How to fix a broken Chi.

[@jessicademotte220]

Thank you! just fixed my Chi - only needed the contacts tightened at the cord insert. Very satisfied that I could fix this myself!

[@jennifermuttoni320]

thank you!! I have used my chi for 8 years and, because of you, I can get many more years from it!

[@wojo2325]

Beau, I would like to thank you for this video. It dawned on me to check here to see if someone had tried to fix one before I tore my 17y/o daughters apart. You showed every detail I needed to know before I even got my Philips ready. Her's had a broken wire solder connection to her clear wore holder. Thanks to you I only removed three screws, solder the wire (w/ her help!!! :D) and was done in five minutes. Once again, thank you I got to be my teenagers hero for a little while.

[@loneal05]

You are a life saver. I have a chi flat iron that I love and I dropped it and the auto trip broke so the reset buttons don't work, which don't allow the flat iron come on anymore. I was going to through it away but I had it for years and kept it broke to see if I could take it to someone to fix it. I'm going to try to fix it on my own thanks to you. I wish you would show me how to replace the auto trip step by step.

[@BeauTheMechanic]

hello ms hart, thanks for watching my videos.. what i would suggest is to take the chi cord apart. that part that spins is called an electrical commutator, fancy name for a couple of metal spring and a metal circle... when you remove the cord from the back of the chi youll see the two brass connections and the two external brass connections. just squeeze the connections tighter and put the iron back together.. let me know if i can help..

[@kristyburns211]

Thank you for posting this video! We took the chi apart and found the red wire had come off. My husband soldered it back together and it works great! Save me $100.

[@deborahsomers7236]

I just fixed my Chi by cleaning up the plug contacts and bending in the tabs like you suggested. Great video! Thanks for the info!

[@paulsavage8485]

May I add something else? My wife's failed abroad (despite using a 220 to 120 V transformer). When I got home to my tools, I checked everything with a multimeter. 120 V power was coming from the mains outlet but once in the iron, there was a hot line from the circuit board to the heating element on the prong with the switch and circuit board attached but nothing on the return wire. Those heating elements are powered directly from the 120V AC input so I figured there had to be something missing here. I removed the heating element from the prong, removed the sheath attached to it and bingo -- there beneath it was something encased in a folded plastic tube and wrapped with yellow electrical (clear) tape. I straightened tube and slid it down the wire and off the metal capsule in the circuit and on that capsule was enough clear writing to figure out is was a fuse. I bypassed this fuse and the thing lit up and worked like a bought one! Re-assembling it is a doddle but be careful to ensure that all the wires and the re-folded fuse capsule fit nice and snugly beneath the heater element before re-screwing it all back together. I Probably wouldn't have found this out but for the fact that I had called the manufacturer who told me in no uncertain terms that they don't provide spares or repair services. I, in turn, told them in equally clear terms, that I wouldn't bother considering their product in the future. I had assumed it was the circuit board that'd gone (despite no obvious signs of burning or melting) and wanted to buy a new one. Since that wasn't an option, I figured I had nothing to lose by taking the whole thing apart and exploring further and that's how I discovered the additional fuse in the circuit. Good luck, all.

[@jasonrawls6959]

Wife and teenage girls came in the room freaking out about this dang flat iron. Said I had to either fix it or buy a new one. Oh yea and the new "had" to be CHI brand, and oh by the way they're like $100 or more. Need less to say I cranked up youtube and came across this video and it helped me for the most part. My problem was apparently the male end of the plug, not the female end which is the one he suggested squeezing together, but the end that plugged into that one. It had a bad connection. I was able to figure this out by using a multimeter. I wound up just cutting the male and female plugs off and just hard wired the remaining two wires together by twisting the conductors and taping them up. Put everything back together and works fine now.

[@bertdangerous]

Solder is made of lead and silver. Best BTM video ever!

[@alanshamoun5577]

good video...I could not find the problem with my wife's Chi. She plugged it into a 220v outlet, not realizing the plug was just a GFI and not a transformer. Apparently it got fried real good. First I replaced the plug, no power. Then I opened up the unit and looked at the main board but could not find any broken solder or popped/exploded resistors. Then I opened up the other side to look at the board there as well as the swivel connector. I broke the plastic housing by accident, but in any case could not find any other broken connections (there was also a fuse on the other side, but it was intact). Thanks for the video, I think you did a great job...but now I gotta go buy a new Chi! :(

[@lmle13]

Alan Shamoun did you ever figure this out? I think I did the same thing while traveling

[@alanshamoun5577]

love_le​ sorry...i determined that it was fried and not repairable.

[@paulsavage8485]

See my response today! I think I had your problem and I fixed it.

[@BeauTheMechanic]

good question, car wiring is alittle different than homes... on cars black is usually a ground but on modern cars any wire could represent anything... lol... on home electrical lines white is almost always a 'neutral' , black is a 'hot' and green is ground or bare copper can also be ground... thats why the receptacle is black and white... now the chi red wire is gonna be a 'hot' or same as black. white should go to the neutral.. hope that helps

[@doopaboop]

Very informative!! I am taking my Chi apart and noticed a glop of what looks like a little white toothpaste( but it's not toothpaste) on the board. Is that normal? I am trying to take the 2 screws off now to expose the swivel which may be the problem in why the light keeps going on and off like you described. is it a mini phillips ?I can not get the screws undone. Could it be another kind of screw driver I need?Looks like a different shape in there.I hope I didn't strip it. UGH.

[@shiku899]

Hi Beau your vidio is very helpful , my CHI on/off switch is broke .please tell me where can i bought replacement switch .

[@barbaragamblecleveland6877]

Thanks for a great video. I have a T3 flat iron that came apart (the screw beneath the symbol was loose, and now I can't figure out how to reload the spring properly to achieve the tension required. It can't be that difficult but it has defeated me and my husband. Can you help?

[@doopaboop]

Ok.. in looking further into my iron ( I have the orange one),I see that there is a wire hanging(no connection). It's white. It's connected to the circuit board feeding to the plate . There is an orange one and white one on each side. The other 3 are intact with the white one sticking out. It has a little plastic piece that slips over it.. How do I re connect it within the plate? Have you see this problem? Thanks so much!

[@joliefemme-fatale7552]

Is it possible to fix a Chi without a soldering gun? Mine just broke yesterday and you're right, the on/off switch just stopped working and the red light never came back on. I could usually fix it by pressing the reset or test button on the cord but it didn't work this time. Anyway, these things cost almost $100+ CDN to buy a new "replacement" iron so I'd much prefer to do this myself, however... I don't own a soldering gun nor do I know anyone who has one. Any suggestions? Thanks! :)

[@brianlerro740]

On the clear part where the cord plugs into that allows it to rotate 360, there are two wires, one red and white one and on the wall plug there are also two wires but they are white and a black one. Which ones are positive and negative? I want to solder them together because no matter what I did the 360 rotation plug was causing an issue.

[@KooKooforCards]

Beau, I have 12 brand new still in the box Chi's but my problem (I hope you could at least advise me) is all of them have had the wire's jerked out of the back end. Can I fix this problem ??? Thank you for any help you may offer !! God bless you honey and stay safe and warm. Hugs from Texas ❤

[@BeauTheMechanic]

hello deb, sorry for the late resonse.. im not familiar with the white wire. send me a pic and ill try and give you more info.. thanks

[@kittycat3550]

wel how do u put it back together?!

[@hinaajmal7143]

I cannot find a solution to my prob anywhere on the net Beau :( and I'm very hopeful that you might be able to help as I need smbody with just a little commonsense and expertise to figure out what the prob is. Actually I have a CHI that's one stage ahead of the CHI in the video. Its called the 4 button CHI digital Flat iron ( basically it just has a temp control system and prolly a thermostat additionally) It has a digital display screen where you can see what temp you have set the iron and auto off timer etc.. So what happened is..I got this CHI from Amazon.com as I live in Dubai and no one sells or repairs CHIs here... It worked awsm for the first 4 months in Dubai where the voltage comes at 240V..but one sad day I dropped it ! :( anyways after dropping I took it to the neighboring city on wknd where the voltage comes at 240V again and when I switched it on, the plates were so cold I cud touch them..one plate was like dead cold, other a little warm..but the digital screen was still showing the temp, I cud also increase or decrease the reading ( ofcourse without any effect on the plates)..so I thought maybe its bcz I dropped it the other day..dint want to spend another $140 on shipping it back to America to get it repaired so I gave it to a local electrician to look into it...he called me and asked me if I bought it from abroad ? I sed yes ! :O He sed sister, u have burnt the system as American appliances work on 120V..but now that he has returned my iron , now even the display screen doesn't work..so my flat iron's like medically dead ;( So now that I had nothing to lose I thought I'd give it a try myself.. when I opened my CHI I saw that nothing looked burnt on the circuit board but there was like a rubber type thing that had leaked from inside the display screen and it has flowed and set again in the flowing direction on the circuit board !! :O And btw I just figured out the use of reset and test button and found out that the poor plug had done its best to protect the appliance and is now officially dead..will prolly have to snip it off And ! I see insulation coming off at many points on the wiring.. AND!! ther was a Vaseline type thing all inside the swivel attachment where the pin goes into the round thing( which u have suggested to smoosh in your video)..cleaned it though. So yes these are pretty much the symptoms of my comatosed Flat Iron but I refuse to accept its death and will fight for it till the end! plz tell me if you understand what has happened to my poor CHI..If its all burnt why isn't the PCB burnt anywhere? although yes the wires show signs of overheating ( poor babies).. what is this leaked thing ? how can I get it off the PCB and get the LCD working again ? I wish I could send u a pic of the PCB with that transluscent whitish rubber gum frozen on it, but really don't know how , but I hope I've given enough detail to compensate for the absence of pic..infact really sorry for this long Essay ..dint have any choice :S waiting for your reply very hopefully ! *-*

[@rmira22]

Hai Boruff, I have Sultra GI-U201PM 100-240v ac, i think its dual volt adapter, our country 220v ac, i,m from bangladesh,dhaka, its power adapter already burn out, so I think cut down power adapter,and joint 2pin plug , and put in direct 220v ac source, is it wrong or right, its inside board receive 220v ac, or not, if any idea then share with me thanks

[@yngvalor]

I'm trying to fix my girlfriends straightener and need some guidance. the light only flashes on every could times I trip and reset it. Would that be the plug itself or am I way off. Nothing on the board looks burnt so I don't really know what to be looking for. Thanks

[@msmaddieramos84]

Ik four yrs later don't help but my 360 cord had a short. So when I took it apart the piece that goes connected Into it was stretched out so have to get the connected inside the round clear thing tighter so that when u put it together it snaps. Something likethag

[@gmuscarello4]

I have 2 broken Chi's as well, can I pay postage and you to fix them????

[@MikeStedman]

thanks for using a video anti-shakey thing. So many videos are so shakey that they're hard to watch. Good job all around.

[@skhart1964]

all of my chi's have broken at the spot where the electric cord spins around.........i have never had this prob (yet), have u ever fixed that prob? i know several women that have had the same thing happen to them........and chi's ARE NOT CHEAP! they used to have a "lifetime" warranty, but that was a joke n they dont offer that anymore.

[@BeauTheMechanic]

im sorry but im so busy it would take forever.. try and follow my video to fix them with basic hand tools and parts from ace hardware... you be suprised how easy it is to replace the plug or the commutator

[@MultiLilly56]

K....i dont have a man or tools my straightner wont turn on how can i do this lol

[@fabiandiaz5595]

step one get yourself a man preferably a good one! j/k

[@9cielorojo]

Can u fix my 2 flat irons? u just sound too sweet ..I hate to throw mine away !!I am seriously serious..!

[@smartwerker]

I most say that the Beau has Engineer fingers. #compE #EECS

[@9cielorojo]

You didn't show the most important part HOW to put it back Together!!! great..

[@NiKKey411]

Why aren't more people loving this video!!!! lol Thanks