Stuck in "headphone mode" ?

[johnnyS]

So I just got my first boombox to try out (lasonic lpc89) and I was testing it, working fine (with some issues) until I decided to test the headphone jack. Plugged them in, got sound (had to move around the jack to get stereo) and then plugged them out... Now it won't play audio from speakers (was doing it fine before), but still plays through headphones if I plug them back in. It's like it got stuck there. Any ideas how to fix this?

 

[johnnyS]

So I've yet to open the boombox to take a peek inside (a bit afraid as it is my first) but have tried using contact cleaner on the inside of the jack several times, plugging and unplugging headphones, but still no luck.

I am not completely positive on how these jacks works, but I suspect that there should be some physical contacts/switches that close when you fully plug the headphones in, and that cuts off the main speakers. If that is the case, that's what must be wrong here, since barely touching the jack with the plug already sends sound through the headphones, and that shouldn't happen until it's fully in, am I correct?

Oh well, I'll probably open the whole thing up when I have the time (and gather the courage).

 

[johnnyS]

So I fixed it. In case anyone comes across this problem, I'll post what I did.

My suspicions were correct. There was a physical switch inside the jack which should change position whenever you plug/unplug the headphones. From the inside:

When plugging/unplugging, it would move slightly, but it never returned to the "speakers" position (the one seen on the image). I just took a very small flathead screwdriver from inside the jack and dragged it back into position, and voila! It worked.

 

[floyd]

Awesome.