I have a Dell Inspiron that comes with an 90W AC Adapter.
It doesn't work and I need to open it. Does anyone know a nice way to
open a Dell Adapter!?

Thank you in advanced!
Igor.

never open one always just replaced with one from ebay or new from dell.

<mc.preist******.com> wrote in message
news:1167770212.645064.150080@h40g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
>I have a Dell Inspiron that comes with an 90W AC Adapter.
> It doesn't work and I need to open it. Does anyone know a nice way to
> open a Dell Adapter!?
>
> Thank you in advanced!
> Igor.
>

BigJim wrote:
> never open one always just replaced with one from ebay or new from dell.
>
> <snip>

Actually, a good opportunity to pick up a more versatile AC/DC adaptor.

Notan

mc_nospam******.com wrote:

> It doesn't work and I need to open it. Does anyone know a nice way to
> open a Dell Adapter!?

It is ultrasonically welded and cannot be opened without breaking the
weld or the plastic. Usually it's a bit of both. If you squeeze the
adapter very hard in a vise, you may be able to flex the housing enough
to crack the weld. A putty knife can then be used to propagate this
crack along the edge. But you will have to glue it back together.

Note: Many modern machines, specifically Dells, have a communications
protocol between the AC adapter and the laptop. You may not be able to
charge your battery from a third-party adapter.

<mc.preist******.com> wrote in message
news:1167770212.645064.150080@h40g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
>I have a Dell Inspiron that comes with an 90W AC Adapter.
> It doesn't work and I need to open it. Does anyone know a nice way to
> open a Dell Adapter!?
>
> Thank you in advanced!
> Igor.
>

It is sealed for a very definite purpose.

*DO NOT* attempt to open it.

It is worth repeating:

*DO NOT* attempt to open it.

Honu

mc.preist******.com wrote:
> I have a Dell Inspiron that comes with an 90W AC Adapter.
> It doesn't work and I need to open it. Does anyone know a nice way to
> open a Dell Adapter!?
>
> Thank you in advanced!
> Igor.
>
You've been given some good advice...for the average person.
If you're Joe Stockbroker, you should stay out of your adapter.

But on the off chance that you have a Master's Degree in
Electrical Engineering and simply want some advice on how to
get the **** plastic parts open, send me an email.
I fix these all the time.
mike

Thank you Everybody,
I appreciate it very much.

I'll buy a new adapter, this is the best thing I can do.
I hate Dell. They turn me down all the time.

Thank you again.

mc.preist******.com wrote:
> Thank you Everybody,
> I appreciate it very much.
>
> I'll buy a new adapter, this is the best thing I can do.
> I hate Dell. They turn me down all the time.

"They turn me down all the time."

In reference to what? Was the adapter still under warranty?

Just curious.

Notan

Prepare for some funny things,

First I found a problem with my soundcard. I could not get my laptop to
record through any microphone - the sound just didn't work right. As a
result I could not have a normal VoIP conversation - it worked well for
two minutes and then went bad for five.. Now I have contacted Dell, and
they said I need to buy a Dell Microphone so they give me any
assistance. Then one of their assistants said most stupid thing I've
ever heard: *You need to install a proper driver for you microphone.*
(I still have the chat log in my mail, LoL)

This time I was told all I need to do is to visit a Dell place and get
my Adapter replaced. It's still under warranty. The problem is, I'm in
South Korea. The Dell guys here turned me down saying that they don't
support Inspiron 9400/E1405 in South Korea.

It's always frustrating when I contact Dell Technical support,



On Jan 3, 3:25 pm, Notan <notan@ddressthatcanbespammed> wrote:
> mc.nospam******.com wrote:
> > Thank you Everybody,
> > I appreciate it very much.
>
> > I'll buy a new adapter, this is the best thing I can do.
> > I hate Dell. They turn me down all the time."They turn me down all the time."
>
> In reference to what? Was the adapter still under warranty?
>
> Just curious.
>
> Notan

<mc.preist******.com> wrote in message
news:1167770212.645064.150080@h40g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
>I have a Dell Inspiron that comes with an 90W AC Adapter.
> It doesn't work and I need to open it. Does anyone know a nice way to
> open a Dell Adapter!?
>

Switch Mode Power Supplies (what you have) are very much a black art. The
chances of you repairing it are extremely slim at best. Unless you really
know what you are doing, you are well advised to stay out of it. These
supplies contain internal voltages that can quite easily kill (several
thousands).

Yeah,
I am not an expert in hardware like this, that's why I came for advice
here :)
Thanks, I will stay out of it.


I'll just get a new one.

Thanks

On Jan 3, 4:46 pm, "M.I.5¾" <no....@no.where.NO_SPAM.co.uk> wrote:
> <mc.pre...******.com> wrote in messagenews:1167770212.645064.150080@h40g2000cwb.g ooglegroups.com...
>
> >I have a Dell Inspiron that comes with an 90W AC Adapter.
> > It doesn't work and I need to open it. Does anyone know a nice way to
> > open a Dell Adapter!?Switch Mode Power Supplies (what you have) are very much a black art. The
> chances of you repairing it are extremely slim at best. Unless you really
> know what you are doing, you are well advised to stay out of it. These
> supplies contain internal voltages that can quite easily kill (several
> thousands).

M.I.5¾ wrote:
> <mc.preist******.com> wrote in message
> news:1167770212.645064.150080@h40g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
>
>>I have a Dell Inspiron that comes with an 90W AC Adapter.
>>It doesn't work and I need to open it. Does anyone know a nice way to
>>open a Dell Adapter!?
>>
>
>
> Switch Mode Power Supplies (what you have) are very much a black art.

Black art is the term you use when YOU don't understand something.
Switching supplies are very much a known commodity.
The problem is that the particular design is undocumented from the user
point of view.
The
> chances of you repairing it are extremely slim at best.

There you go again, projecting.
Unless you really
> know what you are doing, you are well advised to stay out of it.

These
> supplies contain internal voltages that can quite easily kill (several
> thousands).
kill several thousands of what? There ain't anything in that supply
that's several thousands...oops, my bad, there are some resistors that
are several thousands of ohms.

Your conclusion is good for the average newbie...but if you want to
support the conclusion, you should try to use some actual facts.

There are exceptions, but my experience with laptop supplies is that
they fail in these places.
1)The solder joint at the AC connector cracks.
2)The cable fails at the stress point right at the plug into the laptop.
3)The cable fails at the stress point right where it enters the PS box.
4)The cable fails in the middle where your dog chewed it, you ran it
under your rocking chair etc.
5)Other internal solder joints cracked due to heat stress.
I can remember one instance of a failed AC-side diode and one
shorted output cap.

Send me the power supply. I'll fix it and stick it in the box with all
the others.
YMMV
mike
>
>

Mine is three :)
3)The cable fails at the stress point right where it enters the PS box.

Thanks everyone for help...
How do I make a link to the news like you did, Mike?
news:1167770212.645064.150080@h40g2000cwb.googlegr ...etc

btw, very consistent answer, thanx.

On Jan 3, 8:06 pm, mike <spam...******.com> wrote:
> M.I.5¾ wrote:
> > <mc.pre...******.com> wrote in message
> >news:1167770212.645064.150080@h40g2000cwb.googleg roups.com...
>
> >>I have a Dell Inspiron that comes with an 90W AC Adapter.
> >>It doesn't work and I need to open it. Does anyone know a nice way to
> >>open a Dell Adapter!?
>
> > Switch Mode Power Supplies (what you have) are very much a black art.Black art is the term you use when YOU don't understand something.
> Switching supplies are very much a known commodity.
> The problem is that the particular design is undocumented from the user
> point of view.
> The
>
> > chances of you repairing it are extremely slim at best. There you go again, projecting.
> Unless you really
>
> > know what you are doing, you are well advised to stay out of it. These> supplies contain internal voltages that can quite easily kill (several
> > thousands).kill several thousands of what? There ain't anything in that supply
> that's several thousands...oops, my bad, there are some resistors that
> are several thousands of ohms.
>
> Your conclusion is good for the average newbie...but if you want to
> support the conclusion, you should try to use some actual facts.
>
> There are exceptions, but my experience with laptop supplies is that
> they fail in these places.
> 1)The solder joint at the AC connector cracks.
> 2)The cable fails at the stress point right at the plug into the laptop.
> 3)The cable fails at the stress point right where it enters the PS box.
> 4)The cable fails in the middle where your dog chewed it, you ran it
> under your rocking chair etc.
> 5)Other internal solder joints cracked due to heat stress.
> I can remember one instance of a failed AC-side diode and one
> shorted output cap.
>
> Send me the power supply. I'll fix it and stick it in the box with all
> the others.
> YMMV
> mike
>
>

"mike" <spamme9******.com> wrote in message
news:Z6Mmh.1966$PN2.289@trnddc07...
> M.I.5¾ wrote:
>> <mc.preist******.com> wrote in message
>> news:1167770212.645064.150080@h40g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
>>
>>>I have a Dell Inspiron that comes with an 90W AC Adapter.
>>>It doesn't work and I need to open it. Does anyone know a nice way to
>>>open a Dell Adapter!?
>>>
>>
>>
>> Switch Mode Power Supplies (what you have) are very much a black art.
>
> Black art is the term you use when YOU don't understand something.
> Switching supplies are very much a known commodity.
> The problem is that the particular design is undocumented from the user
> point of view.
> The
>> chances of you repairing it are extremely slim at best.
>
> There you go again, projecting.
> Unless you really
>> know what you are doing, you are well advised to stay out of it.
>
> These
>> supplies contain internal voltages that can quite easily kill (several
>> thousands).
> kill several thousands of what? There ain't anything in that supply
> that's several thousands...oops, my bad, there are some resistors that
> are several thousands of ohms.
>

The supplies contain several thousands of volts, since the converters are of
the flyback type (generally the most efficient type).

> Your conclusion is good for the average newbie...but if you want to
> support the conclusion, you should try to use some actual facts.
>

The fact that you may understand enough to repair them does not mean that
the average person does. Do you understand enough to design one from
scratch? I understand them and I still say they are a black art to anyone
who does not specifically understand switch mode converters.

You could do with working on your posting style.

M.I.5¾ wrote:
> "mike" <spamme9******.com> wrote in message
> news:Z6Mmh.1966$PN2.289@trnddc07...
>
>>M.I.5¾ wrote:
>>
>>><mc.preist******.com> wrote in message
>>>news:1167770212.645064.150080@h40g2000cwb.googl egroups.com...
>>>
>>>
>>>>I have a Dell Inspiron that comes with an 90W AC Adapter.
>>>>It doesn't work and I need to open it. Does anyone know a nice way to
>>>>open a Dell Adapter!?
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Switch Mode Power Supplies (what you have) are very much a black art.
>>
>>Black art is the term you use when YOU don't understand something.
>>Switching supplies are very much a known commodity.
>>The problem is that the particular design is undocumented from the user
>>point of view.
>> The
>>
>>>chances of you repairing it are extremely slim at best.
>>
>>There you go again, projecting.
>>Unless you really
>>
>>>know what you are doing, you are well advised to stay out of it.
>>
>> These
>>
>>>supplies contain internal voltages that can quite easily kill (several
>>>thousands).
>>
>>kill several thousands of what? There ain't anything in that supply
>>that's several thousands...oops, my bad, there are some resistors that
>>are several thousands of ohms.
>>
>
>
> The supplies contain several thousands of volts, since the converters are of
> the flyback type (generally the most efficient type).

PUT a sample of this particular supply on the bench, put a scope on it
and show me several thousand volts anywhere in it and I'll apologize
profusely.
Show me several thousand volts when it's unplugged and I'll eat
it...with the power on!

Power supplies of any type can be lethal whether plugged in or not.
We agree on that. But plain wrong information undermines your credibility.

>
>
>>Your conclusion is good for the average newbie...but if you want to
>>support the conclusion, you should try to use some actual facts.
>>
>
>
> The fact that you may understand enough to repair them does not mean that
> the average person does. Do you understand enough to design one from
> scratch?

Yes, in fact, I DO!! (your move)
But in my experience, all you have to know is how to recognize a broken
solder joint or an open/shorted cable. It's not rocket surgery.
I rarely take it any farther than that. Because it's rarely necessary.
Because it ceases to be fun after the first few reverse-engineering
episodes.

I understand them

A claim unsupported so far.

and I still say they are a black art to anyone
> who does not specifically understand switch mode converters.

Yes and auto mechanics is a black art to someone who knows nothing
about auto mechanics and doesn't take the initiative to learn...so what?
You do not have to be an engine designer to change a flat or the oil or
put gas in it.
>
> You could do with working on your posting style.

Criticism helps us improve.
top posting?
bottom posting?
interleaved posting?
too many caps?
Bad grammar?
Spelling?
What?
Or are you just pissed.
Please be specific.
>
>
Since this has degenerated and the problem appears to have been
discovered, allow me to answer the original question.
Take the power brick and clamp it in a vise with the glue line just
above the jaws.
Start at one corner with a wood chisel. Give it a sharp whack with a
small hammer to crack the joint. Move along the seam to propagate the
crack.
Don't pry on the seam. The plastic will tear before the glue comes
loose. You have to use sharp broadside blows to fracture the joint.
Quick whacks with a small hammer. NOT big swings with a sledge

To put it back together, I use the glue they use on plastic water pipe.
Comes in several types. I use the universal stuff.

If you decide to try to fix it, find a computer hardware geek with a
soldering iron to help you. Typical voltage inside one of these
is 160 or 320 volts (for 120VAC USA applications. Could be twice
that for 220/240VAC applications) depending on the design. And it can
stay there
for a long time after you unplug it. And yes, it can kill you.

Cut a couple of inches off the cable and resolder it back into the
board. Remember that if you get mixed up and put the wires back
backwards, you risk turning your laptop into a doorstop. A smoking
doorstop.

are we having fun yet? I know I am!
mike