this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2024
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Post a pic of it? It might be fixable
First time uploading a picture here so not sure if it worked, but how does it look? I honestly have no idea how to fix it.
Inside the trimmer, it really does look more simple when you open it up. Let's say I can just cut the wire down a bit with scissors and then strip a bit of the cable plastic. Then the points I'm uncertain on would be:
The rubbery fitting that surrounds the wires and secures it to the main housing. Doesn't feel like there would be any way to yank out existing cable and thread through the unbroken part.
Little gold-ish pieces that pinch the wire and connect it to the screws. Look somewhat difficult to pry open.
I am located in the US but not sure which prong is which since the cable is quite twisty and the broken part is on the trimmer side.
Thanks everyone, looks like it works for now!
Unscrew one of the wire terminals. Wrap a piece of tape around it so you know which wire is which. Unscrew the other wire. I think you should be able to pull the wire through that stress relief and then cut it off on what would be the inside instead of cutting it off outside and trying to thread it through the molded rubber. It might be stiff but you can try putting a little soap on it to lube it up. You may or may not have to split the jacket down the middle between the 2 wires depending how the relief is molded.
If you're soldering, just cut the wire at the terminal ring and solder the wire right to it. You can also get new crimp on terminal rings. Take an old one to the store to match it up to get the right size.
Disclaimer: not electrician, just a DIYer that doesn't like to spend money
Another idea on point 1 for pulling the wire through the stress relief would be to heat it up a little bit (with hot water or something) to make it more pliable.
Ah, yes, if it has some rubber cement type goop in there, a hair dryer will work as well. Good call.
Pic looks good. Probably the best option is to trim that cord a little past that break, remove the broken section, and insert the trimmed cord and reattach it to the trimmer. This will probably require soldering, and will definitely require opening the case. A picture of the trimmer with any visible screws shown will help to determine how feasible this is. You will require some solder, a soldering iron, and some flux. If you haven't done soldering before, this could be the most forgiving project to learn it on. Electrical soldering is pretty easy, electronics are fairly precise.
The picture came thru great, and I think that's fixable. A couple starting questions are: can the trimmer be easily opened up/ are there obvious screws keeping the housing together? Is the plug polarized? if you're in the US this means one of the prongs of the plug is larger than the other.
Edit: i'm gonna try and find a video tutorial or something on this as I think explaining via forum post might be kinda cumbersome, but I am down to try and help you through it.