How to Fix Vape Pen Wires

Co-authored by Jamie Corroon, ND, MPH

Last Updated: April 23, 2024 References

Wire issues are a common reason good vape pens stop working. Before tossing your pen, try a few simple repairs. First, clear all debris out of the heating chamber. If the chamber looks clean, use a paperclip to adjust the coil’s positioning in the chamber. For broken electrical wires, the only solution is soldering or replacing the device.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Cleaning the Wires

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1
Unscrew the vape pen heating chamber. The top part of the pen is the mouthpiece, or tank. Twist it counterclockwise to remove it. Next, you will see the heating chamber with the coil inside of it. Pull it off the same way, leaving the wire coil in place.
- Letting the pen warm up first helps loosen any residue. However, turn the pen off before taking it apart and don’t touch it if it is too hot.
2
Brush out the heating chamber. Hold the heating chamber inside a garbage bag. Tap it against a solid surface, such as your palm, first to clear out any loose material. Use a small cleaning brush to rub down the inside edges of the chamber.
- A lot of vape pens come packaged with cleaning brushes. You can usually order a replacement wherever the pens are sold.
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3
Dab isopropyl alcohol onto the coil to remove wax and oil. Pick up a bottle of isopropyl alcohol from a general store or drugstore. Moisten a cotton swab, but don’t soak it. You don’t want the isopropyl alcohol to drip into rest of the pen. Using the cotton swab, wipe down the coil and chamber if they appear blackened or covered in debris.
- Be gentle when handling the coil. That wire is the most delicate part of the pen and is most often the cause of a nonfunctional pen.
- Never use water to clean out the heating chamber. It has a lot of wires, so water will short-circuit it. Water can be used to rinse out the mouthpiece.
4
Screw the pen back together to test it. If you haven’t replaced the wire recently, the heating elements should look clean and work again. Screw the heating chamber back onto the pen before turning it on. It should glow and produce smoke like usual.
- If it doesn’t work, the pen may need more cleaning or the wire may be out of place.
This can happen when you install your own wires. Get a small magnet from a home improvement center or hardware store. Move the magnet around the heating chamber and coil to attract any loose fragments that could be causing a short. Peel them off the magnet, throw them away, then test your pen.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Adjusting the Coil

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1
Take apart the pen to look inside the heating chamber. Unscrew the mouthpiece from the pen again. Continue removing pieces until you are able to see the wire coil inside the heating chamber. It will be right above the lowest section, which contains the battery.
- Make sure the pen feels cool before touching it. The pen most likely won’t heat at all if the coil needs adjustment. Don’t touch the coil if you feel heat coming off of it.
2
Check that the screws are in place. The coil screws into the heating chamber in 2 places. The first screw is at the bottom end of the coil, holding it in place above the battery. The other screw is at the top end, fastening the coil to the wall of the heating chamber.
- If the screws aren’t in place, your coil likely isn’t either. Take it to a vape pen shop to find replacement screws.
3
Adjust the screws to restore the power circuit. The screws can come loose, especially after adjusting the coil. Unscrew the heating chamber if possible to access them. Use a small screwdriver or a toothpick to reach in and twist them slightly. Turn the screws clockwise to tighten them. ^{[1]
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- Avoid tightening the screws too much or else the coil won't heat. Work in quarter-turns and test the coil as you go by turning on the power.
Heating coil placement is a common cause of shorts. A paperclip is a good tool for reaching into tight spaces in the chamber and nudging the wire into position. Straighten out the clip, bending the end slightly into a hook. ^{[2]
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5
Move the wire away from the walls. The wire should rest in space inside the chamber. Push the paperclip inside the chamber and use the hook end to jostle the coil. Only the ends, held in place by the screws, should touch the walls.
- Turn the power off before touching the coil with the paperclip. Metal on metal can permanently break your pen.
6
Continue adjusting and testing the pen. Remove the paperclip and turn the pen on. If it still doesn’t work, use the paperclip again. Lift the coil a little, then push it down gently to center it over the bottom screw. Nudge it to the side to align it with the top screw and walls. Then test the pen again. Once the coil begins heating like usual, put the pen back together. ^{[3]
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- Unfortunately, aligning the coil isn’t an exact science. Coils are finicky and it takes a little luck sometimes to find the proper positioning.
- The wire moves out of place easily as well. Dropping the pen, or even bumping it too hard, can cause it to shift.
7
Replace the heating element if the pen still doesn’t work. Your first option is taking the pen to a professional vape shop. Sometimes an experienced professional can find a way to repair it. If not, either get a replacement pen or purchase a new heating coil. Having a professional repair an old pen is often cheaper than replacing parts, and getting a new heating element can spare you from the cost of buying a whole new pen.
- Note your pen’s brand to get an exact replacement. Usually the replacement is a whole new heating element, so all you have to do is unscrew the old one and affix the new one by hand.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Soldering Electrical Wires

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Soldering involves melting metals and, naturally, you don’t want to breathe them in. Open all the doors and windows around you. Get some air flowing through your workspace.
2
Wear safety glasses to protect your eyes. A nice pair of polycarbonate glasses are essential when welding. Since you are working with small wires, you probably won’t be able to wear gloves. Use tweezers to hold the wires and put the hot soldering iron in its stand when not in use.
- Never rest the hot iron against your work surface.
3
Unscrew the vape pen parts. Twist the parts counterclockwise to remove them. Set each part aside and in order so you know how to reassemble the pen. The bottom section of the pen is the battery. The part above it connects to the heating element, or coil. Notice how the wires run from the battery to the heating element.
- Again, make sure the pen feels cool before touching it. If a wire is broken, the pen should not heat up at all.
4
Twist same-colored wires together. You should see a red wire and a black wire. Bring the frayed ends of each wire together. Wrap the ends around each other to twist them into 1 wire again. The twisted spot needs to be thin so it fits in place. ^{[4]
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- If you need more exposed wires, use wire strippers or a utility knife to cut off some of the casing. You can also rub the exposed filaments to fray them and make them easier to twist together.
- The red wire connects the battery to the heating element. The black wire is the ground wire and runs from the battery to the outside of the heating chamber.
Heat the soldering iron and dab it against a wire solder. First, pick up a spool of solder wire from the home improvement store. Unspool it, laying the end of the wire near the wires you wish to solder. Turn the iron on and, after letting it heat for a minute, dab the tip against the end of the wire. ^{[5]
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6
Solder the colored wires together. Hold the same-colored wires together. With your other hand, bring the soldering iron over to the exposed portion. Dab the soldering iron against it to drop off the soldering material. Get more metal from the wire and continue applying it until the exposed wires are covered. ^{[6]
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- Always move the soldering iron. Don’t let it hang over the exposed wires, or else it might begin to melt them. Use the tip to spread the soldering material.
7
Cover the soldered joint after it cools. The joint will begin cooling right away and solidify after a few minutes. The best way to cover the joint is with a shrink tube from a home improvement center. Wrap it around the joint, then apply a little heat to shrink it. A hair dryer is a good, safe way to do this, although you can also do it carefully with a match or the soldering iron. ^{[7]
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- Another way to cover the joint is with electrical tape.
8
Test the vape pen. Rearrange the pieces of the pen, packing the wires into their chambers. Turn on the pen and, if done correctly, it should work again. If it doesn’t, return the pen to the store to have a professional look at it or buy a new one.
- The wires may have come loose from their connections. This is hard to fix at home, especially if you can’t locate the terminals for the wires. Bring the pen in to a professional.