Clip+ repair of jack and volume control and replacing battery
Sep 21, 2012 at 4:43 AM Post #18 of 28
Hello,
 
Thanks so much for this tutorial on how to fix this loose heapdhone plug problem that has been nagging me for months (I was just about to buy a new DAP when I found this, so I ended up ordering a much cheaper soldering iron :)
 
However I'm a little clumsy and when I pried open my Sansa Clip+ case, the screwdriver went a little too far I think and broke one of the volume buttons, as you can see on this image. (sorry, I couldn't get the "insert image" function to work on this post). The broken button is the little part below the Sansa and it should be right where you see the "+" sign at the bottom of the circuit board. The other button is in place a few mm to the right. 
 
Now my question is: how do I put that part back ?
 
It doesn't look easy to solder (the part has connections where the upper part is plastic, and access to them is not easy) and actually the other volume button doesn't look soldered to me.
The part has two plastic pins and there are 2 small holes on the circuit board to hold the position the part but this doesn't hold it in place. Should I use glue for that ? won't glue damage the PCB ?
 
 
Here 2 more pictures showing close-up viwes of the volume button (with the side in contact with the PCB up) and the PCB. (again, sorry for the links).
 
If anybody could help, I'd appreciate it a lot !
 
Cheers
 
Oct 4, 2012 at 2:07 PM Post #19 of 28
Hey all, I joined specifically so that I could tell you about how I went about fixing this in my Clip+.
 
I had had my Clip+ for about a year and a half when this started happening.  At first the jack was intermittent but not very wobbly and it still worked with some cables but not others so I thought that my cables were faulty.  Then it got very loose and started being intermittent with everything I used.
 
When I opened it up, I noticed that the same soldering point that the OP noticed was broken, so I soldered it and figured that would be the end of it.  However, that turned out to not be the only thing that was causing my troubles.  The jack was still moving around independent of the contacts (meaning that the plastic part that actually holds the audio cable was wiggling but the contacts weren't), causing the intermittent signal  I considered using hot glue, but I didn't want to do that because it would be a pain to get off if there was trouble later on.  So this is what I ended up doing:
 
Huddler (the most annoying forum software on earth) was having trouble embedding images, so I just linked to them on imageshack instead.  Sorry. :frowning2:
 
1) I cut a strip out of an old sock that was in my rag pile that was approximately the width of the jack and about twice as long as it was wide.
 
http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/8171/img6437w.jpg
 
 
2) I then folded it in half, placed it on top of the jack, and wedged it in between the jack and the battery using my jeweler's screwdriver (making sure that the strip of fabric did not extend beyond the outside of the jack, as it would be in the way of the audio cable).
 
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/1849/img6441rd.jpg
 
 
3) Then I put the thing back together.  As I had planned and indeed hoped, the added pressure from the sock holds the jack very tightly in place and does not allow for any movement whatsoever.  The headphone cable doesn't even spin freely in the jack anymore. :)
 
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/3176/img6444x.jpg
 
 
Anyway, I hope that this was helpful to people who either don't have access to hot glue/superglue or, like me, want something that is simpler and less likely to fail again in the future.
 
Oct 4, 2012 at 2:34 PM Post #20 of 28
Quote:
The part has two plastic pins and there are 2 small holes on the circuit board to hold the position the part but this doesn't hold it in place. Should I use glue for that ? won't glue damage the PCB ?
 
If anybody could help, I'd appreciate it a lot !
 
Cheers

 
Did you ever get this fixed?
 
The switch that fell off mounts exactly the same way as the other one. The switches plastic pins go in the holes on the PCB, then the switches pads should line up with the solder pads on the PCB. A little bit of solder on each and you should be good to go... 
biggrin.gif

 
Just be careful of the left hand side of your PCB picture, that you don't bridge the pad to the resistor when you solder. The resistor in between the memory chip and the switch pad on the left in your pictures orientation.
 
The one on the right (same side as the other switch) connects to the right pad so it's not a worry.
 
beerchug.gif

 
Nov 10, 2012 at 8:57 AM Post #21 of 28
After fixing the jack in two stages, that's when I started this thread, I used my Clip+ for a long time until I forgot it in a restaurant. Tough luck, I'd just bought a 16GB memory card. But I got a new Clip+ which worked great, using it basically every day, until a month ago. I dropped it on the floor and the volume control broke - you couldn't adjust the level. Went to the store and they said "Sorry, the guarantee expired a week ago". I was about to buy a third Clip+ but just didn't have the energy. I switched from my PX100 to the Koss KTXPRO1which has a volume control on the cord.
 
Still,I wanted to use my old familiar combination and decided to open the Clip+ and see if it could be fixed. Turned out that both the soldered buttons of the volume control had broken off from the circuit board. Luckily they were still there. They're supposed to be in the red rings.
 

 

 

 
Well, I had nothing to loose so I decided to try and fix it. I used a very small drop of super glue between the two holes to secure the buttons to the board. Since they're surface mounted, I heated up the contact area on each side of the buttons with a soldering iron (be careful - there's hardly and space), which would probably suffice to fix them to the board. I added some solder just to make sure, anyway.
 

 
Clicked the two halves together (make sure the plastic on/off and volume control buttons are in their proper place in the plastic shell) and voila, working fine again.
 
 

 
Nov 11, 2012 at 5:55 AM Post #22 of 28
Thanks for the replies.
 
Unfortunately, my player died after running Rockbox for a couple of days. Maybe the missing switch made the thing more unstable, I don't know, but anyway now it is hopelessely bricked, and the only hope of recovery is to wait until someone publishes a tutorial on how to unbrick the Clip+ (so far, I've been told, some people have managed to unbrick their Clip+ but the procedure is not well understood). So I bought a new Clip+, installed Rockbox, and have been keeping my fingers crossed since. When somebody publishes a reliable unbricking procedure, I'll have 2 Clip+. Yay !
 
Jul 11, 2013 at 2:00 PM Post #24 of 28
I just fixed the headphone jack of my clip+. The issue was not a lose solder joint but the housing of the jack which kept moving. I folded a small piece of paper and put some tape on it to glue it on the inside of the rear cover right above the jack. Voila -> stereo again!
 
Maybe this won't last forever, but when i have to open it again, i will add an external cable with a solid connector. 
 
Oct 8, 2013 at 2:27 PM Post #25 of 28
Okay, I opened mine up, bit weird but, the housing isn't really moving much aside from the fact it's split right down the middle (just the plastic, not the metal, I can still make it work so it's just the plastic) so I'm gonna super glue it and if that hasn't completely solved it, I'm gonna poke the springs towards the centre a bit more (gently)
 
Feb 17, 2015 at 3:33 PM Post #26 of 28
Happened again, I sat on the Clip and the jack broke. See, almost no solder at this point.
 

 
Fixed that.
 

 
Enough solder for another mishap.
 
Stubborn me decided not to leave these not working devices unused.
 
My first Sansa Clip+ that I reported on at the beginning of this thread and heavily rapaired I left in a restaurant.
 
The second one worked fine until the battery ran down and couldn't be charged. Left in the drawer, bought a third one for 30€ and added a 32 GB memory card - the one I sat on. It works fine now.
 
After some extended search I found a new battery for the second one on Ali Express, gonna replace it when it arrives from China.
 
Mar 1, 2015 at 7:01 AM Post #27 of 28
So, received the new batteries from Ali Express. Cell phone battery type BAK 323036P.
 

 
 
I ordered two, 7 dollars each, free shipping.
 

 
 
As usual, opened the Clip at one point with a small blade, then using the thumbnail around the edges.
 

 
 
Desoldered the small circuit board from the old battery, soldered the new one into place.
 

 
 
Taped small board and battery together.
 

 
 
Fixed the battery to the case with double sided tape.
 

 
Make sure to align the on/off button and the volume control buttons when you click the shell together.
 
So, got two working Clips again. The old to the left.
 

 
Aug 28, 2015 at 11:30 AM Post #28 of 28
Welp, the audio jack on my Clip+ got loose and I can't get a new one where I live. While opening it up I broke one of the battery cords but I managed to fix it. Then I fixed the jack but broke the power button in the process 
frown.gif

 
So I guess I'll have to buy Sports or Jam now, everything else I can find in our shops is too big x)
 

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