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XBox Power Cable Fire Hazard and Recall
hattig writes "According to BBC News Microsoft is to replace 14 million XBox power cables due to a fire hazard. XBoxes made before 23rd October 2003 or 13th January 2004 (Europe) require replacement." From the article: "The company said the move was a "preventative step" after reports of fire hazard problems with the cables."
fixed it a year ago, and this is a preventative step?
The PSP has been getting a lot of flack for its problems, but at least it won't burn your house down.
I just posted this exact same thing that got rejected.
Here is the link to get it repaired.
click
Everything I have read has been fairly scarce on the details. So far I know that it has something to do with the power cord, and that when there have been problems, it has been contained to the console or power cord tip.
If it is something internal, I seriously don't think a new power cord is going to help (unless it has like a fuse inline or something and the console pulls to much when the thing starts to smoke).
Is it just a better connection? Were people having the cord come out slightly and arcing?
...must be relatively high. 14 million cables, shipping, etc - that's got to cost more than a couple of lawsuits.
This sort of thing happens all the time in the motor industry, according to my good friend Jack.
As a previous poster claimed it happens all the time.
A google search of "electrical cord recall" nets 67,000 hits. On the first page you have Black & Decker, HP, and a petition for Apple to recall its power cord.
So all the MS haters blast away at their "incompetance" and attribute it to a massive anti-consumer rights conspiracy. Whatever. Just get a new cord and be quiet.
B O R I N G
Translation: Microsoft is trying to prevent themselves from being sued, not trying to prevent more XBOXen from burning down houses, although less XBOX meltdown is a benificial side effect.
Altruisitic action does not imply altruistic intent.
... can anybody say video games are dangerous. --- Slashdot roulette: Placing bets on +1 funny.
Maybe Jack Thompson can start a class-action suit claiming video games are responsible for all cases of houses burning down due to electrical fire.
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
Boy: Daddy, let's plug in the XBox!
Daddy: Sure thing, son! Let's just get this power cable here all hooked up an- OH MY GOD!
*FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSH!*
Orderd as William H Gates like everything else I get from MS :)
M$ already tried to burn up our entertainment centers with exploding CPUs, now this? Why am I not surprised?
When you need great justice, take off every zig.
Trade in your old plain power cord for our new and improved DRM power-cord!
Black & Decker's recall is due to: "...The electrical cords may have come in contact with the mounted saw blade during shipment, which could result in a possible shock hazard from a damaged cord."
HP's is due to: "The plug that connects the power cord to the printer may crack, exposing live electrical contacts and presenting a hazard for electric shock or electrocution."
And Apples' recall petition is for: "We, the undersigned, demand that Apple Computers immediately address the obvious and dangerous defect in the so-called "yo-yo" a/c power adapter cords designed for Apple iBook and Powerbook computers which leads to fraying of the cords, exposure of wires, and sparking."
So... frayed cords, frayed cords and frayed cords...
Nothing about NON frayed cords overheating and being a fire hazard.
...and then beat him with a heavy, sharp object.
Since I know more about this than I can post from my own computer without getting into trouble...
The cords are basically safe. Just like any other electrical device, if someone screws with the cord, you can have a problem or issue. If the machine that was winding the wires that make up the power cord, for example, ended up only having 7 strands of wire instead of 8 due to operator error, then the wire can still carry the load, but it may get warm. (GM, for example, had this problem with their new truck tailgate cables - they weren't quite as rust-proof as they thought.)
So what are we talking about here? The cords are designed for normal, everyday usage. They are NOT designed to be used like your computer power cord, where you turn the thing on and just leave it on 24/7/365. What's happened is that there have been instances where the consoles were just left on, with the power save disabled. Then people go away, you have power surges, and the cords end up shorting out something inside the console.
The burns have come from people unplugging their consoles after long periods of running, and they were just plain hot. Overload anything electrical and then touch the power cord, and you'll get a burn.
Boy sets house on fire, says "My XBOX gave me the idea when it caught my carpet on fire". Lawyers for the homeowners are planning to sue Microsoft for encouraging arson in teens with their XBOX console.
Well, they knew a lot longer than just recently anyway. Judging by the manuafcaturer dates they posted, I'd say they recognized a flaw and changed their manufacturing process late 2003 and hoped for the best...then lawsuits started. As far as the suits themeselves, my sources said that several cases of minor burns, furniture scorching and carpet singing occured, so a few property damage suits, minor injury, etc...
Who is more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows?
That should have been $10.5-17.5 million. Somewhere I got an 8 stuck in my head instead of 14.
Even then I still messed up my math...
would have prevented this. Another bit of proof that MS IS EVIL!!!
I'm a big retard who forgot to log out of Slashdot on Mike's computer! LOOK AT ME.
Recalls happen all the time. In just about every industry. Exercise equipment, automobiles, televisions... you name it, there's been a recall. It happens.
It's not like there is a humongous danger. Nobody's house was burned down or car exploded, unlike several automobile types where a recall (faulty wiring in the ignition units and steering column pieces) only happened after lives were lost.
The facts are:
- The failure rate on these cords is listed as 1 in 10,000.
- The failure ONLY happens when the unit has been on for a ridiculously long time (read: someone just turned off the power-save feature and let the thing run all day and night).
- Seven people had minor burns from unplugging the cords while they were still hot.
- 23 people smelled smoke or had minor damage (likely plastic melting, which is what you'd expect when the low-grade plastics used in most entertainment centers comes in contact with an overheated wire) to their entertainment centers or carpet (likely synthetic carpet that melted).
I know, there are plenty of little trolls out there who hate MS, but seriously. They're doing the right thing and recalling the cords.
No, the fact that cords after October 23, 2003 aren't susceptible to this isn't an indication they knew about it - it could be a standard part of ongoing redesigns (which they do every few months to lower the production costs anyways). Or it could be that they went to a new vendor, who were making the cords to a higher standard or with a different process anyways.
Or it could simply be that they were investigating the CAUSE of the incidents before they did anything - after all, if the culprit were really the power supply, then replacing the cords wouldn't have done any good.
So come on. They're doing the right thing. Give them credit for doing it, in spite of the fact that the raving MS-hater lunatics are going to be spewing "OMG did yew see the xbox got recalled haha" all over chat boards for the next couple weeks, and move on.
This isn't on the front page because one doesn't directly insult one of your largest ad buyers...
Ah, the beauty of it. All that statistical data, tying the serial number of your xbox to a physical location.
Now those who don't even have xbox live can enjoy data association and aggregation.
Slashdot: Everything in Moderation, including Moderation itself.
/submitted order
//wonders about all those xbox beowulf clusters
///seems to be spending more time farking than slashdotting lately
////maybe there ought to be a "news for nerds. stuff that matters" category for those of us that miss that kind of thing.
/////maybe I should just shut the hell up and enjoy the free show.
I always told people XBox had firewire support
that they retool the design process every few months anyways.
They alter the cord... because they get a new, lower-bidding supplier, or because they can make the cord for a few cents cheaper per cord (trust me, it adds up!) a new way.
They alter the PSU, change suppliers on the internal components like the DVD drive, switch to a different variety of internal cabling... it happens all the time.
The fact that only the older cords were changed at some point could be due to any one of a dozen design changes that they made to cut down the production cost, and it isn't an indication that they knew of any problems with them.
that even if they "discovered" a flaw, actually tracking it down and being sure of the cause of a flaw with a failure rate of a mere 1 in 10,000 is going to take a while to work through?
There is no defect. Microsoft just initiated the self-destruct sequence in preparation for the launch of xbox 2.
As usual their tricks have backfired. Instead of trying to pull another Stac or Sendo, they should have just made a deal up front with George Foreman rather than trying to "innovate" his technology into their product.
C'mon it should have been obvious to any one.
LAN party = food + CPUs.
Intel CPUs = heat.
heat + food = grill
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
Considering that the power cable is probably the cheapest part of the system to replace, I wonder if this might not be an excuse to collect data of Xbox owners.
a) The release of Xbox Next is imminent (i.e. comming fall/winter.) Microsoft may be wanting to collect data for massive marketing or regional statistics.
b) Microsoft may be wanting to collect data to crackdown on modders. With Xbox live, they can determine the serial number of modded Xboxes. Considering that you have to enter the serial number of your Xbox to order your power cord replacement, they might be collecting the addresses of the owners of these Xboxes.
Users are noticing that entering the ordering form with firefox can report you do not need a replacement cable, but if you fill in the same serial number in explorer you suddenly do.
i gues it is called firefox for a reason.
Here is a news story about the same issue in Canada as well.
http://www.lesaffaires.com/index.asp (the linked article is written in french.)
then that'd be one thing.
It's not, though. They've only got 30 instances so far. Their (obviously leaning on the safe-side) estimate of the failure rate is approximately 1 in 10,000. How many Xboxes have been sold again?
More likely, there was some thing in the production line that wasn't quite right, or one of several vendors they'd contracted to make the cords wasn't up to spec. It happens - there are thousands of product recalls a year in the States alone.
I for one wish Sony had recalled the first-gen PS2's when tons of their DVD drives died after the first year; those motors were never designed to spin constantly at the rate required to stream a DVD movie.
Seriously, haven't people leanr that you need a firewall yet, especially if you're running Microsoft products?
Yeah they recalled the power cords thats cool. How about they recall the entire xbox because of the faulty thompson dvd drives put in most of the original xboxs. They know that problem exists and yet still want you to pay $80 plus S&H to get it fixed.