wheel.

That might help and there's no need to open up the whole Pandora.

 

[asimov-solensan]

Last night I couldn't sleep and took a look. Disassembled the entire pandora and soldered again the speaker.

The old soldering points didn't look very well. Solved nothing though.

I never thought it could be related to the volume wheel I might look into this.

I'm fearing that it's the speaker itself that is busted. Does anyone know the exact model name? I want to buy it from an electronic shop, I know of a few that may have it.

Still in the meanwhile it would be great to set the system as mono.

@Shenmue

If you thing this is an easy operation you clearly never disassembled a pandora. Thanks for answering anyway, I did know that video.

 

[Mr_Loon]

If you use headphones can you hear the right channel?

 

[asimov-solensan]

Yes, right channel works flawlessly with the headphones. Your point is that if it works with headphones the problem isn't with the jack or volume wheel, it's in the speaker, right?

 

[EvilDragon]

It goes from the volume wheel to the jack and from there through the LCD Cable to the speakers.

So if headphones work, the volume wheel is fine.

However, when a solder joint on the jack is bad, it doesn't switch on the speaker, it could be the jack (we had that on two or three older units).

It could also be a bent pin in the LCD-Cable connector - but unless you removed and reinserted the cable just before the problem occured, this cannot be the case (it only bents when you're not careful reinserting the cable).

I can send you a speaker for free without any issues, if you want to try that.

 

[Ligachamp]

After using the Pandora for some month, I had the same problem too. If you say that right channel still works with headphones and the LCD clable hasn't been removed, the problem is for sure the jack. You can try to connect the contacts in the circle



If it works, you have just to bend the contact a bit, while headphone is plugged in. Then it should work normally again

 

[asimov-solensan]

GREAT! Ligachamp nailed it. Where the red circle there is a tab that must make contact the right wall when the jack is not inserted, it seemed that in fact it made contact (at least it wasn't stuck on the left). As he explained I inserted the jack (the tab moved to the left) and then with small screwdriver I bended the tab just a bit to right.

Now the speaker works again. If anyone wants them I made a couple of photos with better quality than the one up there, I can upload them somewhere.

Thanks to rest as well and to ED, your offering was very kind.

 

[Ligachamp]

You're welcome

 

[turbochop]

Sorry for necroposting, but could I get those pics? My left speaker quit working, and I'm not sure which contact is the left channel. I got it to work for a minute or so, then it quit again.

*edit*

How exactly is the jack connected to the volume wheel? Because, when looking at the board with the wheel in the lower left, when I connect the two left most joints on the wheel my speaker works. Could the wheel be the issue? I've noticed some fuzz when adjusting the volume which goes away when I blow on the wheel Maybe I'm over thinking things.

*edit*

I surrender!

I think my pandy is playing some kind of psychological warfare on me! I tried bending the contact a bit -FAIL-

I check the lcd cable, to the main board and to the lcd, all is good -FAIL-

I check the joints on the volume wheel, they all seem to be fine -FAIL-

I put the whole thing back together again, and disconnect all power for 10 minutes. I try a sound test again -FAIL-

Finally, out of desperation I took my head phones, wet the plug with my lips, plugged it into the pandora, and spun it around a couple times -DING-

speaker works now... for now

 

[asimov-solensan]

Glad that it works now. I'm sorry to tell that my pictures are lost. I may try to find them in one of my backups.

 

[EvilDragon]

Yep, can happen. The headphone connector switches off the speakers, so I guess a connection went stuck and unstuck when you plugged in the headphones.

 

[Ligachamp]

This might be a helpful link to solve this kind of problem. Look especially at the official hacker guide by MWeston for more information

It would be nice if someone could update that document. Newer pics with better quality would already be great ^^"