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I have tested and replaced batteries in my quiet comfort 2 headphones to no avail. the red power light does not come on and not a hint of sound, static or owtherwise. bose wants $100 to fix them and not only no way but now way in the world. and hints?
thanks,
jeff
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One thing you may want to check is the contact points both on the headphones and the batteries. I had a friend who used these for jogging and would sweat profusely. He brought them to me with the same problem you describe. After cleaning the contact points with an eraser and some alcohol on a swab, the headphones worked fine.
crwdns2934105:0crwdne2934105:0
Thanks so much for this GREAT advice! I'd given up on my set a couple of years ago - but after just rubbing an eraser around a bit, the light came back on and I'm back in business! Thanks so very much for sharing this and saving me the big bucks :o)
After cleaning the contact points, mine started working again. Thanks for the help.
This tip on cleaning the contact points was a life saver. I just did it with my QC-17's which stopped powering up all of a sudden, and it worked like a charm. Thank you!
Thanks for your great advice on cleaning the contact points. It saved me from another headache.
The eraser worked for me!
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I figured out what the problem was for my QC-15 Headphones not powering up. Its definitly a design defect with this model. The problem is that the wire that runs from the battery compartment to the negative post on the door/hinge has a fatigue failure problem. Through many repetitions of opening and closing the door to change the battery you inadvertently cause the wire to snap, very similar to how a paper clip breaks when you bend it back and forth a bunch of times. The wire is pretty hard to see too because they have it pretty well hidden on the little hinged cover and it dissappears into the headphones maybe 3/4" down from the edge of the hinge. You really have to look to see it.
What really gets my goat here is that it seems that quite a few people are experiencing an issue where the unit just fails to power up all of a sudden and end up sending the unit back to Bose for close to $100 for a "replacement". That is just plain old robbery for an almost built in failure point on a pretty expensive pair of headphones. When they get your headphones in they replace one tiny wire and then ship them to the next customer for another hundred dollars. Its insane.
The only reason I found it was that it happened right after i changed the battery which got me thinking about what could have possibly happened just from changing the battery. SO check the negative post wire to see if its broken. Also its worth mentioning that the wire could be intact and still broken internally. Mine was just snapped right in half though.
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I think I have the same issue. How do you disassemble the headphone to check this?
Nice, I employed the q-tips, baking soda and with a dab of water, clean 3 time with this, the scrubbed and polished the area with a the eraser, then used a Q-tip with a tab of alcohol a few times to clean up and dry the area.
Cheers, and thank you everyone.
RKEW , I've had the same problem. Did you manage to fix it?
@cisco, I experienced this power switch problem a few times in the recent weeks and as soon as I saw RKEW's comment, I open the door and confirmed the fatigue failure issue and fixed it by use a tooth pick to tweak the wire contacts and it powered on! - Very hacky way but it seems work. Would love to see a tear-down step from ifixit and to replace this failed negtive post wire to fix it for good.
I had the same problem. The wire from the negative battery terminal came off the terminal in the battery compartment. Even though I was being careful, this wire is so thin that it snapped off close to where it leaves the battery compartment while trying to strip a few millimetres of fresh wire to re-solder to the terminal. So... I ran a new wire between the circuit board and the battery terminal through a 1 mm hole conveniently located between the circuit board and the battery compartment (was this foresight by Bose?!). That fixed the problem. There are lots of very thin wires that are close together in this area of the circuit board, so make sure to locate the correct wire and use a fine tip soldering iron to avoid dislodging other wires from nearby junctions on the circuit board or accidentally joining nearby wires!
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Fixed my my Bose Quiet Comfort 15 that would not power up! Fortunate because the battery wire broke at the solder point on the battery door. Did not need to disassemble anything, just wiggled the door loose. Removed 1" insulation from a piece of junk wire, twisted the strands. Soldered, not to the door, but to the base of the spring. Then re-installed door, trimmed wire to about 5/8", crimped it to the end of broken one and soldered that. No need for any insulation, here. Difficult to get door closed but WORKS - at least until the next battery. I SHOULD have put a little heat shrink, not for insulation, but for strength. FYI: although my unit is many years old. my local (USA) Bose store will replace with refurb for $120.
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Man you just made my day i have exactly the same problem but couldnt figure it out how to open the headphone o detach the little black door. How did you loose the door? i'm afraid i could broke it or something. i know is a lot to ask but if you could point me to some pics or video on how to would be GREAT. Thanks alot in advance, at least your comment gave me some pointers on what to do.
I was able to wiggle the door sideways to remove it. You do NOT need to remove any screws. BTW I installed cheap Blue cell pads that are excellent.
Also bought headphonemate inline Mic cord so now I can talk through my Bose.
Can someone post a video of the tear down? I really don't want to snap mine...
Got the same problem, snapped the wire trying to fix it. The wire is so thin, you cannot see it inside the insulation.
I had exactly the same problem, but the very thin wire broke when trying to strip off a few millimetres of insulation, even though I was being careful. Anyone who has that problem might find my comment posted to RKEW's post above helpful. In short, I ran a new wire from the circuit board to the terminal through a small existing hole between the circuit board and the battery compartment, which fixed the problem.
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Hi, i had the same problem that told "RKEW" , the cable wich have to make contact with the negative polo where is the battery is not making contact, because the cable is very short. I opened all the headphone and i saw others cables thats are going to break.... i cant belive it because i paid 300 dollars for this.
Here is the photo of the problem:
So, i have to weld the cable or replace it(s) and clean the contacts where the cables born because i saw sulphate.
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How do you get the outside cover off?
i dont remember now but is easy, just do it ;)
I think this is a class action suit against Bose. Bose sold these QC 15s by millions.
I'm in. Can't believe I bought three pairs over the years! Especially after the way the ear pads are designed to look and feel great and perish in humidity ! Both styles, on the ear and around. Now in both styles the wires are breaking. Lots of feedback but they don't care! Thanks for the tips on the rewire. I'll video it. Keep an eye out for the $6 replacement cushions from China in black or brown leather look
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This photo shows where I soldered the negative wire on the QC15 headphones and it worked.
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pet how about the positive,,ty
I only had a problem with the negative wire. However the power on/off switch may switch the positive supply so you could try and access the board at this point.
Peter since your repair have you had any issues having connected the negative wire to the wire collection that you you used instead of the tiny little area where it normally goes? Any issue with sound quality or short circuits? I am dealing with this same issue and haven't been able to find a comprable wire size that was originally used so i have a slightly larger wire that I would like to attach as you did, but only if I can be sure there won't be an issue. Thanks! Matt
Matt - my headphones are still working 100% - no distortion or other issues. Good luck with your repair. Peter
How do you remove the cover?
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The power light on my Bose QC15 headphones went out after many hours of use of an AAA battery. I just figured it was time to change the battery. I had a difficult time removing the battery and finally had to pull it out with needle nose pliers. When I put in a new battery, the power light would not come on. After reading some posts here, I tried to clean the battery casing with a dry Q tip, then water, and then 40% ethanol without success. Then I rubbed the casing thoroughly with the eraser of a new no. 2 pencil, blew out the interior with a compressed air canister and presto!, the power light came on.
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Black wire WAS intact. I broke it trying to clean the corrosion off. That wire is so thin that when I pinched it to strip off a little insulation I pinched it right off. Now it's half as long. I've disassembled the ear up but the wire is glued where it enters the battery compartment.
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The suggestion to use the #2 pencil with alcohol did the trick for me when I had no power after removing the corroded battery. The suggestions here saved me hundreds! Thanks to all.
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Thank you all for sharing these tips; yes, this also resolved my problem: the wire connecting the negative pole of the battery was torn, i.e. as it was attached to the spring on the battery compartment door and yes, it's a DESIGN FAILURE to have this tiny and very weak wire soldered to the end-point on the door. Of course, it broke as per the 'paper-clip repeated bending' analogy shared above already.
I don't have soldering equipment at home, so had to improvise to fix as follows:
1/ Very gently peel the wire-casing to expose the metal wire inside, I had to remove the door to more easily reach this tiny wire
2/ Make a 'cap' with aluminium foil to cover the battery's negative pole: this cap should reach half-way through the battery, such that when it's in place it can make contact with the exposed wire
3/ Re-attach the door and close it, to ensure the exposed wire touches the aluminium cap, you should keep inserting extra bits of aluminium folds until the closed-door presses the wire against the aluminium cap that covers the batter.
It brought my headset back to life! It works. Just need aluminium foil. I will complain to Bose about this, too, very predictable failure point.
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The foil fix worked like a charm! Thank you!
Same on mine - check the contact points!
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Mine failed as well. Seems that a battery left in the compartment that starts to corrode from old age will also corrode the wire, which then becomes detached from the spring terminal on the battery door. Trying to find a way to get inside the earcup to replace the wire. For $100 it's worth an hour or so of my time.
I had the exact same problem with my Bose QC15s. I was on a transatlantic flight and I changed the battery only to find out that the headphones would not power up. I thought it was the battery and changed at least 3 batteries. I then read this very valuable post, went downstairs to the kitchen and poured some turpentine at the end of an earbud. I then swivelled it along the positive terminal contact point to remove some dirt. And Voila!! Now they work perfectly. Thank you all so much.
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Nice, I employed the q-tips, baking soda and with a dab of water, clean 3 time with this, the scrubbed and polished the area with a the eraser, then used a Q-tip with a tab of alcohol a few times to clean up and dry the area.
Cheers, and thank you everyone.
Mine failed too! Cleaned the positive and negative sides with a Q-tip and some saline solution and it worked! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
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Thank you all for this post!!! I have the QuietComfort 15 and after I saw that my last battery leaked inside, I thought it was a goner. I tried what most people posted here (vinegar, normal saline, and pencil eraser), but what worked for me was a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol. I cleaned both positive and negative terminals, and dried them with a power duster (compressed gas duster).. about to give up hope and BOOM - it WORKED!!! Thank you all, this thread has made my day (and saved me $$$)!!!
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The cleaning of the positive & negative contact points in the battery compartment fixed my Bose headphones.
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Here's a close up of the circuit board indicating where the negative power wire is located.
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ash how about the positive?,,ty
I had a problem with my bose 2 not working. It turned out to be my iPad was not getting a good connection. FYI, check the source first.
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I have a pair of QC-2. Considering the problems I had with those,those headphones one flaky wire . My issues went a lot deeper. Oh the wire issue reared its ugly head but my big issue was the material they used for the ear cup swivels and mounts. It is so brittle just putting them on your head, you should be well medicated prior to trying this. During a listening session my right ear cup just dropped and hung by the wire by my chin. I repaired this issue only to have it happen to the left. after a few repeats of this issue, I went surfing on this issue. WOW i found a blog containing Very Angry Customers, having the same issue. Also Bose gave the same solution,your headset + $100.00 and the would send you another of the same model.
This also meant that the new set had the same genetic flaw. I hope your seeing a pattern here. Well i was not spending any more money for something that was to be superior to other brands, which is why you. purchased them in the first place. So using the God given Grey Matter that sets on my shoulders. I salvaged all that i could and redesigned all of the head gear minus the swivels which was part of the problem. And while I had the patient open I rewired the cup to cup section. I also rewired the cord with something a little more able than the spaghetti they used. Now the only reason I put so much time in this is that I love the sound of these gems. The most important item here is the ear cups and they still worked perfect. Call it a labor of Love.
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How to fix a wiggly battery?
When it clicks in the headphone it stops the bass and noise cancelling. Driving me mad.
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Thank you very much for posting ! saved time, money and unnecessary hassle
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I noticed you never got an answer to this. Are you still having this problem
crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0 originalmachead crwdne2934271:0
I have owned Bose Quiet Comfort Headphones since 2001. My experience is that if you are out of warranty, it is worth the $100 for the repair. They usually will send you a refurbished set identical to your current model. And it has a one year warranty on them. One time, my replacement set developed the same issue as the original in about six months, and they sent me a brand new set of the next generation QC at no cost.
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They repaired my QC2s for $50 in 2011. Well Worth it. I removed my earpads before mailing it in so now I have a backup pair for future repairs and/or a dry pair after working hard in them.
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I had this same problem. I had corrosion from the battery which caused the problem. It took a little but a removed as much of the white powder with a box cutter and finally worked again.
crwdns2934271:0crwdnd2934271:0 tyoung406307 crwdne2934271:0
Ditto on hard-to-see corrosion after leaving battery in for extended time and not using the headphones. A damp (not soaking) ear swab with white vinegar carefully rubbed on the interior positive contact, then drying with another dry swab and optionally using a hair dryer to assure evaporating any remaining solution, cured what was an issue of a bad contact. Of course replace the battery which was the cause of the corrosion. All is good again.
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