GHD Hair Straightener Repair

GHD 4.2P's

This model is a MK4 pair of GHD straightener in Pink. They feature a beeper which tells you when they are up to temperature.

Normal operation is as follows:

If they are like 4.0B's then if the temperature of the irons is below 5 degrees C then they will not work and the will emit a continuous beeping sound. To fix this, just bring them back up to normal temperature (gradually!) and then try again.

I've heard reports that some versions suffer from the R8 failure which makes them appear completely dead. See this page about the R8 failure.

The heaters are have a resistance of 67 Ohms each. When connected to the PCB, they are in parallel, so you'll measure a resistance of about 34 Ohms.

Here is a table of operating temperatures for pairs of 4.2P's that I've repaired. From the sample of one (so far!), they seem to operate at a lower temperature. Whether this is by design or a calibration issue with the pair I've seen is unknown.

153°C
182°C

General photos:

Fake 4.2P's

I've not seen many pairs of genuine 4.2P's (as I only see them when they break, and clearly they have not been on sale long enough to start breaking yet!), however I've seen many many fake versions. These use a different type of mains cable (the swivel connector is different) and the heater elements have a habit of breaking all by themselves.

If the heater elements are broken, then they will beep as normal, but not heat up. If only one heater elements has broken, then they will either over heat and trip the thermal fuse (if the heater element with the thermistor on it has failed) or only 1 plate will get hot (if the heater element with the thermal fuse on it has failed). The heater elements are 70 ohms (rather than 160ohm as used on Mk3 GHD's) and are available from the shop

Tell tail signs of fakes are:

Apart from that it's really hard to tell the difference!

 

 

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