Chirping Mark 5 GHD Straighteners Repair

A friend asked me to look at their MK5 GHD straighteners which had began chirping. This is when they play the start up sound repeatedly when you switch them on.

This is how I fixed them.

After some initial research it looked like the thermistor might be at fault. This is a component which prevents the heating elements from turning on if they are too cold.

In this case the elements were warming up while the GHDs where chirping so I moved my attention elsewhere. Following some advice I found online, a new CPU was ordered and swapped but this didn’t cure the fault.

GHD Straightener CPU replacement video

Next, I did what I should have done in the very beginning and checked the R8 and R11 resistors. Sure enough the R8 resistor was showing open on my multimeter. Thankfully I had some spares from the last time I repaired my girlfriends GHDs, so I was able to quickly sort out a replacement and fix them successfully.

Replacing the R8 Resistor on the Mark 5 GHD Straighteners

Conclusion

Always start with some basic fault finding. Check for voltages, continuity on the fuses and most importantly, look for the well known failure points on what you are fixing, before you go all gung-ho and start looking for more complicate faults that don’t exist.

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GHD 4.2P Repair Success

Apparently GHDs are a girl’s best friend, so when my girlfriends pair developed a fault, I had the chance to earn some brownie points, if I could fix them.

GHD 4.2p
GHD 4.2P

One main problem with ealry 4.2 models is the swivel connector. It’s poorly designed, so if you have a pair that is crackling and popping, then you probably have an old model and you should have the cable and socket upgraded.

Old mains cable and 3 pin socket
Old mains cable and socket on early GHD 4.2 needs upgrading
Replace socket for older GHD 4.2 modles
New upgraded swivel mains adapter and socket

Another simple fix is either replacing the temperature fuse and / or the heating elements. I tested both using a multimeter, the fuse (brown wires) showed it had continuity and the element (clear wires) gave a reading of around 60 Ohms.

Checking temperature fuse and elements
Continuity and resistence testing the fuse and element

With the fuse and both elements checked, I moved onto the R11 and R8 resistors. R8 was working but R11 didn’t give any reading.

R11 and R8 GHD resistors
R11 and R8 resistors

I choose to replace both resistors with new ‘Melf Resistor 50/47 Ohm’.

Sadly it didn’t go as planned and I burnt off one of the pads. Luckily it was pad closest to the screw terminal, so it was a simple case of creating a small jumper wire from the screw terminal to the resistor.

Resistor with jumper wire
New melf 50/47Ohms resistors with small jumper wire

Success. With the new mains cable and resistors the GHD straighters are working.

The mains cable cost £11.49 and the resistors were £1.99 for 10. When you consider a new pair of GHDs are priced at over £100, spending less than £15 to attempt a fix has been well worth the effort.

Now, where’s my brownie points?