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+--- Thread: Electric stuff - Odd connector/adapter failure (/Thread-Electric-stuff-Odd-connector-adapter-failure)
Electric stuff - Odd connector/adapter failure - OMyMyOHellYes - 06-14-2016
Odd connector failure - last night I got in bed and all was well for about two minutes. Then everything got reeeeeeeeeeal quiet and still. No air coming out of hose. Machine dark. Power supply and PWRgate seem online. Battery seems online. Unplug/replug all lines and PowerPole connections. Plug machine lead directly to battery. No dice. OK, must be continuity problem in power lead to machine or hopefully not internal problem with machine itself? Time to go to run continuity test on power lead.
Remove power lead, take it to my desk and find multimeter. Outside barrel (gnd) continuity fine. No continuity on center (pos) center connector. None. Dead. Wiggling stuff no work. Now the power lead from the PWRgate terminates in a 5.5x2.5mm DC coax barrel connector. The PR 60 Series input is a 7.4mm barrel plug. (could not find a line terminated in 7.4 mm connector with heavy enough wire - 18 to 16 AWG - when I set this up - could get a ready made 14 AWG wire terminated with 5.5x2.5 mm so decided to use that). I have a solid adapter between them. When I removed the lead from the adapter, the line itself and connectors show good continuity, but the little adapter is deader than snot on the inside (pos) connection. This puzzles me as the adapter bears no strain and is not normally subjected to any movement. There was no surge or extraordinary load (<1.0 A) at the time of failure. But somewhere inside the solid one inch long adapter, the line or connection broke. Go figure. Have another on the way today from Kalifornia (different manufacturer/design - labeled for 7.5 A) and also finally found a two wire, 16 awg line that natively terminates into the 7.4 plug So that is also on its way from around the world so I will be able to do away with a separate adapter and go straight from the PWRgate to the unit.
I know I have a second adapter somewhere, but I couldn't find it at midnight last night or this morning thus the order for new one. I dug out the factory power supply to finish the night and all was well. The whole failure thing was just a slight inconvenience and a curiosity.
OMMOHY
RE: Electric stuff - Odd connector/adapter failure - justMongo - 06-14-2016
Hacksaw the adapter open to look for a failure. If you find it, photograph it.
I bet the shell is plastic or a rubber like material -- a hacksaw might be overkill.
RE: Electric stuff - Odd connector/adapter failure - OMyMyOHellYes - 06-14-2016
went as far as I could whittling it with a utility knife. soft rubber sheath came off fine. whittled down the hard plastic core and found the soldered wire connecting the outside barrels. Then kept whittling but the problem center connector remains firmly embedded in hard plastic. I don't feel like whittling any more... Maybe I could burn it off with a torch, but that would destroy any solder connections inside ....
OMMOHY
RE: Electric stuff - Odd connector/adapter failure - justMongo - 06-14-2016
I wonder if the plastic would dissolve in acetone?
RE: Electric stuff - Odd connector/adapter failure - Crimson Nape - 06-14-2016
OMyMyOHellYes,
Do you have access to a Dremel with a small abrasive disc?
RE: Electric stuff - Odd connector/adapter failure - RedCoPete - 06-14-2016
I'd guess the inner leads were spotwelded together, then encapsulated in the hard plastic. I've run into some shaky welding, or sometimes the plating has only a passing acquaintance with the substrate. Makes for some interesting connections.
In my IC failure analysis days, the you could dissolve plastic with either fuming nitric acid or concentrated methylene chloride. I've worked enough with both to want to keep them far away. The latter can be found as paint stripper; you should look for the cans with suspicious bulges.