Electronic – How to identify solder

soldering

Recently, my headphones mic stopped working and I figured it was probably the plug (although I'm not 100% sure). So what I've set out to do is to solder a new plug on. I asked my dad and he said the house had some solder, and even the solder iron. However, there are no lables on the solder, and my dad can't remember what type it is.

How do I identify whether it is the type used for plumbing or the electronic type? And how do I identify whether it has a hollow core of flux in it?

Best Answer

Plumbing solder is generally kind of thick - more than 1/8 inch. Electronic solder is usually much thinner - less than 1/16 inch.

You can tell if solder has a core by melting some on a piece of paper - it will leave a greasy, maybe sticky spot if it has a core.

Thin solder that leaves a sticky spot when melted should be electronic solder.

As @EJP says, the problem is usually a break in the cable near the plug. Cut the old plug off maybe an inch from the plug, strip the wires on both sides of the cut. Use an ohmmeter to find out which wire goes to which part of the plug, and solder the wires on the other part of the cable (the part that goes to the headphone) the the correct places on the new plug.