Dell Recalls Millions of AC Adaptors

matgyver writes "Both CNET and CNN are reporting that Dell is recalling 4.4 million AC adapters worldwide. About 990,000 of those were sold to US consumers, 1.5 million to US businesses, and the rest where outside the US. The adapters were sold with laptops between 1998 and 2002 and included Dell's Latitude, Inspiron, and Precision laptops. The part numbers for the adapters are 9364U, 7832D and 4983D. Apparently the adapters run the risk of overheating and can be a fire and electrocution risk."

Comments

Risky?

[mfh]

Apparently the adapters run the risk of overheating and can be a fire and electrocution risk.

Oh just great.
(reaches for power supply)
Now I have to retur-{{{{ZOT}}}}

Slashdot UID #56 up for auction at Ebay -- again! Sale by family to help pay for electrical fire damage and getting the smell of crispy /. user #56 out of rug. Sale complete with charred remains of previous owner.

Re:Risky?

[kfg]

It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Power to the people."

KFG

Re:Risky?

[Idarubicin]

Slashdot UID #56 up for auction at Ebay

Bah! The parent was just looking for an opportunity to flaunt his obscenely small UID.

Dude!

[Shadow Wrought]

You're getting a fire!

This probably explains.........

[ARRRLovin]

.....the 2 mainboard replacements I had done on my Inspiron 4150.

AC only?

[Jhon]

AC Adaptors? I wish DELL would recall their low-profile workstations. In one year, we've had a 50% HD failure rate. At two years, 90%. That's not an exaggeration. Yeah, they replace them quickly -- but it's a pain to remove and replace the HD and restore the system from an image. Yes, it's do-able, but when it needs to be done 2 or 3 times a month? Sometimes more? Come on! Dell refuses to acknowlege the problem -- they just happily replace the HD evertime it fails.

I'm fairly certain it's a heat/ventilation problem with the case. I've got one I use for remote access in our server room -- I've left the case open. It's been running 24/7 for 2+ years.

grrrrr

[FuzzzyLogik]

Ok that's it. I'm never buying another dell again. I have a Inspiron 5000e which I bought a good 3 or 4 years ago. I got it and shortly afterwards there was a battery recall, since I bought 2 batteries for it I recieved two new batteries, but they sent me 2 more extra's. Fine by me really. Now that same laptop has a power adapter recall. The battery was recalled because it was possible for it to catch fire, now this problem. No more Dell's for me, in fact I might just sell this POS on ebay and bum the problems off on someone else. It's not even worth it anymore even with 4 batteries.

For those who don't want to read the article, the link to the recall program is located at http://www.delladapterprogram.com

We got Dells

[millahtime]

We got a load of dell laptops. That means the odds must be decent that the building I work in will catch fire and burn to the ground. Huh, something to ponder while I go make sure all the laptops are plugged in and charging.

I don't think this is a new problem.

[RealAlaskan]

I had to return an inspiron AC adapter because it was smoking, back around 1998. Had the same problem with a zip drive adapter about that time, too, come to think of it.

I wonder why it took them so long to get around to doing something about it? I guess that having equipment burst into flames (ok, I'm exaggerating a bit) dowsn't hurt sales.

Re:I don't think this is a new problem.

[Cthefuture]

"A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one."

Wow.

[American AC in Paris]

You'd think they'd have a bit better luck working with technology that's been around since '86.

1886, that is.

Ha! I was right!

[paragon_au]

Ha! And my friends called me an idiot when I keeped buying new batteries for my laptop instead of just recharging the old one.

Once again, I was proven right in the end.

Only those manufactured by "Delta" in Thailand

[Derling Whirvish]

Not all AC adapters with those part numbers are affected. It involves only those manufactured by Delta Electronics in Thailand. I have a 09364U but it is manufactured by Astec in China and is not recalled.

Go to this page and see if yours are the ones actually recalled.

Dell is missing an opporuntity here

[SuperKendall]

Imagine how many Dell branded fire extinguishers they could sell as add-ons to thier PC's!

They could have a check-mark on the order page right next to the "extra hard drive in a box" option for when your desktop overheating finally takes out your HD (about six months in my case).

Complexity of building switching power supplies

[angio]

I just finished reading a pretty cool book (Troubleshooting Analog Circuits) written by an engineer from National Semiconductor in 1990. His main job focus was on switching power supplies, and he commented several times in the book about the perils of underestimating the complexity of building one well, even with today's mega-modern power supplies and switching regulator ICs. Today's Dell power supply recall, and a few other recent examples, illustrates that point quite graphically.

Even in our /.'d digital world, analog design is still important. Bummer, since I'm a software person... :)

Delladapter.com is down....

[cbelt3]

That didn't take long- Delladapter.com got its bad self slashdotted ! (Altho this time it prolly got the CNN effect.). You wonder about the thought process:

Dell Manager: "Crap. We need to recall a load of AC adapters".
Dell Intern: "No prob, Dude. I'll just set up a little webserver on this here Latitude CPi. Point to this one".
Dell Manager: "OK, as long as it doesn't cost anything."
Dell Intern: "Sweeet !"
Laptop: Uh. Oh. Lots of connections. Need More Power......
AC Adapter: ZZZt !

CNN: "In related news, Dell's customer support web development building burned down today..."

Obligitory Fight Club Reference

[ARRRLovin]

"A new laptop built by my company is shipped with a certain power supply. The power supply overheats and burns down an office building with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of power supplies in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one."

"Which company do you work for?"

"A major one."

As a Macintosh user...

[trudyscousin]

...who once had to endure one snide remark after another about PowerBooks being fire hazards, I suppose it can now be said that all laptop computers are cremated equal.

Common part

[LightStruk]

First IBM, now Dell? A month apart? I'm betting there's a common part inside these that's failing--it's probably not just these two companies.

Right you are - in both cases the AC adapters were made by Delta Electronics of Thailand.