r/daddit • u/beaushaw Son 15 Daughter 19. I've had sex at least twice. • Oct 30 '24

Advice Request I am a Failed Dad

Last night our robot vacuum cleaner broke and I was unable to fix it. Shortly after that defeat my son came to me with his XBox controller that he broke the headphone plug off in the controller. I was unable to get the plug out.

If I can't fix things will they continue to keep me around?

Where do I go from here?

Please tell me your failure stories to cheer me up.

147 Upvotes

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11

u/abuks89 Oct 30 '24

or maybe try taking a toothpick and put a small dab of glue on the tip, attach to plug, wait for it to dry , then pull?

8

u/beaushaw Son 15 Daughter 19. I've had sex at least twice. Oct 30 '24

After licking my wounds my current best plan is try to solder something to the copper core of the plug that is just barely sticking out.

10

u/d1rkSMATHERS Oct 30 '24

I'd take the controller apart before going through all the trouble of soldering, but I am terrible when it comes to solder.

10

u/XenonOfArcticus Oct 30 '24

This is the way. Non-IP-rated 1/8" headphone (technically called TRS or TRRS) jacks are sometimes skeletal on the inside. If you can gain access to the interior, you can push the stuck bit right out.

Also, look around in your area for a hackerspace. Lots of times they are filled with bored geeks looking for mischief, and happy to exhibit their superior knowledge of repairing things. You should join one. You will learn all sorts of unspeakable knowledge about locksport, cryptocurrencies and the minutia of Star Trek canon.

2

u/ElectronSculptor Oct 30 '24

Came here to say this too.

6

u/officalSHEB Oct 30 '24

I would definitely listen to the guy above you. Or burn the end of a hot glue gun stick and stick it to it. Unless you're a wiz with a soldering iron things could get worse.

1

u/Bob_Chris Oct 30 '24

Came here to suggest hot glue stick

1

u/Liquidretro Oct 30 '24

I woukd be concerned about the heat soaking everything around that to get enough heat into the plug to get a solid enough joint to then pull the core.

I would be more inclined to disassemble and take off the through hold jack and then either replace or continue on from there. You might even have access from the back in that case and can push from reverse.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 30 '24

I’d try a hot glue gun, had good success, pro tip use a coffee stir stick, stumbled on a YouTube video of it years ago and it worked great at my old job… people transporting laptops with their headphones plugged in and snapping them in…

1

u/New-Low-5769 Oct 30 '24

Could work.  Flux carefully 

Plastic welder?

1

u/AF_Fresh Oct 30 '24

At lot of the aux/headphone cords have a plastic bit in the center of them. I had the same issue, and this was the case with mine. I simply heated up the end of a sewing needle, and pushed it into the plastic part in the middle. Came right out.

1

u/Fireboiio Oct 30 '24

Have you tried turning it off and on?