Wiring Earbuds
This is something which is probably pretty simple for those in the know, but I never could find it anywhere on the web, so I had to figure it out myself the old-fashioned way. If you have a set of earbuds (or other earphones with mini-jack) and you want to splice on a new plug, or longer cord, or make your own ipod-to-speaker connector, or whatever, you need to know what part of the little plug connects to what.
So that’s what I figured out, sacrificing an old (non-working) pair of spiffy white Ipod official earbuds.
The little wires are exceedingly tiny, and they’re enameled, so very hard to strip. You can do it by gentle scraping with a razor blade or exacto, or the easier way (which is what I did) is to use a match–the insulation burns right off, producing a wisp of (probably toxic) smoke, and a residue you can wipe off with a cloth. Then you’ve got bare wires to work with.
The wires in the ipod earbuds were color-coded, but I wouldn’t count on that in every set. But here’s how it worked for these (See the picture–click to enlarge–for a better understanding)–
| Tip of Plug | Green Wire | Left Earbud |
| Middle of Plug | Red Wire | Right Earbud |
| Base of Plug | Blue Wire and Red/Green Striped Wire | Grounds |
So the individual buds pair up this way:
| Right Earbud | Red and Blue (Ground) |
| Left Earbud | Green and Red/Green (Ground) |
So now you know! (or at least, now I know. That had been bugging me for a ridiculously long time. Oh, sure, I could have found somewhere to look it up…but now I really know!)
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Hi, i randomly stumbled upon your site in an effort to find out how to wire ear buds. I have been having a lot of trouble. have you had success? Thanks for posting this, the diagram will help me immensely. Keep up the good work!!
Comment by Zachary B — 2/15/2007 @ 8:38 pm
The actual names of the contacts on the plug are Tip, Ring and Sleeve, courtesy of the Bell System.
Comment by Al — 10/15/2008 @ 12:43 pm
Googling for help and found your site. Replaced plug, L & R channels in proper order.
Thanks mate.
AC
Comment by AC — 3/13/2009 @ 11:46 pm
PS, set soldering iron temp to 400C and wires will self tin without stripping.
Comment by AC — 3/13/2009 @ 11:47 pm
Thanks for the information.
For anyone in the same situation: one of my ground wires was gold/orange instead of blue like this article mentions. Also, you can twist the two ground wires together to make one wire if needed
Comment by wes — 4/30/2009 @ 1:50 pm
You just saved me so much time – I could not figure out why my ear-bud splicing job wasn’t working! But now I know it is because the individual wires are insulated with enamel!!!! Thanks man!!!
Comment by R.B. — 12/28/2009 @ 4:08 pm
Great information, knowing to use a match to burn off the insulation was great… I didn’t know there was insulation. I don’t know much about electronics.
They work now!
Comment by G.F — 2/27/2010 @ 11:43 am
Thank you! Used your information to fix my $100 Etymotic ER-6i earbuds by splicing on the stereo plug connector from of a pair of iPod earbuds. Your red/green color info was correct, and once I matched those up and burned off the insulation, everything worked.
Comment by Jonathan — 7/27/2010 @ 3:04 pm
That enamel! Worked on my dog-chewed earphones for months without success. I did not know that there was enamel insulation on the wire until I read your article. Thanks for the priceless info.
Comment by AJ — 8/23/2010 @ 8:35 am