Original Xbox Frayed Cable

Hi Guys,

So I've just purchased an original Xbox and it came with two Duke controllers, now the issue with them is that the cable is frayed/cut near the controller. I would like to fix this and have read that it can be done fairly easily. I would just like to know if anyone has any experience with this who can help aid me with the repair or if anyone has a good video or tutorial which may help me..

thanks in advance

 

Shouldn't be any more complex then cutting the cable past the fray, and soldering the freshly-cut wires to the points where the old wires were.

 

That's what I've heard but I was looking for a noob friendly guide just to ensure I don't mess anything up. I'm skilled when it comes to modding the Xbox software and also with computers in general so I'm not illiterate with technology, however I have never touched a soldering kit in my life..I am happy to buy one for this project however

 

There's not much to mess up, just make sure you're matching up the colors of the wires. It'll be something like this:

Not having soldered before might make the whole "soldering wire to wire" tricky,so you should probably go watch a few basic "how to solder" videos on YouTube to get the basics.

 

Thanks for the excellent diagram hehe. I don't think it's the soldering the matching coloured wires is what I'll find tricky, it's just I found one tutorial and they were going on about covering different wires in electrical tape and using heat shrinks for some reason (whatever they are) also I'm not entirely sure what I have to do with the little rubbery piece that comes from the controller, not sure how else I can describe it..it's sort of like a holster for the wires that leave the base of the controller

 

That should be able to slide along the cable, if not, you'll need to drill out the original cable since it's been glued onto it. Putting some heat shrink tube over the joints would be the proper way to do it, but if you're worried about the joint touching thing it shouldn't, you could cut the wires right where they join the connecter. You'll just need to make note of what color wires goes where (though sometimes the board has that printed on it)

 

Done this recently with a few XBOX controllers.

There was a few that had to be done from faulty cord (bump the cable near where it goes into the controller and it cuts out). These I stripped the controller down, desoldered the cord connector from the board and cut and shut the cables. The cord grip I drilled out and re-used.

Another had a damaged cable part way down. With this one I purchased an extension cable chopped the other end off. Again I re-used the cord grip from the original cable.

Of course doing the above causes you to lose the ferrite core (the bumpy bit) near where the cable goes into the controller but never had an issue with this.

Actually some of these are still pulled apart while I wait for new thumbsticks to arrive, I can take some pics.

 

If you could take some pics of the insides of your current ones that would be great! I haven't yet received the two controllers I'm referring too, I'm just going off what the seller put in the listing and I'm trying to gather some knowledge about how to repair them before they arrive

 

Pic

1/On this board the original connector has been removed the cable cut shorter (to bypass dodgy bit) and re-soldered to the board.
2/The original cord grip drilled out and re-used. Note the missing ferrite core, again haven't had an issue.
3/Just to point out original cable with break-away part.
4/Extension cable with other end cut off, again re-used cord grip from the original damaged cable.
5/The other end, I used this as well. I stripped the ends off to compare the colour to colour between the original cable and this aftermarket extension cable as the colours are different. I simply plugged this female end it into the original cable and used my multi-meter on continuity to see which beeped etc.
6/Just the board, the connector has been removed on this.

These boards are at this stage as I have to wait for the new thumbsticks as mentioned previously. I should also mention when re-using the cord grip I like to set it where enough cable is hanging out and then push the cable to one side and use a bit of super glue between the gap (between cord and cord grip). I then lightly swivel the cord around and slide the cord grip a bit to force the glue down the cord grip a bit. This will hold it in place.

 

Thanks for that image and the info in the post!! That's going to be a massive help when I come to repairing mine! So is soldering the cables to the board enough then, the wires don't need to be covered on any electrical tape to secure them do they? Also the controller I have is a Duke controller, will it look similar and involve similar steps as the controller you're using?

 

The wires should be fine as they go through the board and are soldered on the other side. I guess once they are soldered in you could put a bit of tape over the top. Preference really.

Should be similar for a duke, the theory is the same. I have done the same for Atari, Sega, NES, SNES, N64 control pads in the past all the same way. Of course SMS, SNES, NES and N64 are easier as they don't have a cord grip to deal with lol!

DO you have a link to what you bought so we can give you an idea if you need to get anything else?

 

Ha that stupid cord grip thing is the only thing I'm worried about! And it was a console that I bought too but the seller stated that the controllers are a bit dodgy, there are no pictures of the controllers, only this information on them "The copper wire is starting to show through where the leads attach to the controllers". I know where I'm able to get a wire cutter and solder iron from anyway, won't be able to get it until the end of this month though so atm I just want to get as much information from you guys about how I can fix it once I have all the things

 

Just to let people know in the future if they ever attempt things like this and need help..I've managed to get to the soldering stage using this guide I found online:

http://xfusion2010.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/tutorial-repair-frayed-controller-cable.html

I'm just waiting for my soldering kit to turn up before I can solder the two cable ends together and should hopefully have a fully functioning controller . Oh and the outside of the controller with the fixed wire is looking pristine and you couldn't even tell it has been cut/fixed at all other than the fact the ferrite core is missing

 

Ah shit I took some pics of my own, so I may as well carry on with it.

Damaged cable



Cut out damaged part of cable and de-solder connector



Strip off cord grip



Cut out first portion of old cable sheath



Use suitable drill bit to "clean out" cable. Where I have numbered "1" glue is typically only here. Section "2" doesn't have any glue and will just pull out. This holds for a lot of cord grips I have seen. One time where I have seen it fully glued is on a particular N64 power supply (I have seen 2 types of cord grips) the longer cord grip is fully glued.



Empty!



Slide cord grip on cable



Solder wires back on following old connector. NOTE Typically I would use heatshrink instead of the tape on the outer cable, but I was too busy taking pics....d'oh!



Temporarily put the board in and set the cord grip



When you are happy where everything sits, put a little super glue down the side between the cord grip and cable. Give it a wiggle to spread the glue around.



Put it all back together



Some new thumbsticks and it look's pretty bloody good.

 

Looks pretty good Pete

 

Good way of doing it I guess! I simply snipped the wires inside the controller rather than removing the white connector from the PCB itself like you did. BTW have you any idea what the thick black wire is for?? The way I did it resulted in there being no matching thick black wire for me to solder it too so it's just loose but the controller still functions..

 

If i am thinking which one you are talking about, that would be the outer shield. The outer shield would be grounded for interference purposes. See in the pic of mine that wire that has the heatshrink around it? That is the outer shield. I cut that a bit shorter than the rest of the wires and run a wire from that (then put heatshrink on it) to the board. I do this as trying to twist the shield around small enough to fit through the hole would be bloody hard.

 

Yeah I think that's the one!! All I know is that I cut the wire in the same place you did and then removed the outer casing to reveal the wires, I then soldered those wires to the original ones that were already connected to the controller (you removed those ones and opted to solder the wires straight to the PCB). But I found that I had a thick black wire left over without a matching thick black wire already on the PCB to solder it too..now I was thinking I had done something wrong, but am I rite in thinking that this wouldn't be soldered to an already existing wire on the PCB?

I followed this tutorial exactly if you are struggling to understand what I did:

http://xfusion2010.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/tutorial-repair-frayed-controller-cable.html

Also I have a Duke controller if that matters?

 

It shouldn't matter that it is a duke controller. I have a couple, when i get time i will crack one open for a look see. The shield as far as i am aware wouldn't carry any signals, just there to stop interference which is why your controller works. The reason why i de-solder the connector is out of habit. Not all controllers can be cut and shut that way as there is not enough room in the case to allow for the cable to have any straight joints (ie where you solder) or heatshrink.

EDIT

The duke is the same, the shield is connected to ground.

 

Hi guys, fresh user here. Yesterday i made a similar thing to put a female USB on my generic controller S, in order to be able to remove the cable whenever i want. The thing is, when i tried to do the same with my duke controller, pc just don't recognize, it doesnt even make the usb connected sound. I check the wired - i ditch the shield cable and the yellow 12V one- and it's all good, i tried 2 different female USB, and nothing. It really needs that shield so much? Does it needs to be fully screwed to work?

Thanks in advance.