Connection V4 no sound

[itzfelix]

Hey, i recently started my Connection 4 back up, only to find out one of the buttons not always working and there being no sound. I went into the sound menu to check, but its turned on. So either some wiring is faulty or the sound driver is dead, anyone know where i can buy one of those? Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Bentobuff]

Hmmm, did you buy the V4 new? If not, someone may have cracked it open in the past and accidentally weakened the wires' connection to the board and/or speaker. And if it's been dropped(idk if you were a kid when you had it, but even as an adult I'm regularly dropping things) it could have damaged it.
Buuuuuuut as the buttons also aren't working consistently, THAT could just be an instance of the contacts being dirty! Get a grounding bracelet(a proper one that clips to a table, not one of those weird copper things athletes use), open it up and give it a good clean, but be careful, you don't want to break it!

 

[itzfelix]

Hmmm, did you buy the V4 new? If not, someone may have cracked it open in the past and accidentally weakened the wires' connection to the board and/or speaker. And if it's been dropped(idk if you were a kid when you had it, but even as an adult I'm regularly dropping things) it could have damaged it.
Buuuuuuut as the buttons also aren't working consistently, THAT could just be an instance of the contacts being dirty! Get a grounding bracelet(a proper one that clips to a table, not one of those weird copper things athletes use), open it up and give it a good clean, but be careful, you don't want to break it!

Gotcha, thanks i will try. Its a V4 i have had since i was a kid, so it might just be due to age and probably poor contacts, like you said. So i really hope i dont end up breaking it, i would probably need cleaning alcohol and q tips to cleab it properly and safely.

Thanks for your advice and help so far, i started back up most of my tamas today, so i noticed that the V4 had issues.

 

[Bentobuff]

Gotcha, thanks i will try. Its a V4 i have had since i was a kid, so it might just be due to age and probably poor contacts, like you said. So i really hope i dont end up breaking it, i would probably need cleaning alcohol and q tips to cleab it properly and safely.

Thanks for your advice and help so far, i started back up most of my tamas today, so i noticed that the V4 had issues.

Yeah, sounds like it's definitely just dirt then. As for the sound, idk how to help there, I know people have replaced speakers, so I hope you can find a good guide. If the wires are simply broken off, make sure to cover them with a bit of electrical tape while you have it open, to keep them from shorting out the Tama itself, until you can get it to someone proficient at soldering tiny electronics.

Also, if you're in America, Best Buy sells those grounding bracelets. The staff can help you locate them, they're between $15 and $20.

Also, eyeglass screwdriver kit! Dollar tree sells those. That'll help you get the tiny screws out and reduce your chance of stripping the screws compared to improvising. Lots of places sell those, but DT is probably the most budget friendly.
Good luck!

 

[itzfelix]

Thanks again, seems like i will need to find somewhere else where i can buy a kit like that and those bracelets, since i live in Austria. We dont have those stores here, and i will need to look for the screws aswell, to replace them since some are really difficult to turn, the heads of them are really deformed.

Sounds like you have a lot of experience in that field, so thats good^^

 

[Bentobuff]

Thanks again, seems like i will need to find somewhere else where i can buy a kit like that and those bracelets, since i live in Austria. We dont have those stores here, and i will need to look for the screws aswell, to replace them since some are really difficult to turn, the heads of them are really deformed.

Sounds like you have a lot of experience in that field, so thats good^^

You might even be able to find em on Amazon.
That said I definitely don't have a ton of experience, I've just taken a handful of tamas apart, made a few mistakes, and my partner also does IT and I helped him as an extra set of hands on building his gaming PC. I didn't even know those bracelets were a thing before helping him with that. I never used them on a Tama myself BUT with the cost of older tamas these days, I reccomend them as a matter of precaution and will use one the next time I take one apart. (⁠^⁠～⁠^⁠;⁠)⁠ゞ